Newborn/Baby Photography - Avg costs?

clussyK

I'm looking into trying to find a photographer to capture some good pictures of our LO after the birth and had some questions for some of you experienced Mommies.

1 - How soon after birth are these usually taken?

2 -  What is the average cost that a lot of you have seen?

3 - Can you just pay a flat fee for a CD of all of the pictures or do you always have to go through the photographer and bay hundreds/thousands for actual hard copies in a photo package?

I certainly respect the skill involved in good photography but man, I'm thinking I need to just learn to use a manual DSLR camera and save $$ instead because I'd think I'd want some professional pictures more than just once. 

Thoughts/advice?

TIA!

Mrs.Saxy

I'm trying to decide between 2 people by me. One is $175 but you get all your digital images on a jump drive with full copyright release.

The other is $120 but you only get hard copy pictures. I think there's a $50 session fee but I'm not sure, so then the total would be $170. With the fee you get 5 sheets of pics.

 For me, I'd go with the $175 because you can send the pictures to people and they can choose what they want, plus you can keep them on your computer. 

depending on the photographer determines if you get hard copies or digital images. One photog says 7-9 days after birth, the other says 2 weeks. 

KERJF

1 - How soon after birth are these usually taken? most photographers will want to see your newborn under 10 days old. and they will have a good list of things for you to do to ensure your little one is at its peak photo performance before you get there/before they arrive to take the photos.

2 -  What is the average cost that a lot of you have seen? depends on the photographer and your area. could be anywhere from $25-$1000+.

example: our photographer is $400 for my maternity and newborn sessions combined. She is just over $200 for the newborn alone. That includes a disk with 35-40 digital images plus rights for printing.
my old photographer is $400 for the session alone, plus she requires an addition $125 in print order (NOT digital images) and her digital packages start at $250 for 3 digital images.

3 - Can you just pay a flat fee for a CD of all of the pictures or do you always have to go through the photographer and bay hundreds/thousands for actual hard copies in a photo package?
some will, some will not let you buy the CD with all the photos. some you will pay a few hundred for a few photos.

my thoughts overall? i am starting to consider portfolio building in the future - and and a serious hobbyist - i own a few great lenses and shoot in manual - DH questioned why i felt we needed a photographer - and its because i want to make sure i get the best possible photos of my LO when she is a newborn because you cant get those days back. i am hoping to do any other photos of her myself and will for sure be taking my own newborn photos to gain more experience - but even with the tools and skill - i still want someone who has been doing this for years to step in and capture those moments, 

LadyXaverian

1 - How soon after birth are these usually taken? I've been told "within the first 10 days".

2 -  What is the average cost that a lot of you have seen? I have 2 people I am looking at. One is a close friend who is just getting started. She's in the "a good camera, some photog skills, and fun with Photoshop" camp. She only charges $75 and you get all the images on a CD to do whatever you want with. She also did my maternity pics for free. The other is a big time local photographer who's won contests and such. We had her do professional pics of our dogs as a part of a fund raiser for the local animal shelter a couple of years ago. She charges a $100 sitting fee and that doesn't include the cost of any pictures. You don't walk out of there without spending at least $300. At LEAST. However, her work is phenomenal.

3 - Can you just pay a flat fee for a CD of all of the pictures or do you always have to go through the photographer and bay hundreds/thousands for actual hard copies in a photo package? Depends on the photographer.

MrsAllison33

I know a girl who takes wonderful pictures and I asked her about newborn pics and she said she charges $150 for an hour or so of shooting and you get a DVD with all the pics on it. She said she only deletes the ones that are out of focus or ones that we don't like and from there we can get any pictures we want printed.

mocknine

 I had them taken, so below are the answers according to my experience: 1 - How soon after birth are these usually taken?-We had them taken at 9 days old.  Our photog likes to do them between 7-10 days.2 -  What is the average cost that a lot of you have seen?-I paid $350.  That included 2 hours of shooting (he was here for much longer as we had feedings and such to tend to), 5 5x7's, and 1 8x10. 3 - Can you just pay a flat fee for a CD of all of the pictures or do you always have to go through the photographer and bay hundreds/thousands for actual hard copies in a photo package?-I am able to purchase a CD with rights for a flat fee, or purchase individual pictures.  The CD is expensive though. When I was searching for a photographer, prices were all over the place for the session as well as for prints.  Some of them had a print minimum (for example, you have to spend 'x' dollars on pictures regardless of anything else you have already paid or if you like the photos). I think pricing will obviously vary greatly on geographical location (I am in the greater NYC area). 

sangarepa

Our wedding photographer does the best baby shots, but she is too expensive.  We are probably just going to to it ourselves with a digital camera and either order from mpix or shutterfly.  mpix has great quality prints but shutterfly has cheap announcements.

I figure if we have issues, we'll take a ride to Sears.

Christine&Chris

Newborn shots are 7-10 days old for us.

We are doing a "baby package." We get a newborn session, a 6mth session, and a 12mth session for $1000, which includes 2-4 hours per session of shooting at 2 locations and a CD with all of our images and printing rights. We also get a 24"x24" framed collage of our fav pics from the 1st year, with her name embossed on it. We can add maternity, 3mo, and 9mo sessions for $175 per shoot, plus $175 per CD of the shoot.

This was the best deal for an in-home professional baby photog I could find in our area.  Many others were around $1500-$2200 for the same thing, or would only give you 35-40 of the pics from each shoot.

Raquellyo

A company called Bella Photography (Bella Baby) comes right into our hospital room to take pictures -- so baby is a day or 2 old.  They offer various packages, but to just get the CD with all copyrights is $125.

Aprilynn0206

1 - How soon after birth are these usually taken? Within the first 2 weeks.

2 -  What is the average cost that a lot of you have seen? Around $75-$100 for the session and your photos on a CD.

3 - Can you just pay a flat fee for a CD of all of the pictures or do you always have to go through the photographer and bay hundreds/thousands for actual hard copies in a photo package?

If you go to a corporate photo studio (target, picture people, portrait innovations) you will get charged out the ass for a CD. They make their $$ off of prints.

bperala

I found someone who was trying to build their portfolio and is only going to charge $50.  She will come to us within the first 10 days and the shoot includes a CD with all the pics and the rights to print them.  I'm super excited about these pics!