May 2014 Moms

Maternity Pictures/Newborn Pictures

I feel like I need to get on the ball with this but I don't even know where to start.  Are you planning on doing maternity pictures, or did you the first time around (if you're a STM+)?  What about newborn pictures?  I also have no idea where to start looking for photographers or what to expect in terms of pricing.  If you have had them done, or are planning on it with this pregnancy, how did you find your photographer?  Did you google and look at reviews, or go by word of mouth?  I just don't want to end up with awful or creepy pictures... like this:

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Or this:

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Re: Maternity Pictures/Newborn Pictures

  • I just started looking myself.  I started with yelp and from there, weeded out any portfolios or policies that I didn't like (One website said that I must make photo selections within 7 days of the proofs being made available!?!?   I have no idea what my days will be like in those first few weeks... don't you dare try to put more pressure on me!)

    Good luck - I'm finding it overwhelming so far.
    Me-41, Hubby-40.
    1st BFP-8/17/12!  Missed Miscarriage discovered @ 8 week US.  D&C.
    2nd BFP-2/13/13!  Blighted Ovum discovered @ 8 week US. Natural miscarriage.
    3rd BFP-5/22/13!  By early June, progesterone plummeting.  Another loss.
    August 2013 - started Donor Egg process, but surprise BFP with my own eggs.
    Dear Son born 5/28/14
  • I had newborn pictures done,the hospital has a person contracted.it was really nice.they came to our room and asked if we would like some.not sure about all hospitals but you could call and see if yours does.so nice and we got our photos two weeks later in the mail
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  • a friend took some mat pics for free, otherwise i wouldn't have bothered.

    and, eek....i haven't even thought about newborn.


  • It took me awhile to find a newborn photographer. First I asked a few mom friends at work. They recommended two women. One was just way too expensive and one doesn't sell the copyrighted images (on a CD) which is a must-have for me. So then I looked on Yelp and went to each photographer's website to see their stuff. I found a couple I liked. Both were already completely booked for May. :( So then I just googled and went through probably thirty or forty photographers. Finally found one with a style I liked, who was available, and who will sell me a CD of the images as part of a print package! She doesn't have a studio, which is a bummer, but I was getting worried about finding someone.

    Some of my friends have used their wedding photographers but mine doesn't do newborns. Maybe ask for a recommendation from them?
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  • I'm not planning to do maternity pictures. I just don't want to spend all that money on professional pictures that I wouldn't personally really do anything with (I'd maybe frame one in my house) and that's not the kind of thing I would put on facebook or anything like that.

    I did have boudoir photos done when I was about 8 weeks pregnant. I had been planning on getting them done as a surprise for my Husband for our anniversary in November, but when I found out i was pregnant I moved the date up so I would only be 8 weeks (I didn't know how quickly I would start showing since I'm a FTM). That session and the photos were awesome! And my husband was very surprised/thrilled.

    If we do get newborn photos done we will probably use the same photographer that did my boudoir photos, she was great and she does families, babies and weddings. She is also an instructor at our yoga studio, my husband does 2 classes a week with her and I do 1. I feel like she has actually been an active part of my pregnancy because she was one of the first people I told about my pregnancy when I had to move my boudoir session up, and now she see's me weekly at yoga, growing away!
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  • danabsddanabsd member
    edited January 2014
    I cannot un-see that second image. **shutters**

    We did not do maternity pictures but we did do newborn photos.  I found my photographer on Yelp.  I contacted ~5 photographers and picked the one who's work I liked the most.  Even though she was the most expensive, she was the best.  

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  • I just booked my newborn shoot yesterday, but think I'll be skipping the maternity photos. I posted on FB asking friends to rec their newborn photographers, and got a bunch of responses. Then it was just sifting through their pages to find someone affordable - some of the pricing was really up there.
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    Tobin Chase, born April 20, 2014
  • I am planning to do both Maternity and Newborns.  As a FTM I feel like I just want to do EVERYTHING!!  

    I am planning to do the mat photos around 35ish weeks...hoping I'll have a huge belly but not be too swollen or bloated at that point... I am also doing newborns and those need to be done within the first 10 days of birth (according to my photographer).  

    I am using a girl whose work I absolutely love .. also she has done my friends maternity pictures which were adorable!!  She gave me a bit of deal to do both maternity and newborns and I get 20 edited pics on a CD of each session.  
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  • I'm not doing maternity pics, but I am doing newborn. In fact, I'm in the process of getting our session booked now. A couple girls I went to HS with started a photography business last year. They do a great job, come to your house with props, and only charge $100 for a 2 hour session that includes the CD with 15-20 edited pics and full rights to the pictures. Oh, and no obligation to get prints through them. 
    That's a steal compared to what I'm finding online!
    Me-41, Hubby-40.
    1st BFP-8/17/12!  Missed Miscarriage discovered @ 8 week US.  D&C.
    2nd BFP-2/13/13!  Blighted Ovum discovered @ 8 week US. Natural miscarriage.
    3rd BFP-5/22/13!  By early June, progesterone plummeting.  Another loss.
    August 2013 - started Donor Egg process, but surprise BFP with my own eggs.
    Dear Son born 5/28/14
  • I am getting both maternity and newborn pics done.  I found my photographer by just searching for maternity photographers and finding one who wasn't outrageously expensive!
  • I'm not doing maternity either. The hospital where Liam will be born does them then charges up the wazoo to buy them. But i have to say, they are freaking ADORABLE. With my girls, i don't remember paying for them... but again, i was jacked up on morphine and perks.

