JEFF CAPLAN'S MY MINUTE OF NEWS
Jeff Caplan’s Minute of News: Are baby pictures really ‘priceless?’
Mar 6, 2024, 6:00 AM
(Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital and Intermountain Foundation)
Editor’s note: This is an editorial piece. An editorial, like a news article, is based on fact but also shares opinions. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and are not associated with our newsroom.
SALT LAKE CITY — Do you still have your kids’ baby pictures? Looking back, it doesn’t matter how much you paid for them, because decades later, they’re priceless.
But I wonder how new moms and dads will feel when they look back. There’s this new trend in baby photography.
The Wall Street Journal reports couples are paying up to $11,000 for baby pics.
So what does $11,000 get you?
The initial planning session with the photographer takes place 20 weeks before birth, where the parents discuss a theme for the photo shoot.
Say you like the TV show “Friends.” Your photographer will build a pint-size version of the set, maybe two feet tall, ordering miniature props from overseas or Etsy.
And then comes the blessed moment. Five to 10 days after birth — the perfect time for a newborn shoot during which your baby will sleep on a tiny version of the couch from Friends, on an identical but tiny set.
A space heater will keep little Hudson or Eleanor warm and sleepy as they shoot the pics.
Then, when the shoot is over, you’re out 10 grand. You get photo albums where your child is enjoying your favorite passions. Whether it’s a mini ski lodge or a Jazz locker room. Or a Starbucks.
Photos that used to be about the newborn baby’s beauty are now pics about the mom and dad’s passions they can post on social media. And someday, when little Hudson or Eleanor turn 40 their kids will ask what is “Friends?”
And they’ll answer, grandma got 76 likes for this photo.
Jeff Caplan is the host of Jeff Caplan’s Afternoon News on KSL NewsRadio. Follow him on Facebook and X.