Research your photographer – Newborn Photographer Sydney
I’ve noticed a really worrying trend lately, and that is people calling me or coming in for photos who have had bad experiences in the past with other photographers. As a newborn photographer covering Sydney and surrounds this is a great concern. Now some have lost all of their photos completely to apparent hard drive crashes and some have received their photos that are completely blurry, some have just been extremely disappointed with no photos that they would want to put on their walls. This really saddens me because things like pregnancy, weddings and the new newborn stage are time sensitive. Once you have your baby you can’t go back to your pregnancy, those days are gone, it’s physically impossible unless you plan on having more children, then that precious time in your life has passed. It’s gone. If you had photos taken and they were lost or corrupted or blurry or you don’t like any of them at all you’re in a bit of a bind because you’ve paid good money and you don’t have a beautiful document covering that time your life. The same goes for the new born stage. It only lasts literally 3 to 4 weeks, after 3 to 4 weeks your newborn is now a baby and he/she would’ve changed your dramatically from the early days. If you’ve hired a photographer to take photos of you newborn and they call you to let you know that they’ve lost the files, or all the files have become corrupted, or maybe you see the photos and you are disappointed and you don’t like any of them, it’s a costly loss. I see it on Facebook quite a bit, someone one will ask for recommendations for a newborn photographer in the community pages and there will be at least 100 people with cameras recommended, and the one thing I see in common is the word affordable. Affordable photography. Now if I paid $200 to someone to document one of the greatest milestones in my life and all those files somehow became corrupted, were lost, are blurry, are disappointing… then that would be extremely expensive. I may as well throw my $200 down the drain. There is nothing affordable about losing such a precious time in your life and your child’s life. This stage is quite simply priceless and while everyone has a budget it is so important to seek a fully accredited, experienced, PROFESSIONAL photographer for all of the important milestones in your life. Your wedding, your pregnancy, is your newborn. It will cost you time, effort and money, and if you are not blown away it is simply expensive. Now unfortunately it seems that some people do not realise this until they have made the mistake. I get the phone call often, “Is it too late? Can we capture the newborn stage at 6 weeks? Is there anything you can do?” Of course I always do my best but sometimes it’s a tough lesson learned and an unfortunate costly experience. In Sydney when searching for a newborn photographer there are many factors you need to factor in. Price is one of them but more importantly you need to consider the value, the experience level of the photographer, and experience that they will provide you with. You want to see the photographers portfolio, you want to see examples of their work, not just the best of the best but you want to see a full client portfolio. You want to see what they present to one of the clients on a daily basis. You need to be sure they are cleared to work with children, you need to be sure they are immunised against whooping cough before you hand your newborn over to them, you need to be sure they run a professional business in a professional manner.
newborn photographer sydney
Now there is a vast number of photographers with varied levels of experience and knowledge in any industry, photography included. We have people who are just starting out, they have finished their UNI or TAFE course, their knowledge and experience is growing, they have the technical skills and they will more than likely let you know that for the next six months or so they are building their portfolio. Or they are looking for clients to help them build a portfolio, or they graduated only a year ago, they should tell you their level of experience, if they don’t tell you, you need to ask… where are you up to in your career? How long have you been in business for? What are your accreditations? What are your achievements? These are things you need to ask. Now there are people out there with cameras calling themselves photographers, taking photos with no technical skill, minimal knowledge, and they are charging people. They don’t have any training, experience or education – please be wary and know what to expect if you hire such people. I personally started out working for a major company for four years, under the guidance of my mentor. I did not go out and photograph anyone on my own until I had been there for two years. After four years of experience, I then started my own business as a newborn photographer and a family photographer in Sydney. Normally most people in a trade would start an apprenticeship, they would work for a company first, they would be under the guidance, the wing of a trained professional. Unfortunately the photography industry isn’t regulated at this point. Governing bodies are looking at regulating the photographic industry in the near future, the newborn industry in particular due to safety reasons, which I’m very excited about. This is something we desperately need going forward. So again I can’t stress enough that you just need to ask the photographer that you are considering hiring many questions. You have every right to ask them questions. Photography is a long-term investment, it’s not just for now or for a year or two, it is for 30, 50, 80, 100+ years. Photography will last longer than the car that you’re driving today. It is important to do real research and if someone is just starting out (which is great, and something we all have done) you’ll know that, through their prices. Their prices will reflect their knowledge and experience and you’ll be aware of it, and okay with it. You will be in the understanding that they’re fresh out of training and starting to establish their business and start to produce incredible work, and they absolutely deserve our support.
newborn photographer sydney
There are so many different styles of photography out there. We each have a different way that we perceive the world and that we photograph our subjects, and put our heart out there in a photographic medium. We do need many photographers, we need lots of them. We need them at different levels of experience, we need them at different budgets, we need them offering different things so everyone can be covered. It is simply impossible for just five photographers to photograph everybody in Sydney, but I just please ask that you do your research. Do your research thoroughly with all potential photographers first before you decide who you will entrust with the greatest milestones in your lives. If you need to meet with them and see their studio, their portfolios, do that. That will make your photography affordable. My clients are of course more than welcome to come into the studio, meet with me, have a chat, look at recent sessions, look at all the display options that are available… I am an open book and like to run a completely transparent business so there are absolutely no surprises. This is extremely important. I have a video on my website seven things you need to ask your photographer, simply jump onto my website, enter your email address, watch the video and if you have any questions please feel free to call or write.
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Karen Ashcroft
Newborn Photographer Sydney
