How hard is it to do newborn pics yourself?

shugirl76 · May 2014

Have any of you successfully done newborn pics yourself?

If so, any tips?

Money is going to be tight, and I'm going to get some done when she is older professionally, but we won't have the money right after birth.

marathonmommy82 · May 2014

Pretty hard I think..

we did DS' s photos at Picture People in the mall when he was a couple weeks old. They were adorable and you can find coupons-- like the big bundle package for $18. Much cheaper than a professional in home photographer and we've always been pleased

ETD trying to add photo but I can't add from my new Samsung .. help!

shugirl76 · May 2014

Will look into this!

absterboss · May 2014

I would strongly urge you to not do them yourself. This is for 2 reasons: 1) so you can have photos with them as a family, and 2) the photographers are trained, so you know (should) that they will do it safely. It's worth the money. Maybe try to start saving now?

dogperson11 · May 2014

It's not something I would try on my own, simply because I have a very simple camera and fee like I'll be too exhausted to put in the effort. I may have to look into the Picture People idea! I found a lady locally who will do newborn pictures for $90 and that includes a CD with 12 pictures and full rights to those pictures (so you can print them or do whatever you want with them). Haven't shopped around much so not sure if this is a good price or not.

Valancyy · May 2014

We never do newborn pics. It's not a money issue, it's just not a priority for us (maybe in a way it's a money issue, we're too cheap to do it!). Not everyone does them. We take lots of pics ourselves, of course.

I don't regret not doing them. We've only had professional pictures taken of my oldest once, at a few months old. I would like to do some professional family photos sometime after this baby gets here.

So...you can't get the professional looking pictures on your own, but you can still get some really cute shots by yourself.

Familyhugs922 · May 2014

Oh man, I had to laugh when I read this because we were VERY unsuccessful with christmas pics one year. I was convinced I could do it. lol. No. effing. way. It was terrible!!!

Good luck. If you try to do it, do it nice & early so you can still have them done somewhere else if they don't come out.

lbonga1 · May 2014

I wouldn't do it yourself. I have some friends who did BUT they had a professional style camera, and had knowledge of proper lighting, etc. At our hospital there's actually a company that comes to take pictures of the newborn before you even leave. Ours turned out really well, couldn't tell they were done in a hospital, and the photographer came to our house after they were edited for us to choose which package we wanted. We ended up getting a package that included an at-home photo session on each birthday until age three, and a free 5x7 photo with each shoot. Well worth it.

caballablanca · May 2014

I paid someone to do the pics with dd and watched how they did it. I'm going to try myself and see how they turn out. If they suck then I will go back to the girl I used last time. I'm pretty good with photo editors and I have a fancy camera I've been practicing with so we will see. I think if you have dh helping too it won't be too hard

VelvetElegance · May 2014

I just booked my newborn photog today. I wouldn't dream of trying to do this myself - even if I did have a fancy camera. We used the same photog for DS #1 and were extremely pleased. I really enjoy artistic photos. While I think the idea of going to one of those mall places are easier on the wallet, in my experience, all the pictures look the same. All the lighting is the same and I was disappointed that they weren't unique. A friend of mine had some done at her pix looked just like all the rest. If you can start saving now, you should. I think you will be glad you did in the long run.

marathonmommy82 · May 2014

DS from a Picture People shoot. No, it's not omgfancy, but for $18 (versus $500+ for a home photographer) I think it was a good deal. (also, forgot to add: we went in the middle of the day during the week -- the mall wasn't crowded). Plus, we joined the photo club so we got freebies ($10 off every session free photo sheets, etc.) so we could afford to do photos every few months.

And no, I don't work for PP or get any kickback :P --- I've just had good experiences!

tahitiansun · May 2014

I definitely wouldn't be able to do it- nor do I think I would feel up to it if I could! We hired a newborn photographer for DS, and those photos are still my absolute favorite! They only look like a newborn for such a short time- it was totally worth it to us. We have booked a photographer for this LO as well. However, you may want to check with your hospital- a lot of hospitals now have newborn photographers come in and do photos while you are there.

kaitm22 · May 2014

I personally am terrible with a camera and neither hubby or I likes our camera so we would not even attempt.

Will you be getting maternity pics at all? My photographer does a package that includes maternity pics and a discount on the newborn pics. Just a thought!

torooji · May 2014

How about do both an inexpensive mall or even Walmart type deal and the DIY photos? I think at home photos have a higher likelihood of being unique and creative, but for newborn pictures I wouldn't want to risk not having a professional photographer take SOMETHING, just in case the DIY photos don't turn out good. This isn't really the kind of thing you can redo, you know?

Also, keep in mind you don't need to actually print the photos right away. You can always buy the digitals and hold off on printing until there is more room in the budget.

herecomesthesun · May 2014

I'm planning on hiring it out. I thought about it for a brief moment and then saw this:

It might be a lot harder than it seems.

ungraceful13 · May 2014

I took some of DD that I really liked and my mom took some of the 3 of us. They are very cute. Obviously not professional grade but I am very glad I have them and I don't regret not paying for newborn photos.