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  • We will be doing maternity pictures at the same time as ds1's 5 year pictures. We will also be doing newborn pictures. We didn't do them the first time, just had the hospital pictures and it is my one regret. Our wedding photographer has been taking pictures of DS since he was 6 months old and will do the same for the new baby.
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  • For everyone saying they don't want maternity photos....I was the same way I didn't know what i was going to do with them. I spoke with about 20 different photographers getting price quotes anywhere from $1200-$700 for a maternity/newborn shoot (with triplets). I finally found a photographer who was willing to change her packages and make me something that was something I really wanted. So I ended up booking a Short Maternity session(1 hr) and 3hr newborn session(split over 2 days). We plan on making a photo book that starts with a few of the maternity photos and transitions into the newborn photos. After doing the maternity shoot I'm soooooooo happy that I did. I look amazing almost "glowing" in the photos and I'm so happy that I have these photos to remember this amazing journey. Never be afraid to ask a photographer to modify packages to something that works for you.
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  • I'm probably going to just be doing newborn pics, since the photog I picked has a $300 minimum on photo packages. I'd rather use the money on newborn prints.

    As far as picking a photog what I did was search Pinterest. I just moved out of state and searched "(my new city) newborn photography" and then went from there. Most photag's post their work on Pinterest from their blogs.
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  • I'm doing maternity photos on our babymoon so had to rely on online searching. I looked through probably 50 portfolios before I found a photographer I liked. Newborn photos seem crazy expensive in my area, $1-3K per shoot with photos, so we're still undecided on that end. I want to at least do newborn, 6 month & 1 year photos though. There has to be less expensive options out there so we're going to ask around in the next few weeks.
  • QOTR said:
    I'm not doing maternity pics, but I am doing newborn. In fact, I'm in the process of getting our session booked now. A couple girls I went to HS with started a photography business last year. They do a great job, come to your house with props, and only charge $100 for a 2 hour session that includes the CD with 15-20 edited pics and full rights to the pictures. Oh, and no obligation to get prints through them. 
    That's a steal compared to what I'm finding online!
    Seriously. I gave up after Googling and looking at about a dozen, all of whom charged around $300 for a session fee and then had a minimum photo purchase in the $100s as well. And no image disc. Pffft.
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  • I got maternity photos done while in Maui. She charged $250 and got all 300 pics on a CD. She did great work and undercharged. I did quick newborn photos on my own (amateur at the time).

    I'm looking for a maternity photographer and have an idea who I'd like to work with based on her portfolio. She charged $600 with all images. I plan to do my own newborn photos since I have 3 more years of experience under my belt and have shot around 50 newborns since then. Otherwise, the BEST and I do mean the best newborn photographer in the area easily charges $2k, but she does amazing work.
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  • Miggg said:
    I'm doing maternity photos on our babymoon so had to rely on online searching. I looked through probably 50 portfolios before I found a photographer I liked. Newborn photos seem crazy expensive in my area, $1-3K per shoot with photos, so we're still undecided on that end. I want to at least do newborn, 6 month & 1 year photos though. There has to be less expensive options out there so we're going to ask around in the next few weeks.
    Damn. And I thought the $500-$600 minimum I've been seeing was bad. I think I'm just cheap, guys. I keep comparing it to my wedding pictures, which I... haven't looked at since my wedding. Or even put in an album.
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  • With DD I didn't do official maternity photos. Instead I found some I liked on Pinterest, then DH and I reproduced them using my iPhone. I think we'll do the same this time.
    I didn't look into finding a newborn photographer before DD was born. Then, it turned out my hospital has photographers that come by the maternity ward everyday to take newborn photos. They don't charge you for the session, only charge you for the prints if you decide to buy any. Of course I wanted a cd with the photos, so I bought the most expensive package which ended up being $170 for a bunch of prints in different sizes (8 poses) and the cd.
  • I found my photographer because she did a FB friend's maternity shoot and I liked the way they came out. The two other people gave me recommendations. For me, it came down to price and the photographer being flexible/giving me what I wanted. I got a break if I booked a maternity and newborn shoot so I went ahead and booked both. However she knows I'm iffy on doing the maternity shoot so she will apply my maternity shoot fee towards my picture package if I don't do maternity. I wanted to have ALL of the images on a CD/DVD and very few prints so that eliminated some photographers. Also, I want to be able to send LO to college in 18 years so that eliminated the woman who charged $1200 just to take the photos.
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  • I've never done maternity photos, but I did do newborn photos with DS1 and they were completely worth it.  Expensive, but I love all of them.  We found our photographer through a recommendation from our wedding photographer (we'd have used her, but she's out of state).  Our newborn photographer recently moved out of state too, so we'll have to look again for this time.  
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  • I'm not doing maternity but wanted to do newborn pictures until I saw the pricing. I was SHOCKED at how expensive they are in my area and have yet to find any photographer that can fit in a price range that I find acceptable. I'm still searching .....

