photographer

sales consultant

sales associate

customer service representative

forester

Bella-Baby-Photography

I have worked for Bella Baby for almost 6 years, and I have nothing but positive things to say about working for this company.

Fresh out of college with a degree in photography but no idea how to actually use it, Bella Baby gave me a place to quickly hone my craft and improve my technical skills. I can honestly say that working for Bella Baby was the best thing for my growth and my career for so many different reasons.

Firstly, you get the opportunity to do several shoots per day, which means TONS of practice. As a new photographer, when I started here- this made me SO much more comfortable and familiar with my camera, and improved my skills working quickly with my settings.

Secondly, you get a ton of experience working with different lighting conditions, and it really was helpful for me to figure out how to approach each different lighting scenario in a semi controlled environment- (I didn't actually know how to 'look for the good light' until I worked for Bella!) 

Thirdly, you get so much experience working with people. Learning how to interact with and direct clients can be intimidating for a new photographer, and with Bella I quickly learned how to do this easily, positively, and efficiently- which was tremendously helpful for my own business as well. 

Fourth, sales. This job gives you a really easy formula to follow to MAKE MONEY. Packages are simple, easy to break down for the client, and once you have the technical skills, people skills, and confidence, the photos literally sell themselves. Now, some people may be turned off by the fact that this is a sales job, and you are paid on commission-  but, in the photography industry as a whole, sales skills are crucial. Whether you're working for another company selling product after a service (like with Bella), or even working for yourself- you need to know how to sell. Before working for Bella I had ZERO sales experience, and this job has not only given me the skills and confidence to sell and make $$$ while working in the hospital, but also the confidence to sell my own services/packages for my photography business. Which leads me to the next positive-

Fifth- flexibility. THIS. especially if you are already an experienced photographer and the first 3/4 things I listed don't really apply to you- the flexibility is a HUGE bonus that applies to everyone. I started my own photography business a few years after I started working for Bella, and Bella provides enough flexibility for me to be able to earn a steady income year round, while still running my own successful business as well. I run my own business as a wedding photographer, and I'm able to request more or less shifts depending on whether it's my busy or slow season, and this is HUGE. I don't book a ton of weddings in Chicago November-April, and during those months I simply request to be scheduled more. Luckily for us- babies are born year round, haha- and it's a huge relief to be able to earn a reliable income during those slower wedding months! It's truly such an awesome part time job to have, especially if you have your own biz. Some regions also have the opportunity to do Bella Life (on-location and in-studio family shoots for Bella clients) which pay a commission on both session fees and product sales, and afford even more flexibility with your hospital schedule.

The only thing I ever really see people complaining about with this job is the commission based pay- but it's as simple as this: If you go in and truly try to succeed, you will. If you go in with a positive attitude, give new parents a great experience, strive to deliver a beautiful gallery of images, and follow the same simple sales approach with each room- you WILL make money. Your paycheck is going to reflect the amount of effort you put into this job.

Keep in mind as a commission based job, the faster and better you're able to do your job, the more money you make per hour, and the less of a time commitment it will be. Being lazy/sitting out the clock trying to max out on hourly pay (if you're in one of those regions) is not a wise strategy, you are guaranteed to make WAY more in commission per hour by simply putting in the effort. 

I love this job, and hope to be with BBP for years to come!

Overall I loved my experience with Bella Baby. It was the best thing I could've done to get a jump start on my career as a professional photographer. I learned so much during my time there and I would not be the photographer I am today if I would not have worked for them. 

Having said that, once I got to a certain skill level and became a more competent photographer, I felt like I wasn't being fairly compensated for my work. But that is how this job is set up- you make as much money as you can based off of your sales that you generate. So while you might be an outstanding photographer, if you arent also a solid sales person then you probably wont make what you feel is worth your time doing this job.  Another big factor is that a large portion of the families you see in the hospitals are not in the position financially to drop a couple hundred dollars on newborn photos- so sometimes its not even about your skills as a sales person. On average,  I sold about half of what I shot. Oh and the real kicker is that you only get to keep 40%  of what you sell. Bella Baby gets the other 60% even though you are the one doing ALL of the work and you are using ALL of your own equipment. They do not provide any equipment other than an ipad to show slideshows on. So all of that wear and tear is on YOU. 

