Baby portraits? Are they worth it?

[zenmumajen]

First off, I don't want to offend anyone. Baby portraits are beautiful- but I keep noticing all my friends on Facebook uploading pictures from their photography session. 

All I see when I look at those pictures is how much effort and work that it must have taken. There must have been at least 4 outfit changes- not just onsies but cowboy boots and collared shirts and what not. Sure they are cute, but my son hates been changed and if those were my pictures I would just remember how big of an ordeal it was to get just the "right" pose or smile and get the outfit on. DF and I were talking about how it wasn't really capturing a memory, because its not really a "in the moment" picture like you would take at home. 

Not to mention, most of these sessions are pretty expensive, though I can see going to JC penny and doing it...but those don't really have a natural appeal to me. 

What does everyone else think/do?  

[Knitting Mama]

Well, I've never done outfit change portrait sessions with Cecilia, but I have had her photo taken by a professional photographer. She is a mom friend of mine and she specializes in baby and family portraits. I really like her style of work, as it is more candid and less posed, but still phenomenally beautiful-- the kind of photos we all wish we could take!

Here's my girl's photos from her.

I really prefer this method because I think it captures the true beauty of children without them being posed.

[tzs]

when dd was an infant and my friend had a babe the same age we would go to JC penney's with the free "8X10 coupon, everything additional $3.00" coupon that they always have and basically do wacky photo shoots for free. we called it "portrait club" and it was just for entertainment. i have dd as a dj, as a biker chic, in a cheesy chanukah/xmas shot....but she seemed to either like it or not mind it. i'm sure you could pull off something classier there too though if you got lucky.

i did do one at a year but just did a couple in one outfit. i tend to prefer well-done candids over portraits any day.

[zenmumajen]

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama 

Well, I've never done outfit change portrait sessions with Cecilia, but I have had her photo taken by a professional photographer. She is a mom friend of mine and she specializes in baby and family portraits. I really like her style of work, as it is more candid and less posed, but still phenomenally beautiful-- the kind of photos we all wish we could take!

Here's my girl's photos from her.

I really prefer this method because I think it captures the true beauty of children without them being posed.

Thank you for sharing those beautiful photos! These are very different to the ones I have been seeing. It looks like you all had so much fun! I love when the whole family are in pictures- instead of just a baby leaning on a suitcase... 
 

[Knitting Mama]

Yes, exactly! So my opinion is that professional photos are worth it, but not necessarily "portraits."

[LittleBirdy]

I totally get what you are saying, especially the whole capturing the memory thing.  I think it all depends on who you work with.

We worked with wonderful photographers who are business associates of my husband.  They are great with babies - no outfit changes, and they try to make it quick and painless.  The neatest thing was they took some video footage while we were doing the photo session and made us this really cool presentation with it - and now the session is a wonderful memory.  If you are interested, I will PM you the link to our video.  (It has my last name in it so I don't want to just post it publicly.)

[Hannah32]

We mostly do it ourselves, though I did have a friend who likes to take photos come over when my son was very young. I honestly can't see taking him to a portrait studio. It's way too much effort, IMO. I like our candids and don't really feel like we are missing anything. I like the short vids you can take with most digital cameras too. Some of those are just awesome.

[cocoanib]

I get what your saying too and I'm not a fan of most portrait sessions either.

For other reasons though. I don't like an indoor studio making look outdorrs or a bunch of fake props and poses and stuff. It's just not us and unnatural looking to me. We do some photo sessions at home or out and about, but we do it more free form. I just take a ton of pics and usually some come out quite beautiful. Sometime there are special outfits involved, but no chnges or anything like that. Also, if at any moment DD is annoyed by the whole thing, we stop and move on.

[Blessed1]

I think it could probably be a hassle if you had portraits taken at a studio with various wardrobe changes.

We had a photographer come to our house and take photos of our little one when she was 7weeks old.  It was actually quite relaxing and pretty stress free. It took 1hour to complete the various shots.  And it was actually not that expensive.  :) And as you can see...we had no wardrobe changes! lol

I can't wait to get more photos taken. :)

[Oliver'sMom]

When my oldest ds was a baby, my mom and grandma begged me to take him to get his portrait.  My mom even sent him a ridiculous little suit with a tie to wear for the pictures.  I took him to wal-mart for their $7.99 deal and they turned out remarkably well!  We had a lot of fun with it and posed him in front of an american flag backdrop like he was the president lol.  He was 6 months old and I really cherish those photos now.  I take ds1 to get his picture done at wal-mart every year now on his birthday.  For 8 bucks, you really can't beat it.  I'm planning on taking ds2 there in a couple of weeks for his 6mo photos.

I agree with other posts that candids are the best.  I would never pay more than say 20 bucks for a posed photo shoot.