The Importance of booking a trained Newborn Photographer

Let me start by asking you something, when you were looking at buying equipment ready for your babies arrival such as prams, baby monitors, sterilisers and more importantly car seats, what did you look for?  Did you just go for the unknown brand with possibly no reviews because it was the cheapest?  Or did you look at the more expensive brands that had been tested and had really good reviews?  I would guess that you took the safer option and bought the equipment that was tested and reviewed well because your babies safety was your first priority not the price tag.

If your baby is ill, you will take them to your GP and then should that need further investigation you will be referred to someone who specialises in the problem your child is having, if your child had a problem with their skin for example then a GP may not be qualified enough to diagnose the problem, you would go to a dermatologist.

It is exactly the same with newborn photography.  Just because someone is a photographer does not mean that they are qualified enough to practice The Art of Newborn Photography.  You aren't just paying for the photographs you are also paying for the peace of mind that your babies safety is the photographer's number one priority.  You need to make sure that they have been trained to the highest standard.

black and white in daddy’s handsArlo in his daddy’s hands showing how tiny he is as a newborn

If you are thinking of having your newborn photographed then you need to be sure that they are someone you can fully trust.

I have seen many photographs of newborns that are clearly posed unsafely by excellent portrait photographers, just because they are a fabulous wedding photographer or portrait photographer does not mean that they automatically know how to safely pose a newborn baby.

I see photographs all the time on social networking sites of newborns posed in the "froggy" pose unsupported or hanging out of various baskets etc and have clearly not had an adult within even an arms length.

These images are correctly achieved by doing a composite, this means that two images are put together to form one image, in both of the separate images the baby is being held or the prop they are in is being held and then the two images are put together to form one photo making it look like the baby is unsupported.

Here is one of my composite images of baby on a swing.  As you can see the baby is not suspended in the air.  You can't see in this image but the Mum is just an arms length away on the left of the shot.  I always ask one of the parents to place their hand on baby while I am getting ready to take the shot, then take their hand off for a couple of seconds while I take the photo and then place their hand back on the baby once the photo has been taken.

newborn baby on a swingNewborn baby photographer on a swing with wood background

I'm not telling you this so that you will book me, I am writing this because newborn safety in photography and in fact in general is so important to me.  I have been fully trained in The Art of Newborn Photography by some of the UK's top newborn photographers and can instantly recognise when an image has been achieved without being a composite.

If you are enquiring about booking a Newborn session with a photographer then please ask as many questions as you need in order to make sure the photographer is qualified enough to do the job.  Ask how they achieve their images, are they DBS checked (used to be called CRB) are they insured, how long do they anticipate the session taking, 2-4 hours is a typical full session and you do not want to be rushed, who did they train with.  All these questions are an absolute must to ensure your babies safety before you commit to a photographer for your newborn baby's photographs.

Remember just because someone is an excellent portrait photographer does not make them qualified enough to safely pose your newborn baby.  It really scares me that there are so many photographers offering this service to parents when they have no clue about the safety factors, they are putting many babies at risk from potential serious injury.

baby in a white hammocklittle arlo in a hamming as a newborn

It's a shame that parents are misled to believe that their baby will be safe since they probably have never had a newborn photo shoot before or have never been made aware of the safety factors.

There are many photographers out there that are offering to photograph babies for as little as £20 or £30.  In my opinion these photographers are probably of a poor standard and likely to not be posing the babies correctly or safely.

In an ideal world newborn photography should be regulated but unfortunately this is not the case.  

As mentioned before this is a subject that I feel very strongly about.  I really want to put the word out there about this to make sure all parents have all the facts before choosing their photographer.

Bottoms up pose with hat - newborn photographer somersetBeautiful Oliver came from Chard in Somerset for his newborn photo shoot.

Please feel free to share this with people you know via Facebook or other social networking sites as like I said I really want to put the word out there.  Please all feel free to let me know your thoughts on the subject even if i have not done a shoot for you as I would be really interested to hear.

Thanks

Sarah