Newborn Photoshoot: Freelance vs. Studio Photographer
When we adopted our oldest daughter (now 2), we had her newborn photoshoot done at a studio with a highly rated photographer when she was 9 days old. The experience was great and we had a lot of fabulous shots to choose from!
We were planning on going back to her for our youngest daughters‘ newborn pictures as well. However, COVID concerns with a newborn caused us to reanalyze.
We ended up making the decision to use a freelance photographer that is also a friend of mine! She had taken pictures for us before and she is a very talented photographer. She did an amazing job and the experience was fantastic!
Both studio and freelance photography are great options for a newborn shoot. However, there are some slight differences in the experience. It honestly just depends on your needs/wants as a client as to which direction you decide to go in. But I hope that by sharing my experience with each option, it will help you to decide.
The main differences I found in freelance vs. studio photographer are:
1. Time and Money:
Studio:
- Negatives: Higher cost and shorter amount of time. (Also, check to see if there are any necessary print purchases with your package. It is more affordable to get the digital copies of the pictures and then print them yourself.)
- Positives: Cost includes studio space, more equipment, and props/backdrops. If you are on a schedule, you will know exactly when you will start and finish.
Freelance:
- Negatives: May take a little longer than in the studio due to finding the best setting/lighting.
- Positives: Saving money is always a plus. Also, no time limit allows for time to feed/sooth the baby if needed to get the best shots. Although, sometimes I think it’s appropriate for the baby to be upset in some photos, like this one:
2. Number of Outfits:
Studio:
- Most studios have a limit on the number of outfit changes allowed. For our studio shoot it was three. This is due to the session time limit.
Freelance:
- No cap on the amount of outfit changes that you can have. For our session we did seven.
3. Setting Options:
Studio:
- Positive: Lots of props/backdrops/lighting options.
- Negative: No outdoor opportunities. (This may not be true for all studio photographers.)
Freelance:
- Positive: Can be in your home/neighborhood so you don’t have to go anywhere. Can also do a mixture of outdoor and indoor.
- Negative: Must provide any props. (This may not be true for all freelancers.) There aren’t studio backdrops so parts of your location will be in the shot.
4. Ad-ins:
Studio:
- If you are thinking about having more pictures done throughout their first year, studio photographers usually have a discounted price for future sessions, so you can ask about that!
- Option to purchase prints, framed pictures, or albums.
Freelance:
- Can usually work in extra pictures (i.e. sibling/family shots) during your session without added cost. We added a few family and sibling pictures to our newborn shoot:
- Also, sometimes freelancers like to capture moments that aren’t posed as well!
In the end it is really up to you as to which type of photographer you choose for your newborn photoshoot. Both are really great options for different reasons. You just need to find what works best for your family. I hope that my experience helps to make your decision a little bit easier!
19 Comments
Sarah
I love the pictures and I can definitely see the pros and cons of a studio photographer.
Singing A New Song
Great job covering the pro’s and cons of studio newborn photography! As a former professional newborn photographer the only thing I would add is this; I think the biggest mistakes a lot of people make is 1. hiring new photographers because they aren’t charging much and the parents want to save money, and/or trying to recreate what they see the pro’s doing. Unfortunately this is really dangerous because a lot of the finished images people are trying to recreate are highly Photoshoped. I’ve seen newborns put into some terribly dangerous situations because people didn’t realize the picture they saw and are trying to recreate was photoshoped. Truly professional newborn photographers have been trained in newborn posing safety and so many people don’t know this! So keeping it really simple and sticking with lifestyle shots instead of trying to pose a newborn are best unless one really understands how to pose and what is/isn’t created in post processing.
Bri
Very good point and very true! For example, our studio photographer did the “froggy pose” with our oldest daughter. However, I was holding her arms and that was photoshopped out. However, our freelance photographer knew that as well and we did not attempt it. Whichever route you choose though it is definitely important to make sure that they are educated and experienced!
Clarice
I personally prefer a freelance photographer. The fact that there is no time limit to sooth the baby to get shots is just enough reason for me to hire one. Anyway, these baby photos you shared are really cute.