A friend whose children I photographed about a year ago referred a neighbor to me to shoot their 4-month-old baby girl. The baby was the twinkle of the couple's eyes.
I photographed her at their private home. I find shooting on location gives a more intimate feel and, as a photojournalist, adds context to the images. Even the baby girl will recall where the photograph was taken when she grows old enough to understand such things.
The sentimental value is key to private photography along with the word private itself. Photographers must remember that private clients wish to remain anonymous at times, even if the image is quite flattering. The parents of this little angel did not want themselves to appear on this blog nor the baby's name. I blurred the baby's name from a couple photographs and removed the info from the embedded metadata tagging.
This principle holds true for all rite-of-passage photography and private portraits and events, such as family reunions.
As a client looking to hire a photographer, consider hiring someone that will come to your house instead of heading to a studio with a plain old backdrop. It may cost a little more, but it adds value.
I am thankful for my friend who trusts me enough to refer me and trusted me to photograph his own family. He has since moved to a new house but has photos of his children at their first house.
I also recommend trying to hire a photographer to just document a few hours of the first week at home with a newborn. That time is so chaotic that most parents don't think about arranging this plan ahead of time.
Thanks to the family for hiring me and allowing me to post some images for others to see.
