Why Hire Professional Newborn Photographer

Why Hire Professional Newborn Photographer | You Can’t Go Back in Time


 

I am a professional newborn photographer. I am licensed, insured and trained. I study the art of photography. I too am a perfectionist. Why do I start by saying this? I say this because I know there are a lot of photographers to choose from but I am confident after reading this blog that you will think twice about who you hire for timeless portraits.

I am speaking directly to the precious first days after your little one is born. Baby’s are only tiny and ‘squishy’ for so long before they begin to gain fat and stretch their little bodies. While I know I am not the cheapest photographer I do know that I can execute consistency in my sessions. I am writing this blog as a recent client/mom contacted me last week close to tears very upset after hiring another photographer. I am here to share that she did end up booking a full session with me this past week after seeing the first photographers gallery. Mom is now sad she lost the ‘teeny-tiny’ pictures as baby was 3.5 weeks (and had gained weight) and is also out the additional costs of the first photographer.

Here are her words for you to read:

“While I was pregnant with my daughter, I began looking for a new photographer to do newborn photos. Unfortunately, the photographer I had used for my son moved out of state. I contacted Stevie and several other photographers while doing my research. While I loved Stevie’s portfolio, I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend that much on photos. Plus, her studio is pretty far from where my husband and I live in Long Beach.

I settled on a local photographer who was about 1/2 the cost. I was nervous about it, but I thought I picked someone good enough. The day came when I had newborn photos taken of my daughter, and the photographer was not particularly good with babies. I was surprised, but I helped soothe my daughter and then watched the photographer pose her. I provided a bunch of examples of types of poses I wanted to see, detail shots I wanted, plus some ideas for sibling shots.

Ten days later, I finally received the online gallery of photos, which were the final, edited product. I had not seen any of the images before that night, and my heart sank when I saw them. They were not good. Not good at all. The poses were awkward, the lighting was full of shadows, the editing was very basic, and I only received one detail shot of my daughters feet. There were no closeups of her hands, lips, eyes, ears, head, etc. I also received only one usable sibling shot, and my son’s head was cut off in it. I was heartbroken.

I reached out to Stevie that same evening. I was in a panic because I was running out of time to capture my daughter’s newness. She was already 3 weeks old by then. Stevie responded right away. I was almost in tears, panicked that she would say no. Thank goodness Stevie squeezed us into her schedule, and 3 days later she did my daughter’s newborn shots.

They are gorgeous. When I went to select my photos, the hardest part was narrowing down the gallery. The hardest part with the photos from the previous photographer was finding one I liked. The difference was night and day.

Stevie was wonderful to work with. She took care of everything. Once we arrived at the studio she welcomed us and told me to relax. I am amazed at how good she is with newborns. My daughter barely made a peep and 2 hours later, Stevie had over 60 gorgeous pictures of my daughter, including a bunch of sibling pictures.

The lesson I learned was that it was not worth risking using a low-end photographer for those precious details I wanted captured in newborn photos. Unfortunately, I can’t go back in time. Unfortunately, Stevie can’t capture my daughter’s photos while she was still less than 2 weeks old. That still stings. If I could do it over again, I’d go with Stevie from the start.”

-Leslie

 

Additionally, I posted this mom’s experience online to local mom’s inquiring to find out how many had similar experiences. Here are a handful of comments from other moms:

Jeannie- I feel like ‘you get what you pay for’ is true in general… Not just with photography. There’s usually a reason that product A costs more than product B and it’s almost always about quality. It’s unfortunate that your client had to learn that lesson with something like photos.. I mean I can buy cheap sunglasses, and in the end when they break, the only thing I’m out is what I paid. But with photos, especially newborn photos, you can’t go back in time and capture what you missed! Thank goodness you were there to give her the quality that she was looking for, and that she was wise enough to invest, even though she made a mistake the first time! Cheap hardly ever means good value.

Sasha- Best to use a real photographer- who pays fur insurance, pays tax, runs a legit operation too. Quality usually matches the care they put into their work. It is art, You get what you pay for!

Christina- It happens with wedding photography a lot too. Unfortunately with things that are time sensitive or only happen once there is no second chance. PSA – hire a professional! Do your homework, get referrals, make sure they have insurance, look at full galleries of work for consistency.

 

I think its important to do your homework and get referrals on any big decision including photography. Ask friends, family and neighbors. Referrals are the best ‘compliment’ my clients can offer me. I also encourage you to check online resources such as Yelp, you can see yelp reviews here. And make sure to really check the photographers portfolio, ask to see full sessions and recent work.

 

So now I leave you with a few pictures from this little one’s precious gallery. Sibling captures are my favorite as you can see below big brother was on “cloud 9” in love with his baby sister, Ainsley. If you want to learn more about Newborn Picture sessions hit the “contact” tab above or email me direct at stevie@steviecruzphotography.com

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Stevie Cruz Photography

Orange County’s premier Maternity, Newborn and Child Photographer, is proud to provide boutique photography services to Yorba Linda, Anaheim Hills, Brea, Tustin, Irvine, Costa Mesa, Orange and surrounding Southern California Areas.

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