Is there a market for newborn photography in the country? Studio Picturerific says yes
Maisha Samiha’s Studio Picturerific is perhaps leading the way for newborn photography in the country. The studio (set up in 2018) has already delivered hundreds of commissioned works so far
Infants grow and change in the blink of an eye. While parents take advantage of the mobile camera to document as many moments as possible during this miraculous transformation, many also want high-quality and professionally captured images of their little ones as part of the memoir.
And that paved the way for not just professionally taken photos, but photos with props and set ups too: baby napping blissfully on a pair of hands, accentuating its tininess, or resting on a pile of books, appearing oblivious to the unnatural setting it was put into, and so on.
This is exactly why photographer Maisha Samiha decided to launch her studio focused specifically on newborn photography. Maisha's Studio Picturerific began five years ago, and its Pinterest-worthy newborn shoots have been gaining traction on social media for quite some time now.
The studio is a passion project of Maisha, who has been a photography enthusiast since her teenage years. And now she is the lead photographer of her own studio.
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"I got my first DSLR in 2010. It was a gift from my uncle, who was a big inspiration. I liked to do everything he did and I think I inherited my passion for photography from him," said Maisha, a Brac University alumnus.
As a university student she used to do small photography gigs on the weekends. After her graduation in 2017, Maisha started considering photography as a career.
Weddings and other conventional work did not quite attract her. She began exploring other areas, particularly the ones that hadn't become popular yet. Infant photography seemed like a comparatively new and challenging genre to her.
"Wedding photography is very popular in our country. Even pre-wedding and post-wedding photography have also become very common. But newborn photography is not nearly as popular," she said.
In 2018, Maisha quit her full-time job in telecommunications to set up the studio at Gulshan 1 and to concentrate on this completely. And in the same year, she attended a workshop in Malaysia where she learned portraits, product photography and studio lighting.
In 2019, Maisha attended another workshop to gain further expertise in newborn photography. This workshop was conducted by the award-winning newborn photographer Tara Bergman.
Maisha says she is the only internationally certified newborn photographer in the country.
How to capture the perfect newborn photo
The perfect time for newborn photography, according to Maisha, is between the first five and 14 days, when a baby's bones are the most malleable for posing. "After two weeks, babies become very active. Their sleeping hours drop significantly and you are less likely to capture perfect still shots," explained the photographer.
More than half of the clients Maisha has had for newborn photo shoots were those who did maternity shoots with her. She encourages her clients to keep in touch so that the newborn sessions can take place at the right time.
Currently, Studio Picturerific has a team of four including two female photographers and a male cinematographer. So far, the team has done photoshoots of about 300 babies.
Studio Picturerific has different packages for newborn photoshoots. The price of a basic package starts from Tk17,000 and ranges up to Tk50,000 depending on the level of customisation required for the shoot.
Prior to the onset of Covid-19 pandemic, the studio's profit margin was averaging at Tk2.5 lac monthly. And currently, they are still recovering from the reeling effects of the pandemic, averaging at Tk1.5 lac a month for profit margin.
Newborn photography is one of the toughest forms of photography as it deals with infants, said Maisha, adding, "No matter how good of a photographer you are, you have to be great at handling kids if you want to excel in this profession."
A natural with kids, Maisha finds it easy to do what it takes to be calm and composed when dealing with babies, particularly the wailing ones. "Keeping your calm when babies cry is very important," said Maisha.
Props are also a vital part of newborn photography. "Without props, there is no composition, no story. The smart arrangement of props helps us get perfect snaps," she said.
All the props used by the studio are imported from China, be it swaddles, bean bags, backdrops for newborn furniture. These are always washed and sanitised before reuse, Maisha was quick to mention.
