This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Newborn photography earns up to $10,000 each time. $10,000 a photo shoot for a newborn. Welcome to "Sidle School." It's Chris Guillebeau here. And by the way, today's episode is not a joke. Episode 2,648.
This is going out on April Fool's Day, but I assure you it's not a joke. We actually don't do April Fool's on the podcast the way that we've done some other holiday episodes. We've had Valentine's Day, Halloween, various things for Christmas time, other end of year holidays and such. But I always just have so many stories I wanna share with you, so many different case studies and ideas that people are pursuing, that I don't wanna kind of waste an episode on a joke. So here, real story, even though it sounds incredible, like so many of the stories we've featured.
I actually read a "Wall Street Journal" article recently about this new trend of photographers who specialize in creatively staged portraits of newborns. So actually building elaborate, scenic, elaborate sets to have as a backdrop for these photo shoots of children who are usually between five and 10 days old. Apparently that's the magic window to have a newborn who is home from the hospital and is still able to kind of fall asleep very easily. 'Cause after that, kids kind of sleep on their own schedules and such and for these photography shoots, they wanna be able to capture the kids sleeping in this really creative set. It could be like a Hollywood kind of set.
It could be like a man cave, something funny or comedic often. And so I read this article and I wanted to track down one of the photographers. So we're able to do that here on the segment known as First Thousand Dollars. Today's feature comes to us from Abigail, a photographer in the Southeast who specializes in these portraits of newborns. She doesn't always get $10,000 for each one, but she'll tell us a little bit about how she got going.
And yeah, I just thought this was so interesting. Let's hear more about it from her. Gonna hand the mic over to Abigail. [Music]
When I first stumbled upon the idea of highly staged newborn photography, it was an uncharted territory filled with potential. I wanted to capture the fleeting moments of newborns in elaborate, dreamy settings that went far beyond the traditional.
The concept was to offer something unique, not just a photo, but an enchanted memory, intricately designed and crafted. The business side of this venture was a lot like building out any other studio. Fortunately, I already had a lot of camera gear. Still, I spent a lot of hours researching and sourcing unique props, fabrics, and backdrops, ensuring everything was safe and comfortable for the babies. I began by offering discounted sessions to friends and family, asking in return for their permission to use the images and my marketing materials.
That helped to get things rolling, and before long, I was attracting interest from expected mothers. That was key. This is newborn photography, not babies of all ages photography. I need to get the contract signed before the birth, since no new mother or father wants to think about this in the week after their child is born. Also, this isn't a cheap service.
I'm delivering something priceless and special, and I don't reuse most materials from set to set. Expanding the business meant diversifying the themes and settings to cater to a wide range of taste and preferences. From underwater adventures to miniature fairy gardens, each set was designed to be unique. For anyone hoping to do something similar, here's a condensed roadmap. One, master the craft.
Understand the basics of photography and editing. You can't do much without that. Two, invest wisely. Start with essential equipment and gradually invest in more elaborate props and sets as your business grows. Three, build a portfolio.
Offer free or discounted sessions to build your portfolio. Use these sessions to explore different themes and refine your style. Four, market strategically. Leverage social media to showcase your work. If it's an option for you, use targeted advertising to reach potential clients within your niche.
Five, price appropriately. Consider the cost of materials, your time, and the uniqueness of your service when setting prices. Oh, and don't be cheap. Price higher than you first think you should. I hope that's helpful for someone out there.
This is a unique business and I don't mind sharing the field. I have more than enough work right now. And eventually I hope to pause my photography services and move into something with more passive income. But for now, it's been great. - Well, there are all kinds of ways to make money out there and the more you can specialize, the more you can find something creative, the better you're going to be at marketing it.
And there's lots of photographers out there, probably a lot of photographers who are doing kids and family photos, but most of them don't charge $10,000. And as I said, Abigail's not always charging that much, but the point is this is an in-demand thing. There's a lot of work that goes into it. And in the article I read about it in the "Wall Street Journal," somebody said something like, "Well, we're only gonna have our newborn once." Like even if you get married more than once, like you still have that newborn experience, at least with each child, only one at a time. So people obviously finding the value in it.
Like I said, all kinds of ways to make money. If you have a question and update about your hustle, sidehustleschool.com. Meanwhile, I'll keep bringing you different ideas, case studies, tips, answers to cues. This has been episode 2,648. Thanks for tuning in.
Much more is coming up. My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
