As I mentioned in a previous post, I was super excited to photograph my own baby while I was pregnant. It was my dream and I had endless ideas of the images that I wanted to capture. However, since it was my first time becoming a mommy, I was clueless about how I would feel physically after delivering a baby. But luckily, I knew where to go… Anamaria Brandt Photography, a professional photographer who specializes in maternity and newborn portraits! Ana has played a very important role in my journey to become a newborn photographer. When I wanted to become a newborn photographer, I knew that I would have to prove my imagery and handling of the baby to my clients and show them that I knew what I was doing, especially since I didn’t have any kids.  In order to do that, I took Ana’s workshops and learned as much as possible, including how to handle and pose babies with care and safety. The most important thing that I walked away with from her workshops was confidence, and for that, I will never be able to thank her enough.  Since then, I’ve been keeping in touch with her.  She’s an incredibly sweet, talented, creative, and giving person who I enjoy hanging out with …. so our newborn portrait session became sessions – I went to her studio three times within one week!  Yes, I could never have too many pictures of Amelia, my newborn baby!  

When my friends found out that I had another photographer capturing my baby, they wondered why I couldn’t just do it myself.  Here are the reasons why I believe people should hire a professional newborn photographer (even if you’re a photographer yourself):

1) So that YOU and the father can be in some of the pictures too!   Even though you’re not feeling 100%, I truly believe that this is important so that your child can see one day how excited you both were to have her/him.  Plus, you will probably have many pictures of your husband and the baby, but not enough of yourself in them!  When Ana took our family portraits, we had fun kissing our baby’s face, which I wouldn’t have experienced if I was the one photographing.

2) They are only this little once!  We all know that babies grow tremendously fast.  The newborn portraits that you see on my website are usually taken within the first 6-14 days after birth while they sleep deeply and are flexible to get into those curled up poses. The “fresh newborn” look of a baby does not last very long and babies grow and change every day. When my baby turned 2 weeks old, she began losing the “newborn” look and it will be gone forever. Many times baby acne appears after that 2 week mark. Having a baby is a HUGE thing and deserves to be captured in quality photography. You have a limited time frame to get these photos done, so hire a professional to document/record one of the most precious times in your child’s life.

3) You won’t have the time or the energy.  The first two weeks after  birth is such a difficult adjustment time for the parents.  In-between late night feedings, caring for the new baby and recovering from delivery….  I didn’t have any energy to grab my camera and photograph my baby until she was already 2 weeks old.

Lastly, you won’t want to hand your sweet new baby over to just any photographer.  You want someone who is trained to safely handle newborns.  Posing a newborn baby is a great responsibility – their little bodies are still adjusting to life outside the womb.  You must be able to trust the photographer to hold your precious little one.  After being on the “other side” and in front of the camera, I learned more about the importance of my career – I am capturing a moment in time that can never be replicated.  Also,  I am so thankful to my past clients who had spent time with me while they were still recovering from delivery and more importantly, putting their trust in me and my photography!

A very special thank you to my friend, Ana Brandt, for capturing these precious moments of our life!  We are so glad to have these timeless images that will remind us of Amelia’s early days.   I look forward to seeing her again in her upcoming Maternity and Newborn course at creativeLIVE on Nov. 14th~16th, 2013!