Why you should hire a professional newborn photographer instead of using AI

Does your baby have 10 adorable fingers and 10 cute little toes?! Amazing! How would you like to print out a super cute newborn photo to hang on the wall only to discover pixelated props and an extra finger? I mean, of course every baby is perfect how they are and some may be born different than the typical child but isn't that how you would want to share their image with the world... as themselves! Birthmarks, delicate little wrinkles and flakey skin on their fingers can not be replicated in AI because it is trying to produce smooth images that give a Sci FI feel. 

I am seeing the rise of AI generated images in newborn photography and although I think the technology has a place in the field (in editing, even some cool composite images) but creating a whole image of a baby using AI is honestly... creepy. Sorry! I had to say it, its creepy. You are taking a cell phone photo of your newborn and uploading it into a service that is unknown what it will create with their likeness and then producing an image that is not actually them, it's a likeness of them. Is that what you want them to see when they grow up? A photo of what AI decided they look like and not actually of THEM! Ick! 

When the kids from the first Snapchat parents are grown and ask for photos of themselves as babies for their Wedding montage and they are filled with dog tongues and heart eye emojis, there are going to be some real moments where people begin to realize how much REAL moments, they missed capturing by letting technology create the moment instead. 

Think about how you will feel if someday you are putting together a dedication page for their Senior yearbook and you realize you don't have real images of them because you started putting them into AI images. 

Look, everyone has their own reasons for getting a session or skipping it. I get it, money is tight and I want to be able to offer sessions that are affordable without penalizing my self-worth. At the end of the day, there are just some things you can never replace and I think those are the things we should invest in if possible. The newborn phase is irreplaceable. They will be toddlers for years, they will be little kids, big kids, teenagers for years at a time or at least months at a time... but newborn images are taken in the first 3 weeks after birth. They will change so much in that time period and the sweet, tender moments captured them between and their parents and siblings are so beautiful. As a mom, I know the pull on my heart when I see those little moments of my own children. As a photographer, I love creating the space for those special moments to happen during a newborn session.