This image popped up on my Facebook memories this morning and made me think back to when this photo was taken. Anyone who knows me personally knows I hate having my photo taken. I much prefer being on the other side of the camera taking pictures of everyone else.


This photo was taken on a day when I was out shopping with my then 6-month-old son in a well-known children’s clothing store. I was sleep deprived, I wasn’t feeling well and I just wanted to be out of the house and walking the baby in the pram rather than sitting at home feeling sorry for myself.


So walking into this well-known children’s shop I was approached by a woman handing out leaflets. Free photo shoot! Free print! No catches etc and the woman was so lovely, commenting on how happy the baby was and asking how old he was and what was his name.


At that point, she gave me the much-needed distraction I needed. So when she told me there was no queue for photographs and it would only take 15 mins I happily followed her to the back of the shop ready for my baby to have his photo taken. As he had been born premature and spent 10 days in the NICU we missed out on the Bounty pictures and at that time we couldn’t afford to spend £100’s on a newborn shoot.


The first photo was of my 6-month-old slouched in a bumbo seat covered with a blanket. Then out came all the props! Teddy bears, letters, plant pots, bathtub and what followed was the most amazing half an hour! There are no words to describe the feeling of seeing your baby sitting in a plant pot and thinking it's the cutest thing you have ever seen in your life! Then the photographer called me over and took some pictures of us together.


Photos all done I was told to take a half hour-an hour walk and then pop back for my photograph. Walking around the shops I went through the shoot in my head, all those gorgeous pictures which one would I choose as my free picture? But I was determined I was only going to get my free photo then I would be out of there!


Oh my Goodness! I was totally not prepared for what waited for me in that little room! I didn't get to choose my free print. It had been printed ready and waiting for me. And yeah you guessed it! It was the most unflattering photo of my beautiful boy squished in a bumbo chair!


They had a computer screen filled with beautiful pictures of my baby. I got to look at all these lovely images (twice!!) and then came the price list. It was extortionate! There were prices for canvases and prints of all sizes.


I really wanted to walk away but how could I leave those gorgeous pictures behind? I wanted my partner to see the photos and help me to decide what to do but I wasn’t allowed to. I had to decide there and then. If I walked away I was told the images would be deleted. So my sleep-deprived brain decided it was worth the money so I came away with 4 prints and my free print and spent just over £100!


I felt like a bad mum for leaving those pictures behind. So I spent money I didn't have on photos all because I fell for the free photo shoot and free print tagline! Once I looked at them at home I realised they weren’t really that good, the baby wasn’t in the centre and they weren’t really straight. They hadn’t bothered to edit them at all, leaving a dribble stain on my little boy's t-shirt. 


So in the years that followed I bought a camera of my own, then a better one then a better one again. I’ve got lenses, photo equipment, lights and a rented studio. I have done photography courses and taken better pictures of my own children than those expensive franchise chain photography groups did all those years ago.


When I take photos for families now as a business I always keep my own experience at the back of my mind. I offer digitals as standard and the option to purchase additional images. I offer prints through my store at a reasonable price but clients are under no obligation to purchase these from me as you are free to print your images where ever and as many times as you like.


No one should be made to feel like they need to spend hundreds of pounds on photos of their children and everyone deserves the chance to have some nice pictures of their children without breaking the bank! This is what I hope I have achieved with Daisy Chain Photography and will continue to do. Hopefully, provide a good quality service at an affordable price.


With love,


Lisa

Daisy Chain Photography