Baby and newborn photography can be a real challenge for many reasons – logistics, timing, posing, lighting and planning are just a few of the hurdles we have to overcome. Not to mention the sheer responsibility of handling someone else’s brand new pride and joy!
Being successful in the genre of baby photography isn’t just about the latest props, cute hats or fancy backdrops – sure, they have a part to play but real success comes from focusing on the passion and art behind what you do.
To find out more about all this, I sat down with renowned photographer Beth Forester to ask her about the baby photography side of her business, and to learn how baby plans can help with the marketing and sales.
About Our Guest: Beth Forester
Newborn Photography by Beth Forester
Beth Forester is nationally recognized as one of the leaders in the photographic industry, and describes herself as a wife, mother, educator and artist who loves to photograph people. She believes that photography is the best medium to remember the important people in our lives and those once-in-a-lifetime moments that occur each and every day.
Beth discovered her love of photography when her daughter, Katherine was born. Her daughter became her muse, as she began to realize the importance of capturing the beautiful expressions and precious moments of this new person in her life. She understood how fleeting these moments were and became determined to aid her memory through photography.
It was then that she found her life’s work of photography and opened a portrait studio in her hometown of Madison, West Virginia. Her perceptions as a mother translated well into her portrait work in the studio, using her own personal experiences in order to capture the perfect photograph for each family.
For the past 20 years, Beth has documented people’s lives and their events, and her work has been featured in Rangefinder, Professional Photographer, Click, Digital Pro Photo, Chic Magazine, and WV Executive.
Episode Summary
Here are some of the great topics we talked about during our chat in this episode:
- Beth’s initial inspiration to become a professional baby photographer…
- What defines a photographer’s style and approach…
- Working with the undeveloped personality of a baby…
- The difference between “prop-centered” and “baby-centered” photography…
- The images that people often buy most of…
- Creating a brand and positioning yourself in the marketplace…
- The importance of loving what you do…
- The “ages and stages” of young babies and children…
- Thoughts about who your target market is…
- Dealing with your local competition…
- The importance of placing a proper value on yourself and your work…
- How selling baby plans can help boost sales…
- Where you can get Beth’s baby plan…
Show Links
Save 20% Off Beth’s Baby Plans
- Save 20% on baby plans, or anything from the Photo DUDS store by using the code “ZEN20” at the checkout – a big thank you to Beth for being so generous with that!