06/25/2026
This might be controversial, but…
it’s 2026 and I know most Americans are watching their budgets closely! Here’s some ideas for ways to save, and a few key times it’s absolutely worth it to hire the best in your budget:
SAVE:
-Gender reveals, pregnancy announcements, and baby cake smash photos are so fun when you DIY!
-For candid party photos, hire a beginner or ask attendees to share snapshots.
-For headshots and quick holiday card photos, find a good photographer hosting mini sessions
WHEN TO SPLURGE: seniors, weddings, newborns, and bo***ir.
In all these milestones, you want a SEASONED PRO bringing years of experience to make sure the sessions run smoothly… and the gallery turns out beautifully!
There’s actually two genres I left off this list… because I couldn’t decide where to put them!
1. maternity sessions. If you’re truly on a tight budget, book a mini session for maternity photos, or DIY document your weekly growing bump. That said, I do have women tell me they regret not doing a proper maternity session to celebrate their journey and feel beautiful! And many photographers, me included, bundle a full maternity + newborn session together for even better savings. So it might be worth it to splurge on a bundled package!
2. Annual family photos. Some people are happy with a quick mini session to get the holiday card photo… personally, I am not one of them. We do a full family photoshoot every year, because I LOVE photos and it’s important to me. So personally— I do splurge on family photoshoots with photographers I adore, and travel to reach them. BUT if money is tight, I think it’s better to invest in great photographs *every other year* rather than doing cheap photos more often. Quality over quantity.
What do you think? Is there any I left off this list? Anything on this list you’d put in the opposite catagory??
