Five years ago in May I photographed my first newborn. His name is Huxley and I’ve had the pleasure of watching him grow and photograph him during these years. At the same time I am reminded of how far I’ve come in my photography and all the hard work and determination I’ve put into my business and my growth as a baby photographer.
That first year I did a lot of portfolio building. I think I worked my way through a few moms groups from Fort Saskatchewan and Sherwood Park. Quite a few of these families are already on baby number two and still choose to come see me for those first newborn photos and beyond.
My work as a photographer relies on word of mouth and I‘ve been very fortunate to let my photographs speak for themselves. Social networking has been key to building my client base.
Lessons learned in my first year of baby photography :
Newborn babies can poop at any time. Do not crawl on the floor to retrieve a soother underneath a naked baby or you will quickly regret it.
Little boys pee at least two feet in the air the moment you settle them beside a warm heater.
Its not a complete session until someone gets peed on. Usually this is the dad and they laugh when I first warn them of this. Moms often request dads to pose in the most compromising positions with a naked baby. Then it's just waiting until that moment to capture the terror in the dads face as his pants or shirt gets soaked.
Sophie the giraffe is the actual name of a posh teether. It's not a coincidence that every mom has named this cute giraffe the same name.
Always warn your husband that you have an early morning session or he will wake up and wander downstairs in his underwear looking for you.
In desperation for that family photo where everyone is looking remember that my dog will be more than happy to sit wearing a statue of liberty or cupcake hat to get some smiles.
Clients will request Archie to sit in for some photos with their children. These kids will probably grow up thinking they actually had a dog named Archie with the amount of times I’ve done this.
If a client’s dog is invited in for 9 month photos be prepared to have a new friend licking your face the entire session.
Smarties aren’t the smartest thing to put on a cake during a cake smash. Also, chocolate cake is a bad colour to be smeared across a one year old’s face.
Some kids will throw icing at you. Never throw it back unless it’s your own godson.
Never book a session during nap time, unless it’s for the one out of hundreds dads that I’ve met that really likes crying baby photos.
One of my very first newborn photos taken five years ago this month. :
Oh how time flies when you’re photographing babies!
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