There Is Always Time To Learn More | Maine Newborn Photographer

How it Started

When I first started my photography business, I swore off newborn photography. I told myself I would never do it. I knew the reason why I never wanted to try: I was afraid I was going to fail. I wasn't ready to put myself out there. I know how important these photos are to a family, and I didn't want to be the one to take them and have them not be perfect. The best way to avoid that? Not do them. Right? Wrong.

When COVID-19 hit, my corporate job had to make some changes, one of those was letting some people go. I can honestly say when it happened ,I was not mad , sad, angry, or upset. I was excited. I knew this was my opportunity to put everything I had into my business. It was my time to "be the man," per se. As I've come to learn, be a boss babe.

I knew with relying on my own business for my income now, I needed to put myself out there. There was no time for me to be scared of failure. My only option was to learn from it. I reached out to a very close friend of mine who recently had a little girl and said, " Would you mind if I attempted newborn photos with your daughter? I can't promise these photos will see the light of day. " Of course, as friends always have our backs, her little girl was in my studio the following week.

A Surprising Success

I was honestly extremely proud of myself after this session. I had the general gist of it, I just needed to perfect it. I think only one of these images ever made it to social media. I used the image for a model call so I could practice more.

I believe I ended up doing 4-5 model call sessions before I felt comfortable calling myself a newborn photographer. It wasn't until the summer that I added newborn photography to my website. Once I added it to my page, it was go time. I spent all my spare time learning as much about newborn photography as possible. I was listening to podcasts, watching YouTube videos, following inspiring photographers on Instagram, and joining photography Facebook groups. I've taken courses on posing, safety, editing, lighting, and so much more. By the end of summer, I was starting to see progress.

Of course, I knew there was room to learn more.

What Happened Next

Nine months later, after "never going to happen" turned into "never want to stop," I've learned that there is no such thing as starting something too late. There is no such thing as too old to learn something new. What you are doing today, yesterday, or even a year ago, doesn't mean that is what you are going to be doing tomorrow.

Most importantly, I learned that some of the most amazing things are just on the other side of fear.

I am thankful for all the families that have trusted me with their little ones so far. I look forward to all the little ones on my books that I will be meeting very soon. Here are just a few of my recent photos from this past month. October brought me 5 newborns, November brought me 4 newborns, and I am booking into April 2022 already.