Some Photographers Offer 2 Hour Sessions – Why are yours Shorter?

Leaving aside newborn photo shoots, which are a whole different kettle of fish, I book baby sessions for an hour of studio time. I have noticed a growing trend of photographers saying on their adverts that you have the studio for two (sometimes three) hours for a baby shoot, cake smash or whatever. So I thought I’d write a bit about why I don’t do this and, spoiler alert, it’s not because I’m mean.

Small people are unpredictable – some days they are full of fun and some days they don’t want to play.  They are still very little which means that they can overwhelmed and overtired pretty quickly. Anyone’s who has dealt with an overtired child will k now that there’s no remedy apart from a nap.

Take a cake smash session as an example,.  In my studio, they typically take about 45 minutes.  We do a clean shoot, cake smash and tub splash – sometimes with family pictures up front as well.  This is a session packed with strange, new and exciting things and after this 45 minute adventure, your baby is usually pretty worn out.  Extending the session for longer, I honestly don’t think you’d get any more or better pictures – you’d just get a ratty baby and stressed out parents.  As an adult, posing for photos for more than an hour would be quite an endurance test so I don’t expect it of little people.

Sometimes, your baby is unsettled from the start of the session. So after we’ve investigated feeding and general soothing, it tends to be that the best option is to reschedule for a different day. Extending the session and persevering with a baby that is not feeling the photography love doesn’t generally persuade your baby to have a great session, it tends to just stress them out more.

So there you go. I’ve been working as a baby photographer for nearly two decades and that’s why I don’t offer 2-3 hour cake smashes and baby session.  Everything is set up and ready to go within minutes of you arriving, we work fast, we keep it fun and gt you on your way to get one with your day and look forward to seeing your photos.