People hire newborn photographers every day to photograph their baby just days after they are born, often without giving much thought to who that photographer is. Your baby is hands down the most precious gift you have ever been given in your life, and you’ll trust it to someone you don’t even know? I won’t sugarcoat it. Seriously, it blows my mind that expecting parents will hire someone they do not know, have never spoken to, and have only followed on Instagram.

AND- maybe as newborn photographers, we have failed you. There shouldn’t be a question of if you will, but rather the expectation that you will, at a minimum, have a phone call prior to booking.

You shouldn’t expect anything less than this level of service.

This is the most vulnerable, sacred time in your life. It’s an honor and a privilege to be welcomed into it and be given the role that I have.

You deserve a phone call. You deserve to speak to the person that will be handling your baby. The choice of who to photograph your delicate newborn for the first time should be intentional and go well beyond a price tag.

The reality is, I often hold your baby before their aunts, uncles, and grandparents do. Especially over this past year. For some babies, other than their parents and siblings, I am the only other person who has held them. That is SO incredibly special.

Trust me, I don’t take that for granted. I may understand this on a different level because I was a NICU nurse. Many times, I got to hold someone’s baby before they did. Now, to be on the flip side of it where I am not the first, those days in the NICU have stuck with me, and I realize how incredibly special it is to be one of those first people.

I truly believe that I owe it to you to allow you to connect and build trust with me before you ever hand me your precious baby.

You may not believe me now but there will come a day where your newborn portraits will trump your wedding. You’ll realize that the moment you became a mom was single-handedly more important than the day you married your husband. It’s such a special moment that you can never get back. It only happens one time, and it only happens the first time, one time.

Expecting parents, do your research. Take the time and the call. Talk to the photographers whose work you love. See if you connect with them. KNOW that you can trust them with your baby. You owe it to them.

If you’re expecting and in the Tampa area, I’d love to connect with you!