So how to choose when there are most likely so many different photographers in your area……….

1.  View their Portfolio

Every photographer that is a professional will be able to offer you a view of their portfolio, whether it by a website, blog, facebook page or an emailed album.  Take the time to view the portfolio.  If the photographer has multiple pages such as a website and blog, make sure to visit both.  Blog are often much easier to update than websites so new photos may be added daily as compared to weekly or even monthly on a website.  When looking at the portfolio take note of certain things such as

~Style ~ Every photographer has a different style and not one single photographer can replicate the work of another. Don’t show a photographer anothers work from the same area and say can you replicate this…..the answer will be no. If you love a certain photographers images, go to them. There are serveral styles of photography for newborns, most popular being the posed studio session and the lifestyle sessions at home. These are two very very different styles. The photographer well versed in studio sessions will handle your baby, pose your baby, provide different setup and props to use, they most likely have their own studio. The lifestlye photographer will most likely come to your home and shoot a much more candid approach to your session. They may or may handle your baby, they often don’t pose, they go with a more natural approach to the session to document real life with your new baby. Both styles are beautiful and unique and make sure you choose the one that fits your wants the most.

~ Posing ~  Does the baby look content in the poses.  Whether they are sleeping or alert?  If a baby looks content and happy in a photo, this means your photographer has taken the time to make sure baby is fed, changed, burped, warm and comfortable.  This means your photographer is pretty darn awesome!  The last thing you want is pictures of your baby looking uncomfortable and unhappy.  Professional newborn photographers are trained and educated not only in the technical aspects of photographer but how to handle an infant and make sure they are comfortable and safe.  A well posed baby makes for a gorgeous photo.  Newborns are often awkward in their movements and cannot under any circumstances pose themselves so hire a professional that will take the time to properly pose your baby

~ Lighting~ This can be a hard one for some people, especially in the days now of instagram, fb and a million filters you can put on a photo online.  Look for lighting in the photo that is crisp, clear and bright.  A professional photographer will know who to light your newborn perfectly to make skin look beautiful, to flatter the contours and curves of the face and body and to make sure that your photos are not falling into some fad trend that you will look back upon and think “why did I think that looked good”.

~ Variety of Images ~ A professional newborn photographer will move your baby and put them in different poses and shoot from various angles to make sure you gallery has variety. Whether you choose a photographer that uses a simple approach, or one that uses a lot of props…make sure that they offer variety. You will be a super happy parent when the photographer sends you your gallery and you can’t believe how many good images there are.

2. Experience

To me this is a big one. Make sure you are booking a professional photographer who has experience working with newborns. All of the things I have mentioned above comes from hours and hours of practise and experience. Of course you will run into photographers who are just starting out and we all started out somewhere, but if you choose someone with less experience be prepared to have images that may reflect that. Most newborn photographers will train with other photographers first, take classes, workshops and dedicate a lot of their free time to perfecting their craft. Its ok to ask a photographer how many newborns they have photographed, or how many sessions they do a month….we are often proud of our experience and can’t wait to tell you all about it. Photographers should provide you with consultation regarding the session whether it is done via email or in person and a true professional newborn photographer will send you prep information for your session. We want you to have the best experience at the session so we make sure to give you tips and advice for a successful session. If you are not getting this information prior to your session ask why not? It may be because the photographer is less experienced and not sure how to prep you for the appointment.

3. Post processing of Images

The work you see us do is during the session. You see us soothe and pose your baby and jump behind the lens and click away, but what is often never seen by our clients is the biggest part of the job the post processing of your images. Make sure your photographer does post processing of your images. By this I don’t mean adding filter like you do on instagram or applying trends like selective colouring ( making you baby all black and white but their eyes colored….please don’t do this lol), I mean taking your images and making sure they are in focus, sharp, colours are the colours they are supposed to be, babies often have sensitive skin and become blotchy during a session, this can easily be corrected by a professional photographer. We often fix things like bruises from iv’s, or baby acne. All professional newborn photographers should be able to offer you these services. They should be familiar with professional editing software such as photoshop and many others. This shows your photographer has made a very important investment in their business to provide you with the best possible images.

4. Testimonials or References

Get a reference from a trusted friend or family member. Make sure they have had a newborn session done with the photographer and that they were pleased with the outcome. Ask to see the photos! Most important, ask your friend of family member WHY they recommend that particular photographer. The answer should be “because I have images I cannot live without”. The answer should not be ” they were really cheap”. A good referral should be based on the final product and the experience they had. Its completely ok to ask your photographer for references as well. Professional photographers are often quite happy to put you in touch with previous clients for a referral.

5. Investment

This is a big one also, you will come across photographers in your area with a range of prices. Cost is an obvious factor for everyone, moms are often on maternity leave and receiving a reduced income and we understand that. We just ask that please don’t make cost the only factor when choosing a photography. Often people are quick to give you referrals for a lower priced photographer and when they do, by all means use the criteria in this article to decide if that is the right photographer for you. As a general consensus, most professional photographers in your area that are running legal, proper businesses will most likely fall around the same price range, if some fall way way below, you must ask yourself why? Most likely the answer is that photographer is just starting out and building up their portfolio and if you are ok with that, just make sure your expectations are reasonable. Most professional photographers have their pricing the way it is for a reason and its not because we think we are the greatest artists in the world who believe their work is priceless ( although most pics of babies are right? LOL), it is based on the costs to run our business successfully. Remember you are making an investment in memories not just photos. These photos will be around for a very very long time and looked at by friends and family for many years so make sure you choose a photographer who’s work stands out to you as unforgettable.