Thinking about getting into posed newborn photography?  I’ve seen so many inquiries online from people starting out and asking for direction – I was there not too long ago!  I am about to wrap up my first year of focusing on newborn photography so I thought it would be great to help others out since it’s fresh in my mind.

Learning newborn photography is very time consuming and takes a lot of effort, but if you really enjoy it – it’s so worth it! I am by no means an expert newborn photographer or mentor, but these are a few (or 16) things that I’ve learned throughout my first year.  I have two small kids at home so it has been hard to learn some things the hard way when I have limited amount time to focus on photography some days, so my ultimate goal is to just help others.  I wish I would have came across an article like this when I was initially starting out! 

**I will say the most IMPORTANT thing you need to do initially is to learn about newborn safety – make sure you take steps to learn this before you start handling newborns (from online training videos and other experienced newborn photographers).**

These tips are not in order of importance – but I feel like all these tips are important to consider when starting out.

1. Assist with as many newborn photographers as you can.

Assisting with other newborn photographers is a great way to get your feet wet and see what it takes.  I really encourage you to assist before you even decide to take on newborn photography just to see if it’s something you would like doing.  Some newborn photographers are open books, while others aren’t – and there’s nothing wrong with that.  Other newborn photographers will allow you to assist during a session and as “payment” they let you ask whatever you would like.  Even some pay to assist – that’s an added bonus when that happens!  I wish I would have assisted more before I started shooting any of my friends’ babies just to save myself a lot of awkward mistakes.

Above all, it’s safer for baby for you to practice as an assistant so you can get safety tips.  I try to assist whenever I have the time – I learn new tips every time I assist.  Also, if I’m in a little slump I like to assist to “talk shop” – it always boosts my mood.

2. Watch many online newborn training videos.

There are a lot of online newborn training videos on YouTube.  I personally don’t have the patience or time to look through YouTube videos that may or may not be helpful for me.  Instead, I found amazing photographers that provide online training.  Yes, I had to pay for these videos, but in my opinion it would save my sanity in the long run because I knew I would get a lot out of them so I just paid up.  Personally, I love how Kelly Brown teaches and her photography style – she has older, less expensive videos on www.CreativeLive.com or her more up-to-date training videos are on www.NewbornPosing.com.  Tip: often she will run sales so wait around for them if you can.  I also enjoy Ana Brandt’s online resources – https://www.bellybabyschool.com/.

3. Nothing – I mean nothing – beats in-person training…can we say, “Game changer!”

You really won’t understand some things until you live through it – that was me with 1:1 mentoring.  You learn SO much faster when you have someone bluntly telling you what you’re doing wrong.  There were so many little tweaks that added up for me and made a huge difference.  It makes getting to the point that you’re proud of your work so much faster – you won’t regret it!!  Find a photographer who offers mentoring or workshops that you like their style and you get a good vibe from.  Some photographers won’t teach other aspiring newborn photographers within a milage range so you may need to travel.  I’m planning on doing another 1:1 within the next year to keep improving.

4. Be sure to learn your camera and have basic knowledge of light before taking on clients.

If you don’t know how to shoot manual or have a pretty good understanding of light – take a step back and learn it!  I learned how to shoot in manual mode from a college that offered DSLR photography classes on the weekends.  Having a person help you learn manual is so much less frustrating than figuring it out through YouTube or a book.  I took a lighting class from a photographer – but there are also lots of online resources for light as well.

5. Learn at least basic newborn editing skills.

Newborn editing can be very challenging with flaking skin, baby ache, red skin, yellow skin, etc.  I personally start in Lightroom and switch back and forth to Photoshop for my newborn editing.  Kelly Brown offers great newborn editing videos (www.NewbornPosing.com).  Other resources that offer newborn or basic editing online trainings are Ana Brandt https://www.bellybabyschool.com/, The Milky Way http://themilkyway.ca/,  Digital Photography School https://digital-photography-school.com/, and Creative Live www.CreativeLive.com.

6. Hold model calls until you feel like you can offer consistent work that reflects your style – you can sometimes make money doing these!

When I initially offered model calls, I approached friends or asked friends to help me find expecting mothers.  I would bluntly tell the expecting mothers that I was new and that I wouldn’t get offended if they also hired another more experienced newborn photographer.  I would bring everything to their house to make it easier on them.  I offered 4 free images with option to purchase more – and most people did buy more!  Every time people would buy more images, I got so excited and it was a confidence booster for sure – plus it was great to make some money!  Seeing which images people choose also showed me which poses & angles I was doing well and which ones weren’t really working.