Raclla · May 2014

WAY too hard to do yourself. When we had DDs done, DH kept commenting on how amazing the photographer was with her and kept asking me 'how does she do that?!'. I had no clue what went into newborn photography. That doesn't even include all of the editing after.

There are a ton of these examples...

happylady07 · May 2014

We weren't planning on spending the money when DS was born, but the hospital ended up having a professional that came to the room (one of those, you don't have to commit to anything, blah blah blah, so we went ahead) the day after he was born and got some really cute shots. My mom was there and HAD to buy the CD, so we ended up with newborn pictures after all.

This baby I again am not planning on newborn pictures, if we have the money I would rather get a birth session, capturing some labor pictures, baby's first moments where you first meet them, etc. However, it's not a huge priority. I may just ask our doula and hubby to snap a few candid shots here and there and call it a day.

I would caution you to be aware of all that goes into professional newborn photography, all those adorable pictures of babies holding their heads in their hands are totally cropped/photoshopped (as they should be!). You don't want someone who doesn't know what the heck they are doing putting your newborn in a position that could potentially harm them.

blushingbride_08 · May 2014

I did and I really liked the results. I was able to take pics around my Los schedule without feeling rushed. The only downside was I took them when ds was about 2 weeks ok'd and he had already started to lose some of that newborn look. I had waited bc I had a tough postpartum recovery. This time around I plan to take mist myself and go to picture people for some family shots.

MamaBovs · May 2014

Valancyy said:

We never do newborn pics. It's not a money issue, it's just not a priority for us (maybe in a way it's a money issue, we're too cheap to do it!). Not everyone does them. We take lots of pics ourselves, of course.
I don't regret not doing them. We've only had professional pictures taken of my oldest once, at a few months old. I would like to do some professional family photos sometime after this baby gets here.
So...you can't get the professional looking pictures on your own, but you can still get some really cute shots by yourself.

Pretty much exactly this. I have a pretty good camera and take lots of pics, but it's definitely not the same as a professional photo shoot. It's just not something I prioritize spending my money on. We get professional family pics every three years or so.

tabaskoa · May 2014

I had them done with DS, and they turned out very good. I also had my dad take some amateur ones when DS was 5 days old because I was too impatient to wait for the professional ones to be ready so I could order birth announcements. Back when I did that...my dad didn't have a good camera, and we had no real photography skills. And no editing software. They turned out ok (posing and stuff was easy/fine), but they definitely needed some editing.

This time around, I'm not planning on having pro pics done. I'm planning to take pics myself. I have a good camera and lenses now, and have some training. I'm no pro, nor am I a newborn photog, but I will have the luxury of taking pics whenever is the best time for baby and I. No time limits, and I can take them on multiple days if that's what works best.

Allison7 · May 2014

I am taking my own, but I also have done professional photography work before. I have multiple camera and lenses, backdrops, lights, props, etc. I have taken classes in this and I have shot babies before. I will be having a photographer friend take a few of us as a family. If I had no experience, I would probably try (because I am a huge photo geek), but have a plan for backup. Picture people is by no means the best, but they are going to get a few nice shots!

Since money is the issue, you could also try finding a newer photographer. Photographers looking to break into new areas will often discount. So it might be a wedding photographer looking to expand into babies, or a family photographer without many newborn shots on their website. You can try colleges - senior photography students are looking to build their portfolios and will often do work for free. All of these options will likely not be as good as an established baby photographer, but just ask about their training, see samples of their other work, etc. and you can get some good shots from them as well.

Gr8ful_m0m · May 2014

I'm paying for a Fresh 48 session with the whole family at the hospital right after LO is born. Other than that, I will do them myself at home.

BlytheMac · May 2014

I will echo what most everyone has said...it's HARD! A lot harder than you would think.. There are tricks and props that you don't ever see in the photos to make the baby look good. The lighting alone is really tricky.

My husband is a professional commercial photographer (meaning he shoots stuff for catalogs) and we attempted to shoot some pictures of my brother's newborn (my new niece). Let's just say we got a lot of good bonding time with our niece and only about two usable pics...after a couple of hours of shooting.

Good luck!

megmarissa · May 2014

Again what everyone else has said... I do wedding and family photography and I've done a few newborn sessions here and there for friends but honestly I will not do most of my child's session. A newborn session can take major time and it is good for you to be focusing on yourself and baby vs trying to figure out how to pose, lighting, etc. You can do some decent sessions at Target, JC Penny's or other mall type locations for a small investment. Also, look on groupon. Photographers often do discounts (not sure if they will use towards a newborn session).

[Deleted User] · May 2014

happylady07 said:

I would caution you to be aware of all that goes into professional newborn photography, all those adorable pictures of babies holding their heads in their hands are totally cropped/photoshopped (as they should be!). You don't want someone who doesn't know what the heck they are doing putting your newborn in a position that could potentially harm them.

This is the reason I'm not doing them on my own. I bet 99% of all those really cute shots you see online are set up in a way that they are spliced/Photoshopped together for the baby's safety (which is awesome, but not something I can do myself).

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