Hey all! This blog is for all the moms! When going to the hospital to have a beautiful baby, we are thinking about so many things. Did I remember this? Did I forget that? Do I have chapstick? Come on ladies, we need that chapstick! But after everything is said and done. We have our amazing baby in our arms and the world stops.
Our bodies are filled with all kinds of emotions. Our bodies are amazing but also stressed, tired, and sore. At this point we are filled with adrenaline, even though we are so tired. Looking at the baby, holding the baby, taking care of the baby from our bed. We’re still doing all the things even when we just had a baby.
That first night goes by and we barely slept because we decided to keep the baby in the room and need to feed the baby & look at what we made in complete awe. Nurses coming in every hour to check on us, getting our vitals, and the baby didn’t help us sleep either. That 5am wake up call for doctor rounds they do, okay maybe it’s not 5am but it sure felt like it.
Then in comes the hospital newborn photographer introducing themselves wanting to know if you would like newborn photos done. Most come in at the worse times. Some times they leave you a pamphlet and sometimes they do not. They always come back in and ask again for photos, even if you said no thank you the first time.
These hospital photographers are not trained in newborn photography. They are only trained to use the camera, and now some aren’t even train in that. The poses they use are not safe or are not done properly. They do not clone out scratches or blemishes. They do not fix skin tones. They do not help to pose you so you look your best. They just don’t care and don’t have time for that. But they surely want to charge like they do!
They have to get a certain amount of poses in a certain amount of time. They also have to try and upsell you on everything more than once. I am sure you have heard of the pushy car salesman. They are the same but with cameras.
I’ve been there! I have bought the newborn hospital photos. I have spent hundreds of dollars on them because I didn’t know better and it’s my baby’s photos. Looking back I was tired, stressed, had emotions filling my body and just wanted to be at home in my own bed with my new baby. I would have said yes to anything, especially a pushy hospital photographer.
Now let’s get some things straight. It’s not the fault of the photographer, they are just doing the job that the company hired them to do. They need to work too. It is the companies that are allowed to do this. It is a skeezy thing to do to new families in my opinion.
I recommend booking a newborn photographer in your second trimester. This way you have enough time to find a newborn photographer whose work you love, who is trained in newborn posing & safety, and is within your budget. I am a certified newborn photographer trained in newborn posing and safety. I have continued my newborn photography education every year. I keep up to date on my photography education & my camera gear.
I am a professional newborn photographer located in Glen Carbon, Illinois. I have an in home studio fully stocked with props & backdrops for use during your session. I am also an Edwardsville photographer as I sometimes work in Edwardsville, Illinois on location.
As a newborn photographer I have done it all. Newborn babies from 3 pounds to 11 pounds. I’ve photographed NICU babies. I have even photographed babies with heart problems and broken clavicles and/or needing to be on oxygen. I’ve photographed twins, triplets and cousin newborns together. I have photographed a 4 day old baby to 9 weeks old baby! Heck, I even photographed 12 week old triplets as a newborn session!
I have a ton of experience in posing, safety, photography, and editing. 11 years of experience. I do not rush through sessions. I take my time and get the poses right. I do not force the baby or child into the pose because of time. I slow down and use patience. These are you memories. I want to you to love your images and cherish them for years to come. I want you to share your images with your next generation and still remember the joy that time brought you. I would love to be your professional newborn photographer.