7. Work on a few newborn poses initially – don’t overwhelm yourself.

Start off learning 1-2 newborn poses initially then add on from there.  I personally liked starting off with bum up and back pose in a crate or bowl.  Do whatever works for you, but don’t feel like you need to learn every pose at once.  I still like to take take on random model calls just to work on certain poses.

8. Get a contract put together for every single client – even model calls!

Seriously, don’t photograph any baby unless they sign your contract.  Just don’t.  It’s a great way to go back and double check what you both agreed on and it’ll save yourself a lot of headache if you have a client wanting more than what was agreed on.  You can send them electronically through many services – like www.ShootProof.com or www.17hats.com.

9. Contain your spending – and track it!

Don’t feel like you need to buy so many props to start out.  It’s okay to use things multiple times – especially since you’re not making much money yet.  Look for other newborn photographers “destashing” items – but still be picky about what you’re buying – make sure it reflects your style.  Often times I’d buy things I didn’t like much because it was a good price, but I would rarely or never use it – just a waste of money!

Also, track everything you spend – props, equipment, trainings, etc…  Keep a running record of what you spend and how much money you’re making.  Set a budget!  This will also help a lot when you’re setting your prices after model calls.

10. Get info on taxes and business insurance.

Along with your contract, have yourself covered legally.  I sat down with a CPA and discussed my options and I talked to my homeowner’s insurance since I shoot newborns at my home studio.  Better safe than sorry.

11. Factor in your CODB (cost of doing business) when deciding on your prices.

As much as you may love doing photography, you need to be able to make enough money to cover your business expenses, taxes, and be able to make a salary.  There are many resources out there to figure this out – just promise yourself that you will make setting your prices so that you earn money a top priority once you get to that point so you can keep doing what you love to do and not get burnt out (or go broke and be forced to give it up).

12. Have a way to send pictures professionally.

Don’t just send all your pictures via e-mail.  Have a way to upload pictures electronically so you can send them in a gallery.  This will help a lot for model calls because they can easily pick and choose which photos they want to buy.  I personally use www.ShootProof.com, but there are a lot of choice out there.

13. Market your work like crazy – you’ve worked hard on it!

I created my logo from a 5 minute YouTube video – and I’m totally fine with it.  Use Facebook, Instagram, create a website, write blogs – do whatever you can to be visual online to get the word out that you’re working hard and improving!  There are a lot of very useful workshops devoted only to marketing your work which can be very valuable.  I’m still learning a lot about how to market myself to get a consistent inflow of clients.

14. Set up a way to receive payments.

There are many ways you can do this like PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, Square, etc…  Just watch out for fees – but sometimes you just can’t get around those and need to factor that into your cost of doing business (CODB).

15. Backup your work electronically!

Figure out a system that you can backup the hard work you have done.  Some photographers store images on one hard drive, buuuut they can crash.  So, save your work either on multiple hard drives or on a hard drive as well as an online storage service.  DO NOT just keep your images saved on your computer.  Not only will it slow down your computer’s speed, but if your computer crashes you’re in trouble!

16. Get organized.

Nothing frightens me more about my business than not being organized and forgetting to do something for a client.  I chose to pay for a www.17hats.com subscription to keep me on top of things and it calms my nerves so much.  You can send contracts, questionnaires, e-mails, make to-do lists, send/receive payments…so much more that I’m still figuring out how to utilize.

17. Make sure you have emotional support – you will need it!

Last, but not certainly least, find a support system throughout your journey – find your cheerleader(s).  Join an online photography group and try to find a few photog friends you can bounce ideas off together, go shooting together, critique each other’s work, vent about your frustrations, help assist each other when needed, etc…  I can’t tell you how much finding photography friends has motivated me.  Be sure to find people who are positive and truly happy for your success – and remember to do the same for them.

 

Overwhelmed yet?  Hopefully this is information has helped you!  Newborn photography can be very overwhelming at first.  But, if you find that this genre is your passion then all the hard work will pay off.  Feel free to ask me about anything discussed in this blog at AshleighCoelhoPhotography@gmail.com.

 

Take Care,

Ashleigh Coelho