Newborn photos pricing?

Trishes · May 2011

As I'm a FTM, I'm not quite sure what the pricing on newborn photos would be. I found what we think may be a great deal, but I wanted to see if anyone else had booked a photo session, what their pricing in their area is?

I'm outside of Baltimore, and it's a professional person who'd come to our house and spend 2 hours with LO taking pictures. We'd get a disk of all pictures, and 4x6's of all pictures, for $200.

ktrozier · May 2011

Depending on how many prints this includes, this could be a great deal! I doubt this means that she's going to shoot steady for 2 hours and edit ALL of those...I'd ask how many prints this includes. Often photographers will say that you can choose your favorite 25 or so, but sometimes it's far less than that. If you like her work and this includes more than just a handful of shots, I say go for it!

wkiesling · May 2011

That's sounds like an amazing deal to me if you have seen their portfolio and like their work. I booked a newborns session when they were having a special for a free sitting fee, but the cost of photos is way more than $200. I know she does a disk of all the photos but for more like $500 because she gives you the permission to use her copyrighted photos. Personally I think that sounds like a good deal.

lacey0482 · May 2011

This is a pretty standard price I think. If you love her pictures and style, I'd say go with it!

Trishes · May 2011

ktrozier:
Depending on how many prints this includes, this could be a great deal! I doubt this means that she's going to shoot steady for 2 hours and edit ALL of those...I'd ask how many prints this includes. Often photographers will say that you can choose your favorite 25 or so, but sometimes it's far less than that. If you like her work and this includes more than just a handful of shots, I say go for it!

I thought so too but the preliminary contract she sent says it includes 4x6 of all the pictures she takes. She's known to be pretty reasonable, and I loved the pictures she did of a friend's wedding - thanks for your input, it's definitely something to be taken into consideration!

smorzandoj · May 2011

I am in Baltimore and use Jeff Jackson photography. He took the siggy pic of ds and has done newborn and maternity for us. Check his website. And although he has time frames (newborn is three hrs I think) he doesn't really time it and will go with the flow of what the baby needs. He has an 18 month old so he knows. Also, if you are having a girl he has a ton new props he can't wait to use...but of course I am having a boy! Also ... His basement studio is in edgewater but will come to you at your request! If you want to see more pics add me on fb and def check out his website!

julygal · May 2011

Sounds like a great deal. Our photographer (who is reasonable in our area) charges $125+ for the session fee, then it is $100 for a CD of all the images, and the prints are a per print price. Her session fee can go up for weekends and if you want her longer than an hour.

ETA: By "all the images" I should clarify that it is only the edited images. She probably shoots hundreds of pictures, and I only see about 40 of them.

Trishes · May 2011

smorzandoj:
I am in Baltimore and use Jeff Jackson photography. He took the siggy pic of ds and has done newborn and maternity for us. Check his website. And although he has time frames (newborn is three hrs I think) he doesn't really time it and will go with the flow of what the baby needs. He has an 18 month old so he knows. Also, if you are having a girl he has a ton new props he can't wait to use...but of course I am having a boy! Also ... His basement studio is in edgewater but will come to you at your request! If you want to see more pics add me on fb and def check out his website!

Yep, I am having a girl I'll have to check out his website!! Thanks for the rec.

amandaloren · May 2011

My photographer charges $75 a session and then $125 for her disc with copyright release. So thats only $200, I think she is pretty cheap and I know she takes amazing pictures;) I'm not sure what is normal in your area but $500 sounds like way to much money to me...

Trishes · May 2011

amandaloren:
My photographer charges $75 a session and then $125 for her disc with copyright release. So thats only $200, I think she is pretty cheap and I know she takes amazing pictures;) I'm not sure what is normal in your area but $500 sounds like way to much money to me...

But it's not $500, it's $200

amandaloren · May 2011

Trishes:

amandaloren:
My photographer charges $75 a session and then $125 for her disc with copyright release. So thats only $200, I think she is pretty cheap and I know she takes amazing pictures;) I'm not sure what is normal in your area but $500 sounds like way to much money to me...

But it's not $500, it's $200

Ah, sorry. I was reading a pp comment on theirs being $500 lol Okay I think $200 is an awesome price :P

quezzo · May 2011

I'm a photographer and would never shoot a newborn for 2 hours. First of all, they should be asleep (unless they are very calm while awake) and if you mess with them too much your going to wake them up and piss them off. If they are awake, they generally don't have any muscle control yet and moving their arms all over the place or making funny faces. It also needs to be the perfect time window between feedings for babies.

On that note, I can shoot for 15 minutes and get almost 100 pictures so I would wonder about the quality of all the pictures this person was taking and if she is really giving them ALL to you. Out of those 100, I would give a client maybe 25/30. Some of the others would be duplicates and you don't need the same picture more than once and others would just be not as good.

I think an hour with a newborn is all you need at the most, but $200 for two hours is good for the time and what she says you are getting. Just know you will only be in love with only a certain number of pictures.

camdenfaithful · May 2011

Trishes do you mind telling me (or PMing if you feel more comfortable) who you're using for newborn pics?

DH and I live halfway between DC and Baltimore and I've found photog pricing in this area to be INSANE especially if you want the digitals which we most certainly do. I'm toying with contacting my wedding photog who I absolutely adored and seeing if she'll take pics, but my only hang up is she really just specializes in weddings, e-pics, and boudoir photos so I'm curious what an infant session would look like.

