Asking BFF to take maternity photos - also hosting shower..
sinisforgiven
member
I am not wanting to spend a fortune to hire a photographer to take maternity photos, but I think my BFF would be able to take awesome pictures and they have a nice camera to do it with... Normally I wouldn't think twice about asking because she's like my sister, but she is also hosting my shower and she just moved back from a different state... PLUS she's just started a new job recently.
Do you think it would be totally selfish of me to ask her to take time out to take pregnancy photos too? She is super sweet and would never say no, but I am worried about putting too much on her plate... She's not married and doesn't have kids, but I think she's probably very busy with the new job, etc...
Most decent photographers in my area want around $300+ for a maternity photo shoot plus a $100+ photo purchase commitment 
Re: Asking BFF to take maternity photos - also hosting shower..
I think it's ok to ask. Just tell her you're willing to work with her schedule if she's able to do it. We had maternity photos done and it only took about 45 minutes and we got a ton of photos. So it's really not a huge amount of time. If she agrees to it, I'm sure she wouldn't let you pay her, but you should get her a nice gift or maybe a gift card to her favorite store or restaurant.
I'm a photographer & if my BFF wanted anything, I'd do it.
A great approach would be to still give her a gift for this like a cute frame for someone to take a pic of the two of YOU cause we all need updated pics of us & our bffs right?! & even maybe a nice card about how grateful you are for her. Not that you need to go over the top, but the fact that you're writing this shows that you are a caring & compassionate person who doesn't want to make anyone ,especially your BFF , feel obligated or overworked. The above would melt me & make me excited for our own little shoot.
Also, look on pinterest for a couple specific ideas & try to recreate them. This way she won't feel pressured to come up with it all on her own. She will see that you have ideas, but keep them limited, then leave room for a couple pic of you two together & I'm sure she will be proud if you flaunt that "your BFF took these pics!!!!"
Another idea is to print some & have them at your shower. She will be proud.
I'm getting my BFF to take ours as well. She is a photographer on the side. I also just found out that she is also expecting in December and has a 8 month at home. I wil double check with her now if she wants to still take them, but I'm sure she will. If not, I'll ask my cousin who also does photographer. I'm not willing to pay $300 for maternity pictures. My dad has a great camera as well, so my sister could always use that.