Newborn Photos

mrsdanielleM2010 · June 2014

I'm trying to choose a photographer, and the packages and prices seem to vary wildly - even among teams that seem to have similar styles and skill level. What all is everyone opting for in terms of length of time with the photographer, props, and digital files vs. prints? If you're comfortable saying, how much are you paying? In short, tell me the truth: do I need to splurge here in order to be satisfied, or can it be a place where we save?

Shanadoll · June 2014

Below is what we are doing. I know the photographer so she is gifting us the session fee and so we will only be spending the $300 for the images with the print release. She is still fairly new shooting newborns but has done several shoots and they were pretty great. I am going with her because she is super flexible and if we go over the time frame she has listed it won't matter. I know she'll be patient enough to get the best shots

I have no idea if it's worth spending the money but I figured that I wasn't going to do a maternity shoot so I could spend my money on this.

$500 {session fee - $200 and digital images with print release - $300}

2-4 hour session in my home studio
Use of all available props and backdrops
15-20 Professionally edited and enhanced images available for download from website with print release printable up to 11x14.
Password protected online gallery of images for sharing with family and print ordering if desired

mariaculbreth · June 2014

A close friend of ours who did our wedding photos did Benny's newborn shots. I think we just paid for the pictures we wanted. Sorry this doesn't help. But if your close to MA look her up she is willing to travel! www.nicolechaputphotography.com

suitern · June 2014

With DS, we didn't really fully understand the cost of the photos-the sitting fee, the cost of the photos, a minimum order price, etc. It ended up being WAY more than we ever planned spending. I am not sure what we will do this time, but I need to start looking into it. I say if you like the style of photos you see, contact the photographer and see about all the pricing.

hizah05 · June 2014

We did the photos in the hospital as well and I am perfectly happy with them. I still have one on our mantel and think it's beautiful. I think we spent 100-150 bucks maybe? That said, If I were to do a professional photographer this time around I would wait until we are home though as I'm sure it would be more expensive. I hardly remember the hospital I was so out of it still (from c-section) and they come do it quickly. It might be nice to have some time with the photographer and be in a more comfortable environment. So I guess it just depends on what you are looking for and how much you want to spend.

mana8503 · June 2014

I've looked at 2 local photographers. So different with the pricing... One had low sitting fee but the disc of pictures were $$. The other had a flat fee, 20-30 pictures on a disc included. Both gave a discount to do maternity and newborn shots. We're doing maternity / family pictures when we get H's kids this summer. We haven't gotten some done since 2011. This is the only way I'm in pictures lol.

I need the disc. I love making photo books (for us, grandparents, siblings....) and collages for the walls.

ve304856 · June 2014

I got a coupon in the mail for 25 pictures on 1 pose for $18 of DS at the Picture People. It was the perfect amount to give to family. I also ordered other pictures too. They print them right there. You can join their photo club which gives you lots of extras. I love them. I took DS there all the time and never had a picture I didn't like. I would get the same coupon mentioned above every month so it was really affordable.

TexasTwinMom · June 2014

I think we spent about $400-500 with the girls and walked away with a CD of about 25 photos and prints of each of those. Our session was split over two days - about 3 hours in our home with casual family shots and 3-4 hours in her studio with the posey prop stuff.

We will be using the same photographer this time but she has moved and all work will be done in our home.

lmdonnel · June 2014

We have a local photographer (southern Indiana) that will be doing our maternity and newborn photos for $275. It's a $50 discount to purchase both sessions at the same time. She will be doing both sessions at our house to include the nursery and our beloved fur baby. She will be bringing a few props for the newborn session. The package includes 30 edited maternity pictures and 30 newborn pictures, as well as an online gallery for extra purchases. We feel like we're getting a really good deal and are excited to have been able to book her when we wanted!

kayemgi · June 2014

We are planning to buy one or two photos from the hospital photographer to be sure we have some nice shots from her first day in the world, and after that I will take photos myself at home. Coming from an arts background, I'm moderately skilled at photography and we have a decent camera, and our "regular" photographer will be taking time off to get married; I can't justify spending the kind of money we'd have to spend with someone we don't know when our finances are already going to be a little tight with welcoming a new baby to the world! It's been awhile since I did any portrait style photography, so I'm going to practice on our cats in the next few months.

rlyttle · June 2014

We just took DS to Target to get his pics taken. They turned out so cute, but our Target has some great ladies working there. I wanted to go cheap since I planned & did get his pics taken at NB, 3, 6, 9 & 12 months. Then we do them again every year around his birthday. We will do the same with this LO. They change so much the first year, so I wanted lots of pictures instead of spending a ton on just NB pics.

Mrs.Leah.Maria · June 2014

My best friend, who got me into photography, will be doing our three ring circus newborn session. Her NB sessions include the high resolution jpegs via digital download (aka no disc is involved) and usually cost $650. We're so blessed to have her photograph so many of our big life events, as I also hope she'll be able to make DD2's birth.

I do photography as well and focus more on a lifestyle approach than the highly posed sleepy baby sessions at studios, which is also very important to distinguish between, as not all photographers offer the same types of images. It is always my goal to include some posed shots in the session, but honestly, no more than 5-10. My sessions are in-home and last as long as it takes to get the shots that I need. They are usually wrapped up in 3 hours with a lot of nursing breaks in between, if needed. I'm pretty mid-market in the Twin Cities and charge $375 for a digital download of the high resolution images.

rlyttle · June 2014

JeremiahsBabe said:

With DD the only newborn pics we did were the ones in the hospital (Photographer comes by, does the pictures, then gives you the outrageous prices) They were SO expensive for not the greatest pictures and I never did buy any of them which I regret since even though they were not great pictures, they were still better than the ones we took but they were like $300 for 12 photos in digital form.