Twin.Peaks · May 2011

Im going to have to disagree with quezzo I love doing newborn shoots and I am normally at a persons house for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. A newborn session from me includes multiple photographs taken on a number of different blankets, with different hats/props in a number of DIFFERENT and beautiful poses. No, you do not take photos for 3 straight hours BUT you need to allow yourself time to set up, sooth the baby, mommies to feed the baby, POSE the baby, repose the baby, etc. I normally take 100ish photos at a newborn session and give the client the best 15-20 photos from the session. I am not trying to disagree with OP to cause any issue. I just want to be clear on what expectations a new mom should have when planning to have newborn photos taken. It is a long and pricey session but SO worth the time and cost for the result from a great photographer. **sidenote** it is best to have newborn photos taken before the baby is 10 days old....you will get a MUCH better result.

Twin.Peaks · May 2011

Trishes:
As I'm a FTM, I'm not quite sure what the pricing on newborn photos would be. I found what we think may be a great deal, but I wanted to see if anyone else had booked a photo session, what their pricing in their area is?
I'm outside of Baltimore, and it's a professional person who'd come to our house and spend 2 hours with LO taking pictures. We'd get a disk of all pictures, and 4x6's of all pictures, for $200.

Have you checked out other newborn session she has done? 200 seems pretty low priced for the session, 4x6s and a disk. If yu have checked them out and like her work then go for it...its a great price. My cheapest newborn package is in the $350 range (including prints).

Twin.Peaks · May 2011

Trishes:
ktrozier:
Depending on how many prints this includes, this could be a great deal! I doubt this means that she's going to shoot steady for 2 hours and edit ALL of those...I'd ask how many prints this includes. Often photographers will say that you can choose your favorite 25 or so, but sometimes it's far less than that. If you like her work and this includes more than just a handful of shots, I say go for it!
I thought so too but the preliminary contract she sent says it includes 4x6 of all the pictures she takes. She's known to be pretty reasonable, and I loved the pictures she did of a friend's wedding - thanks for your input, it's definitely something to be taken into consideration!

Im sorry to keep posting here. I guess I should have read all of the posts first. lol I just wanted to say that I know a few wedding pros that do a wonderful job but can not do a decent newborn photo if their life depended on it. Make sure you know what her newborn works look like. Newborns are not something you can just do...you have to know what you are doing. Also, I know a lot pf pros that offer a 4x6 of all. That normally means all they are giving in a gallery (15-30). I would worry if a photographer is giving you ALL of the photos they took. That tells me that are not taking the time to edit them one at a time and make sure they are fantastic photos. Besides....who would want a BAD photo just because it was taken, you know? I would make sure to see pas newborn works and ask exactly how many photos you will receive.

ntkoroshec · May 2011

<--- Spent 6 hours on one newborn session last weekend, no lie

I think the amount of time to plan on differs based on photographer, baby, and what style of shoot you're going for. I know plenty of newborn photographers that recommend blocking off 2 to 3 hours, even if you don't really plan on shooting that long. If you're going for more lifestyle shots then an hour could probably work, but if you're doing some real posing it can take some time to get baby into the right position. I also know that it's not uncommon to stop part way through for baby to feed which can take some time.

Oh, and $200 for everything mentioned sounds like a good deal to me if the photographer has a strong portfolio. I also ditto what Twin Peaks said about looking specifically at their newborn work and judging based on that. There are a lot of great photographers that struggle with newborns.

LauraLovesJon · May 2011

I agree with everything Twin.Peaks said. OP I'd just make sure you've seen their newborn work and you like it, $200 is a really low price, but a steal if you like their work. When I do newborn photos it takes an average of 3 hours sometimes more, you'll probably end up having to feed the baby multiple times to help keep them calm and relaxed so they get into a deep sleep for posing. Newborn photos take a lot of time and patience. Most photographers that I know, including myself, that provide a disc give you around 20-30ish different photos, but I would ask ahead of time so you know how many photos you are paying for.

SportyMrs.23 · May 2011

$200 is dirt cheap for newborn photos with everything you are getting.

I would never take a newborn session for $200. That's a lot of work for a little bit of money. My newborn sessions last 2-3 hours...more around the 3 hour range. No, you aren't shooting continuously for 3 hours but like twinpeaks said, it gives you time to soothe the baby and position them. Change blankets for variety, do a few different prop shots, etc. You don't just throw the baby on the blanket and snap away for 15 minutes.

My lowest newborn package (working on creating new collections now) is $475 and that includes an online proofing gallery of 25-30 professionally retouched images, (2) 8x10s and (1) 5x7. From the 25-30 edited photos, the client can choose 10 of those to be put on CD for high resolution files. To get a CD with all of the files on a custom CD and Cover, you'd have to get the Luxury collection and that will cost more.

You have to remember the time that photographers put into your photos.

Travel to the location, continually buying new props/blankets/etc, cost of business license and sellers permit, time spent at the shoot (2-3 hours), travel back home, loading the images to their computer and photo editing software, culling through the images and then hand editing 25-30 images individually. Then creating, processing and ordering custom CDs, announcements, prints, etc, packaging them and sending them off.

Editing photos isn't something that can be done in minutes. It takes time and thought.

If you like the photographers work, then I'd go for it. $200 is super cheap. But I would definitely disagree with the PP's that say $200 is the norm. That is definitely on the very low end for a professional photographer.

Trishes · May 2011

Thanks for your responses, everyone!

I did check out his website, aside from the pictures I saw of my friend's wedding, before I contacted him, and he does do newborn pictures that I love

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