    And if anyone knows of anyone in the Orange County area that doesn't charge upwards of $1,000 for newborn photos please PM me!
  • My husband is a photographer so we will have new born pics out the waz...he is already thinkin of what rediculous things to put on our peanut or put her in for a picture. So hopefully she sleeps through most of it and isn't resentful of her daddy :) but I don't know where I stand on maternity- I have some DH has taken from our honeymoon but I don't know about posing pushing 7-8 months and actually doing more than glancing at them in a photo book in the future. But I need to give it more thought.
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  • We did both last time and will this time as well. I think we paid $250 for a 2 hour session with 2 locations and 30 images on a disc with rights. Our photog came to the hospital and did those for free because we signed up for her grow with me package which was mini sessions (7-10 images on a disc) for nb, 3, 6 and 9 months at $75 each. His one year shoot was supposed to be a full session but we only did 20 minutes and so she only charged me $100 and is giving me more pictures (15-20) since it's his 1 year. I plan to do the same with this kid.

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  • I plan on doing both. I already regret not doing cutesy announcements or pictures . I will completely regret not doing maternity pictures. My husband has a friend who is very good, but he charges a bit high. I also have a friend who is a lot cheaper but I'm going to wait until about 30 weeks or so when I actually look pregnant

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  • JKBMA2014 said:
    I plan on doing both. I already regret not doing cutesy announcements or pictures . I will completely regret not doing maternity pictures. My husband has a friend who is very good, but he charges a bit high. I also have a friend who is a lot cheaper but I'm going to wait until about 30 weeks or so when I actually look pregnant

    30 weeks is slightly on the early side. I did mine at 33 weeks and it's amazing the difference! Obviously crappy picture was 30 and the blue shirt was 33. I kinda wish I had waited until 35.

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  • I got a flyer in the mail from a local photog whor turns out to have a really good reputation. She offers a package deal : maternity, newborn, 3, 6, and 9 months for $500. Access to all proofs.

  • JKBMA2014 said:

    I plan on doing both. I already regret not doing cutesy announcements or pictures . I will completely regret not doing maternity pictures. My husband has a friend who is very good, but he charges a bit high. I also have a friend who is a lot cheaper but I'm going to wait until about 30 weeks or so when I actually look pregnant




    30 weeks is slightly on the early side. I did mine at 33 weeks and it's amazing the difference! Obviously crappy picture was 30 and the blue shirt was 33. I kinda wish I had waited until 35.

    Honestly I've thought of that. I've just really lacked energy so far and can't imagine how I will feel after about 30 weeks or if I would even want to stand around for pictures. I know that seems pretty pre Madonna but I've never felt so ... "blah" in my life. Just your 3 weeks difference was a big one! And I have looked on pinterest and notice 30 weeks probably won't be big enough

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  • I will have my dad do our newborn photos. He is not a professional but has a nice camera, does a good job, and enjoys it. I will probably have him do some maternity pics of us. I am thinking of having my mom in the delivery room to snap a few pics of my DH and I with Kailey right after she is born and while they are weighing her, bathing her and whatever.
  • My sister is making her an adorable outfit to wear for some of her newborn pictures!
  • chillypenguinchillypenguin member
    edited January 2014
    We are not doing maternity pictures but we are doing newborn. I LOVE my DD's newborn pictures, they were worth the money! We might take a couple quick family/maternity pics at DD's 18 month pics at the end of Feb/ beginning of March.

    ETA: @SSoegaard2011 I sent you a PM. :) I live in your area and I was wondering about your photographer!
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  • We're doing maternity as well as newborn photos because we have a friend who is a photographer and willing to do it for dirt cheap (she wants to build up her portfolio). I don't know if I'd have done the maternity photos if we didn't have this hook up. I think we'd still do the newborn photos, though,
  • Found one!  I decided to go with a smaller package on the newborn photos so that I can afford another session or two in his first year.   Now... to choose a doula.
    Me-41, Hubby-40.
    1st BFP-8/17/12!  Missed Miscarriage discovered @ 8 week US.  D&C.
    2nd BFP-2/13/13!  Blighted Ovum discovered @ 8 week US. Natural miscarriage.
    3rd BFP-5/22/13!  By early June, progesterone plummeting.  Another loss.
    August 2013 - started Donor Egg process, but surprise BFP with my own eggs.
    Dear Son born 5/28/14
  • I'm struggling with this because I AM a photographer so obviously very picky! I plan on doing some newborn pics myself but I mainly do photos outside (until I can afford indoor equipment)
  • I actually asked word of mouth from friends on facebook.. I was referenced to a lovely women that will be doing mine this coming weekend for $35 in studio.. with only myself.. my DD and DH will not be there as I just want some intimate belly shots in black/white.. she's highly recommended in Pittsburgh, PA
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