One of my biggest motherhood regrets: when my daughter Gwen was born in December 2017, I decided to forgo a professional newborn photo session. Having since become a professional photographer, this is a hard one for me to admit! I know what you must be thinking: how could a newborn photographer who preaches the importance of capturing such a sweet and short-lived season of life, fail to get photos with her own precious baby? It’s a mistake that I hope I can help you avoid.

When Gwen was born, I convinced myself that we needed to concentrate on “more important expenses,” such as our hospital bills, daycare, diapers, etc. I told myself that I wasn’t photo-ready and needed to lose my pregnancy weight instead. And having just acquired a fancy Canon DSLR camera, I decided I would DIY Gwen’s newborn session. While I did get some brilliant images of my precious baby girl and her father, one important thing was missing from our photos: me. Now all Gwen has to look back upon is a handful of dark, grainy iPhone photos my husband snapped…and that thought will likely haunt me for years to come. Hindsight is 20/20, I suppose. But dang, that was a hard lesson to learn.

I’ve (mostly) come to terms with the fact that I cannot go back and change the past. Instead, I have been able to do a wonderful thing with my regret: transform it into a beautiful mission to offer others what I missed out on. It’s actually part of what inspired me to launch Cecelia Paige Photography. The newborn stage is short-lived and if I can help others preserve sweet memories with their loved ones as a COMPLETE family unit, then that means my mistake wasn’t all for nothing. It was a learning experience.

A professional newborn session might seem like an extravagant expense, and you might not feel photo-ready shortly after giving birth, but a good friend put things into perspective for me: the photos aren’t for you; it’s for them. It’s an investment that will truly last a lifetime, giving your family tangible keepsakes they can pass down from generation to generation. It’s a gift your children can look back on at any point and be reminded of how loved they are now, and how they always have been. So please, for the love of all that is good in this world, learn from my mistake! And go take some photos. I promise, you will not regret it.