Photography is an art.

Newborn photography is a very patient art. An art that requires…some would say…surgical fingers to position a baby in a way that takes precision, patience, time, accuracy. It is also a creative art. There is freedom to do what you want, how you see it, how you saw it, and how you may want it…and…how you value it.

 

The majority of my clients leave a newborn session stating, they never knew how much went into a 4 hour newborn session. The time, dedication, planning, and you know it…patience! But there is actually approximately 24 hours that go into a single newborn session. I’ve broken it down by the following:

 

(1 hr) –  Consultation, booking, contract, PayPal, color profile, newborn prep, and follow-up questions

(1-2 hrs) –  Session setup based on client’s color profile; matching blankets with hats, rompers, pants, props, family backdrop; getting snacks ready and setup for clients; vacuuming, cleaning toilets, cleaning garbage cans, fluffing pillows, replenishing diapers and wipes

(4 hrs) – The actual newborn session, baby feedings, changing diapers (I provide), getting peed and pooped on, changing dirty backdrops with backups, rocking a baby to sleep, waiting for baby to go to sleep, getting siblings to cooperate, waiting for baby to relax, figuring out what outfits that you’ve pulled fits each different baby, figuring out what positions baby hates, sitting in 85 degrees sweating, and after 3-hours getting hungry…patience.

(1-2 hrs) – Laundry, clean up, tear down, put back props and outfits

(4-10 hrs) –  Upload, cull, and edit 30-50 images within 7-8 days after a newborn session

(1 hr) –  Upload full preview gallery, answering client questions on selection, purchasing additional images etc.

(1-hr) –  Editing images and loading to Facebook and Instagram…then waiting for someone to like it

(2-3 hrs) – Editing final selections in black & white, re-uploading the final gallery and answering any final questions

(1 hr) –  Edit and upload a black & white image to Facebook and Instagram…again waiting for someone to like it.

(1-hr) –  Upload to my website

 

This is why some wedding photographer REFUSE to work with newborns. The cost doesn’t justify the time spent. But I love it. Doing what I love makes my work better. It doesn’t make it free, or worth less…but more valuable. As I’ve said in previous posts, I learn about myself through my work. My strengths and weaknesses are all at play here.

 

I am a full-time photographer now. No longer a part-timer with a 6 figure corporate job to cushion a weekend hobby. I can’t live off of a $250 session that lasted 2 hours where I edited 30 images for a client to leave with 10 digitals, yet I spent 20 hours, and still have to pay 30% in taxes. That no longer makes sense.

 

I provide a luxury service. I create images unique to my clients. I am not a customer service representative at JCPenny, or Sears Portraits. Heck, I am JCPenny Portraits. All the costs that go with running a JCPenny portrait studio I have to bear. So, on April 1, 2017, an image will be a bit more expensive. I hope you value my art to want to collaborate with me. I am an artistic perfectionist, a business owner, an artist…I’m the black Picasso.