Often when people find out that I am a newborn photographer – their eyes light up and they ask me why I chose this genre of photography. I often reply with – why wouldn’t you want a job that involves cuddling with newborns as often as you can?!? In all seriousness – there are many reasons why I chose newborn photography as my specialty. I could keep adding to this list, but here is a pretty good list in no particular order…

1. As I mentioned – newborn cuddles are the best. Part of my job is to keep babies settled and secure so I am cuddling with them constantly. My favorite cuddling position is always when newborns are laying their chests on mine. It keeps their arms from moving and they can hear my heart beat and voice like they did in their mom’s belly.
2. Newborn photography can be challenging, but the rewards outweigh the challenges. I can often face a challenging newborn – crying a lot, not falling asleep, grumpy, etc. – but I don’t let all that stress bother me. All those extra emotions are not their fault – they’re just getting used to the world so no point in me getting stressed about a newborn not cooperating. I often take a deep breath, the parents and I figure out what the newborn needs at that moment, and we carry on. Regardless – I have photographed so many newborns that I am always able to capture adorable newborn photographs for my clients.
3. The schedule – works great since I have little kids of my own. My youngest child is only in a Mother’s Day Out program at a local church a few days a week from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. and that’s the perfect time frame for a newborn session! I start my sessions at 9:30 a.m. and the latest I am done is 1:30 p.m. (but often done way before that). I do have older kids in elementary as well so it’s a perfect schedule when they’re all in regular school. I will say though – I do work a lot more before and after a session…but I at least can make sure the time I need to be available to photograph is during my kids’ school hours.
4. I can make my own schedule. Not only does the time of day work best for my family – but it’s the best job with lots of flexibility…well, if you catch me early enough to block off a day. I often volunteer at my older kids’ elementary school or some days I just need to catch up on my family life so I am able to block off certain days easily (since I am my own boss!).
5. Newborn photography fills my creativity cup! I really enjoy the setting up process for a newborn – making sure the colors and props fit perfectly together and then editing and making the pictures look perfectly edited for my clients.
6. Getting to know my clients is awesome. If you ever get a chance to talk with me in person…you’ll find out quickly that I love to talk and be around people. During my newborn sessions, I really enjoy getting to know my clients and I usually learn something during every session…whether it be about pregnancy, newborns, the parents’ jobs, or just talking about life. Newborn sessions are often my “adult time” away from my family.
7. Props – oh how I love buying newborn props. I do have to budget and limit myself (and that can often be so hard) – but looking at newborn props for sessions is so much fun for me.
8. Money – yes, I do like to get paid like everyone else! I went about 2 years not working at all after starting my family so being able to have the extra income that newborn photography provides so I can contribute financially to my household is awesome.
9. I can provide excellent customer service the way I’d want to be treated. I am so picky when it comes to customer service so I try my best to provide the best customer service I can to my clients. I have so many clients return to me every year and that warms my heart…I must be doing something right!

Well – that’s all for now. I’m sure I could keep adding to this list, but I think you can tell by this list that I love my job! Is every day easy? Nope. Was it easy to learn newborn photography? Nope – took a lot of time, effort, and drive to learn. All in all – I hope this blog has helped you learn more about the newborn photography world.

~Ashleigh