This time I am going with the woman who did DD's 1 yr pics (Photo in siggy is from her shoot) and her price for newborns is $175 for returning families and I get a disc of all edited images and photo release. It includes up to 2hrs of shooting but she is super flexible and if it takes longer to get the shot, she will do it. I won a contest from her for a free canvas print and plan to take a couple family shots for that during the shoot.

I would personally wait till at least 3 months for a family canvas. I know that I didn't want my pic taken right away when DS was born. At 3 months he was smiling, laughing, and I had lost of the weight. But I'm sure you could get really cute pics of your LOs together as soon as this LO is born!

MMason12 · June 2014

We are using a friend of mine who does photography on the side for our newborn photos. She has done our engagement, wedding, family, our announcement photos and will be doing our maternity and newborn photos as well.

She will charge us between $100-200 for 4-5 hours which also includes a disk with all of the photos on it in copyrighted for me to do with as I please.

JD83 · June 2014

We're hoping to get a friend to come up to DC to do the photos. She did our engagement session when she was building her portfolio before starting her studio, but has since moved about three hours south. No idea what she'll charge, but we know she does a great job and we love her to death, so as long as it's reasonable (taking travel into consideration) we'll happily pay extra for her. If she can't make it, we'll figure something out.

dinodna3 · June 2014

I am going to ask my sister's MIL to do our newborn photos. I hope she will let us pay her something but when she did our engagement photos (in siggy) she would not let us pay for anything. She just requested that she could use the photos on in her portfolio.

Mrs.Leah.Maria · June 2014

Hey you guys, one thing I'd love to throw out there, as most people prefer to do their own printing and desire the jpegs. When it comes down to it though, the choice you make to print them DOES matter. I'd highly recommend Mpix over say Target, Walgreens, Costco or the like. Mpix is the consumer side of a professional national print lab and while they may still be just a bit more expensive than some of the more convenient options, they're worth it, as most professional photographers are calibrated for consistent results.

CplusJ=S · June 2014

Our NB photog charges $550 which includes the session at her studio, a high resolution disc with all the photos in color and black and white printable up to 5x7 and $100 in print credits. NB photographers are expensive in Los Angeles, but totally worth the splurge, IMO. For all her other pictures we have done Picture People, but there is no comparison in the quality. Here are a few from her newborn session.

A&DPritchett2be · June 2014

I have chosen a local photographer (after a lot of research) and will will be doing her grow with me package which includes maternity (2 hour session at an outdoor local location), newborn ( 3-4 hour session at our home), 6 month (1 hour session at her studio) and a one year session (1-2 hours at her studio) for $900. As much as it is a lot up front, she allows it to be split between 2 payments, it will be worth it to have pictures throughout the whole first year.

jmolr · June 2014

You're on LI right? I have a really awesome photographer that I've used before for my son's 1st birthday pictures. She's a photography student so her prices are super reasonable and she comes to you which is pretty rare. Can I post her name on here? If not I'll private message it to you

mrsdanielleM2010 · June 2014

jmolr said:

You're on LI right? I have a really awesome photographer that I've used before for my son's 1st birthday pictures. She's a photography student so her prices are super reasonable and she comes to you which is pretty rare. Can I post her name on here? If not I'll private message it to you

I'd love you to PM me the information - though I do think you can share a name or website if it isn't your own

and yes, I'm on LI!

AnyMax · June 2014

Damn you, @mrsdanielleM2010‌, damn you!
So as of today, we are using the photographer from our wedding. A session is usually an hour, but he said he will stay longer as needed. It comes with a print credit, online gallery, and a flash drive of the high res images with rights.
I have no idea about props because *ehem* this was not a thing until today, but his style is more natural than studio poses.

Djcieply · June 2014

I will probably just do the Bella Baby Photography at the hospital again. I was really happy with the pictures they did with DS and they were like $100-$150 for 12-15 digital images with the copyrights, I might spend more this time to get the package to include pictures with DS and LO. They let you see the pictures before you purchase anything so if they don't turn out that great I'll go to one of the photographers in my area, we have a bunch of really good ones to pick from right now and their prices are all about the same and reasonable. I would just rather get it done and over with right at the hospital and I like that they are done right after the baby is born.

CplusJ=S · June 2014

@reverey‌ YGPM

MrsLaLaBug · June 2014

My god brother does photography on the side... Mostly he just has a REALLY nice camera. He did ours and gave us the SD card with the images. That prob doesn't help you either lol!! Unless you know a friend that would do them for you for cheap. I did give him a GC to best buy afterwards bc he's a BB freak. But I'll AW my pics anyways.

mrsdanielleM2010 · June 2014

MrsLaLaBug said:
My god brother does photography on the side... Mostly he just has a REALLY nice camera. He did ours and gave us the SD card with the images. That prob doesn't help you either lol!! Unless you know a friend that would do them for you for cheap. I did give him a GC to best buy afterwards bc he's a BB freak. But I'll AW my pics anyways.

That. Headband.

I can't handle the cute, Lala!

TexasTwinMom · June 2014

So my babies weren't exactly newborns - these were taken after their NICU stay so I had about 50-60 days to recover. But I was posting to say you don't HAVE to look terrible for a family shoot soon after. And then I went a contradicted myself by remembering I had two months of recovery. But I'll AW anyway!

brittneyandadam · June 2014

DH and I kept in contact with our wedding photographer and we actually became friends. This was his last summer doing wedding photography, so I'm going to give him a ring to see if he'd ever consider doing a newborn shoot.

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