Are newborn photos worth it?

Are newborn photos worth it? Some new parents may be asking this question as they await their little one’s arrival. Professional newborn photography is 100% worth it, and I’ll tell you why. Here are some reasons why you should invest in portraits of your new baby.

Should I take newborn photos?

I have never met a client that has said their newborn photos weren’t worth the investment. Those few hours spent with a professional capturing your baby, will result in a lifetime of memories and joy whenever you look at those images and remember your tiny baby. These photos will be special and beautiful to you for the rest of your life. Of course you will never forget looking at your baby the moment they arrived, but memories fade and you never really truly remember how tiny they were in the beginning – you sort of just acclimate to the size they are in the present day. When you look at those newborn images, everything comes flooding back.

It is especially important for me, to capture newborn images with parents. This is the best visual reminder of how little they were at the very beginning. Newborn sessions can also be a nice escape for parents too. Often those first few weeks, we live in pajamas and maybe a shower or two when we can. It is nice to be able to get dressed up and feel like yourself for a little bit in those early days.

Why are newborn photos important?

Babies change so quickly in those first few months – the early days turn into weeks, months, and years way too fast. You find yourself looking at a miniature adult, saying to yourself, where did the time go? Documenting their newborn stage forever preserves these memories for you. We are fortunate enough that we can even have these types of images today. I don’t have any “newborn” photos as a baby.

When your children are older, they will treasure these images too. They will enjoy looking at these with you as they grow, and one day, can show their own children.

Every time you look at those images and see their chubby cheeks, the puckered baby lips, the back rolls, and the tiny fingers and toes, your heart will swell and you’ll feel and miss everything again. Trust me, I know. It happens to me at least once a day when I pass by those portraits in my own home.

Hiring a professional newborn photographer takes the stress away from you worrying about capturing these moments. Instead, how about just getting to enjoy watching your precious baby be photographed? Maybe sit and have a cup of coffee, take a nap (I can’t tell you how many parents take a nap during their session), catch up on social media, or read a book and watch a favorite TV show. AND you also get to be in the photos with your child. The experience is completely different.

See Related:

• Choosing a Newborn Photographer, 13 Questions to Ask
• The Best Time to Take Newborn Photos – A Parents’ Guide

Can I take newborn photos myself? 5 reasons not to DIY your baby photos

You sure can try to DIY your newborn photos, but here are a few things to make note of:

1. The quality from your phone will not be what a professional is capable of. From lenses, to lighting, to the right props and editing tools, it is a completely different level of quality.
2. Without proper newborn training and experience, some poses are not safe. Trying poses you’ve see online, may be putting your baby in positions that compromise their joints, airways, or circulation. An experienced newborn photographer will know how to position your baby safely.
3. Buying additional outfits, backdrops, and props for baby just for photos. In my earlier days, before I had an extensive wardrobe and prop selection for newborns, parents would often purchase “newborn” labeled outfits for photos. The problem with these is that regular newborn sized outfits, are not meant for posed newborn photography. They are often bulky, too big, or bunch up around baby, obscuring the features you want to capture. There are also many things you can use as a prop for your newborn session, but there are also many things that are unsafe to put your baby in. A newborn photographer will have appropriately fitting outfits, props, and accessories especially made for newborn photography.
4. You won’t be in any photos with your baby. This one is especially important. We spend so much time taking photos on our phones of our children, only to realize, we aren’t in any of them on the other side of the camera. With a professional session, you get to be a part of those memories for you and your babies to look back as they get older.
5. When was the last time you printed something from your phones? Who has time for that? How many times have you said, “oh, we’ll just print that later”? You know we all have 1000 of the same image on our phones, and can’t delete any. In between everything else you photograph, is this where you want to store you children’s memories? If and when you do print them, it will be a tiny print in phone quality. Are any of those photos hanging on your walls? Probably not. What happens if your phone dies, you lose it, or your cloud crashes?

You will regret not having newborn images of your baby

Anyone I have ever met with that didn’t have newborn photos taken, has expressed regret over the same fact. Maybe it was because their older children were born before professional baby photography was as big as it is now, or maybe it was due to medical or other personal reasons.

During the pandemic this was the sad reality for a lot of people. Not only were professional photographers unavailable, but the hospitals were not offering their newborn services either. Since 2020, I have had a lot of clients express sadness over not being able to have those images of their babies because of that particular situation.

I hired a professional newborn photographer myself!

As a newborn photographer myself, I have been on both sides of this coin. Sure, I took photos of my own babies. But, I was exhausted, wasn’t as mobile shortly after birth, and my babies wanted to nurse constantly. It took me, a professional, weeks to get the images I wanted of my own babies. When I had my second child, it was even more difficult. I had to contend with a toddler as well as a new baby taking up more of my time.

I hired another photographer with both babies to capture all of the family images of us together. This took the stress out of having to pose my own children together, or worry about how I looked. I didn’t have to worry about trying to selfie this with a timer to be in photos with my babies. Sitting back and watching someone else take care of them, and me, was amazing. I have never once not walked past those portraits on my wall without smiling at them. There is truly value in booking a newborn session for your baby. You will never regret having professional newborn photos done, especially if you can be in them as well. Had I not done this, I would have 100% regretted it, those are my favorite family images of all time.

Is newborn photography worth it to you? In short, is the regret worth NOT having made the investment in your baby’s newborn photos?

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Sofia Ribeiro is a North and Central New Jersey Newborn Photographer serving Union, Morris, Sussex, Bergen, Monmouth, Middlesex, Essex, and Hudson counties. We also serve NYC and Long Island. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram & Facebook!