As a busy Newcastle Under Lyme photographer, I know that maternity, newborn, child and family photography has increased in popularity in recent years as couples look to invest in capturing special memories of their children at particular points in their young lives. Whilst it is an investment, clients are sometimes a little surprised at the cost of a photoshoot.

So, I’d like to explain the things I have to consider when costing a photography session. As it’s a lot more complex than you might think.

From my client’s point of view, they just see the time it takes for the photoshoot to happen. And this can vary. The shoot time for a newborn photography session is 3 to 4 hours. This is because we go at the baby’s pace so naps, feeds, nappy changes are all factored into the time. After all, we are fitting into baby’s’ routine not forcing them out of it for a photoshoot.

Other photoshoots such as maternity, sitter, family and cake smashes are obviously much quicker and are all done within an hour and a half.

But there’s a lot of other time considerations with every photoshoot. I have detailed these below:

· Communication time before a photoshoot is usually around 30 minutes.

· Setting up a photoshoot takes 30-60 minutes

· clearing up after a photoshoot and cleaning props and equipment takes 30 – 60 minutes.

· Editing after a photoshoot takes anything from 6 - 10 hours.

. Viewing sessions take 30-60 minutes

. Ordering & packaging products takes 30-60 minutes

Add this up and you’ll see that your baby’s 4-hour photoshoot actually took me 12-15 hours to deliver from first enquiry to finished album.

Then of course there’s the time it takes me to run and manage a Stoke on Trent newborn photographer business efficiently ensuring accurate records are kept, tax and national insurance is paid and the books are balanced.

Add to that the time it takes me to market and promote my business over several platforms and you can see that I spend more time at my PC than I do behind a camera.

When it comes to the actual costs that I incur running a photography business, there’s a lot of these too:

· New props & backdrops

. Safety training and courses to keep up to date with latest style

· Products to maintain my camera and lense equipment

. Card Machine

· Paying an editor at busy periods so my clients images aren’t delayed

· Insurance

· Website maintenance, editing, slideshow and gallery software

And lastly, there’s the costs we all have such as gas, electric, water, rent/mortgage and general bills. And at the end of it, after all that. A living for me!

So, if you’re looking at baby, child or family photography and are confused by the pricing. Don’t be afraid to ask your photographer to break it down for you. For my pricing, I offer easy to understand packages where there are no hidden costs. Allowing you to make the right choice for your budget.

I’ve never had a client feel that their photoshoot was anything other than a great investment. And you can read their comments on my Google review page. People say you can’t put a price on capturing special memories but in my career, I have to. And the only thing I can promise you is that I will always price my photoshoots honestly and clearly.