Choosing a photographer can be hard something.   There are a TON of photographers out there.  How do you know who to trust? Here are five things for you to ask your potential photographers to help you make the best decision for your family.

Ask how they have been educated.

Most photographers will not have a college degree in photography and that is perfectly okay.  Because the stakes are so high with newborn photography though, you want to make sure that they have had some training.  Training for newborn photographers is available both as online classes and in-person classes.  Ideally, your photographer will have done some of both.

I took a hands-on class with California photographer Ana Brandt a few years ago and it was amazing.  Working with an instructor who has photographed thousands of newborns herself was a terrific way to learn more about posing safety, newborn traits, and the creative process.  I have also taken numerous online classes.  Those are great because you can go back and re-watch the videos to keep your skills fresh.

Newborn photography is very different from other forms of photography.  You are working with a tiny, fragile child.  You want to keep that child safe above all else.  You also have a very small window of time in which to take newborn images.  Within weeks that baby will look totally different.  You don't really have a chance for a do-over if the photographer messes up.  You want to choose a photographer who has taken the time to study and who has gone through the expense of training.  This is another way to learn how serious your photographer is about their craft. 

Ask about their safety protocols.

 It is lovely to have beautiful pictures of your child.  It is a million times more important than your baby is safe and secure during the process.

Ask about vaccinations (and not just covid).

The absolute last thing you want is for your child to catch an illness during their photo session.  Your photographer should either be vaccinated against things like whooping cough, covid, and the flu OR they should have spaced their clients far enough apart to minimize the risk to your family.  In addition, the new industry standard is that photographers and their assistants stay masked while around newborns.  Those little immune systems are still figuring out how to work.  We want to be overly cautious during this early outing.

Ask about safe posing.

You've seen all the poses.  Anne Geddes made a lot of very impossible poses very popular.  What a lot of people don't realize is that those poses are mostly achieved through Photoshop magic.  Babies absolutely should never, ever support their head and neck on their hands (the froggy pose).   That pose should always be created as a composite of two images where the baby's head is supported continually.  Your photographer should be able to safely pose the baby while continuously protecting fragile heads, necks, and wrists.

We believe in baby-led posing.  Some babies love to be on their sides.  Others hate it.  Some are super happy on their backs.  Others will fuss until you re-adjust them.  Posing is very, very specific to each child.  We will carefully try poses only to move on to the next thing when the baby lets us know that they don't like it.  Mainly, we love babies looking like babies.  If the point is to capture who your child is at this precise moment of their life, why would we position them in some strange, contorted pose?  I promise that you will never come into the nursery and see your newborn sitting with their head on their wrists and elbows.  You will find them snuggled up and comfy and that is what we want to capture.

Ask about who will be helping.

Most newborn photographers bring along an assistant.  Someone always needs to have hands-on with the baby, so if an assistant is not available, mom or dad will need to fill in.  You never want to put the baby in a prop and walk away.  Newborns are surprisingly wiggly and can sometimes push themselves up and out. 

Ask about their social media policy.

Photographers love to show off their work.  For one thing, it is how we bring in new clients.  People want to see the quality of your work and the best advertisement is showing off cute baby pictures.  Mainly we just like showing off cute baby pictures though.  Creative people love to share their creativity with others.

The world can be a weird place and social media is the weirdest.  Talk to your photographer about their social media policy to make sure that it aligns with your family's values.  We never name children at Brown Bunny Photography.  We talk about sweet baby T and beautiful Miss A.  We don't give full names and locations.  We are happy to tag parents in pictures but are equally happy for parents to share our posts on their page so that they can moderate who sees it in their world.  Every family has different feelings about social media, so having that conversation on the front end is a good idea.

Look at pictures of their style.

Every photographer has a style of their very own.  Some like to do lifestyle sessions.  Others prefer studio newborn sessions.  Some like to use lots of trendy props and colors.  Others go for a more classical look.  Check out their website and look for a continuity of style.  While every picture shouldn't be identical, there should be consistency in the overall feel of their website.  

Brown Bunny Photography loves simple and classic.  We love having lots of knitted layers for texture and softness.  We like using light to show your sweet baby's perfection.  I love Renaissance art and that flavors a lot of my work.  I want everything in our images to showcase your child and family, so we use blankets and loveys and special gifts from home in addition to our own wraps and props...  One of my favorite things is to incorporate mom or dad's childhood toys.  Since I am a knitter, we have a large selection of colors and styles of onesies, bonnets, and hats.  We don't do trendy or silly.  We want these pictures to be gorgeous works of art for your home.

Ask if they offer prints and products or only digitals.

The majority of photographers are digital-only photographers.  They shoot your session and then send you a gallery link or hand you a USB drive to deal with.  These photographers are usually cheaper and all-inclusive.  They will sell you a certain number of digital files for X amount of money.  This is certainly an option, but it puts the weight of dealing with those pictures back on your shoulders.  It also means that you are unlikely to be able to print at the highest quality since most professional labs only sell to photographers and not to the public.  Cheap = more work for you= lower quality products.

Other photographers offer prints and products for you to choose from.  They charge a session fee or retainer to hold the date and then will show you your images in person and help you decide how to display them in your home.  With this business model, you are able to choose just the images that you love and you come away with something tangible for your home.  You can purchase what fits within your budget.  The cost for prints and products is usually higher, but the quality will be higher as well.   

We are Team Prints and Products at Brown Bunny Photography.  My goal is for you to walk away from our session with artwork or albums that you love and that will last for generations to come.  From here at my desk, I can look around and see pictures of my grandmother and mother as toddlers, my grandmother as a happy 9-year-old and another as a teen on horseback.  I even have several of my great-grandmothers as a young women and of her family.  It is so very cool to be able to look back at generations past.  That is my goal for my clients- prints and products that will last.  We also include a matching digital file of every print we sell so that you can make inexpensive copies for aunts and uncles and grandparents. It is really the best of both worlds!

You have to make the decision that is best for your family and your budget.  If you are a DIYer and love getting involved, then a digital photographer may work for you.  If figuring all of this stuff out stresses you, opt for the hands-on help with an In-Person Sales Photographer.  They will help you make decisions every step of the way and take care of everything for you.

Why aren't we talking about cost?  Well, because the cost cannot be your first concern when dealing with newborn photography.  These five questions will help you narrow down the field to find someone who will work best for your family's experience.  Before talking about price, you want to ensure that your child will be safe and protected and that your chosen photographer will take images that bring your joy.  You only get one chance to do it right with newborns.