It is a high-paced job with the company wanting you to be in and out of the patient rooms in like 15-20 minutes, which is totally unrealistic when you are dealing with newborns and even more so in a hospital environment. You have to take a back seat to any doctors and nurses, lactation, 24-hour testing, car seat trials, circumcisions, and a host of other things. It definitely stretches you and teaches you to be very flexible because you have no other choice. The photographer is the only person who comes into the family's room who has nothing medical to do with the family whatsoever, so you have to stop, even in mid-shoot if someone comes into the room to take baby for whatever they may need to do and smile the whole time they are interrupting your photoshoot. It was definitely a balancing act most days. 

The thing that really irked me the most though was after being there for 6+ years (obviously by that point I had shown my dedication to the job/company) they were not willing to discuss any possibilities of just making me a full time, salaried employee instead of straight commission. You would think that when someone had shown that long-term dedication to doing this job, they would want to hang on to that employee. The thing is though, they know that there are hundreds of other new photographers they could bring on to replace you, so why would they consider making you a permanent fixture instead of a contract employee with essentially no benefits or incentives to stay on. When I left it was with the overwhelming feeling of, well- it's their loss.

Photographers do it all, from knowing how to control their manual shooting  camera on the fly, to greeting the families, setting up (cleaning) the room, wrapping the baby, dressing them and photographing them, to taking family photos,  & siblings sometimes. You are the editor of your photos and presenter of your gallery of work along with being the sales person to sell products to the family you greeted that morning who want photos. 

If you don’t sell the same day or within the 2 week window, you make no money for the time spend with that family, which can be 1-2 hours depending on the situation. Some days you have a good sale and other days there are little or no sales. 

Commission only based work after you spent the time to complete each shoot for a presentation. Some parents don’t buy the same day and ask you to email them the photos, then you wait & they may never buy anything. You are then out the time spent and did not get a dime for any of it. On top of that, you enter in all the data for each client and do the admin work for free.  

The more you shoot, the more you can potentially sell is the company push.  Your shoot rate and sales rate is constantly drilled into you. Meeting company sales goals can earn you a $1.00 or $2.50 per baby shot in a month, so over 3 months when they pay you, it can add up, but think about that, you made this little amount on a shoot minus taxes for each family that didn’t buy as well as did buy. 

You don’t always sell, then what?. You leave your galleries behind for the company to potentially sell later when you have left and you never see any money.  

Think about going in each day with a bigger goal, clearer mind that things will be better *this day*,  sometimes they do get better and brighter, they also don’t stay this way long.  Management plays favorites and its obvious. If you don’t shoot a crazy amount of babies or sell their top packages, you are not a winner to them.


At first glance, the role appeared to be engaging and full of potential. However, after starting, I quickly realized that the systems in place were outdated and lacked organization. Attempts to suggest improvements were met with resistance, as the management seemed to take constructive feedback personally. The explanation given was that the company, being small, lacked the financial resources to upgrade—despite having recently developed an updated system for photographers. The training provided was inadequate given the complexity of the existing system. Expectations to master the system within a week were unrealistic, and failure to do so led to dissatisfaction from management. The training process was further compromised by the fact that the boss was juggling her own workload while training new hires. Despite being reassured that asking questions was acceptable, it became clear that this was not the case. There was also evident favoritism within the team, as certain new hires received preferential treatment, which was openly acknowledged in front of others. After just a week and two days, I was informed that I was not a good fit due to not learning the system quickly enough, despite having indicated the previous day that I had finally understood the processes. Given my past experience in more demanding roles, I believe I was not given a fair opportunity to prove my capabilities before the decision to terminate my employment was made. Additionally, I have a learning disability, which makes it essential for me to have adequate time and support during the training process. Unfortunately, this was not taken into consideration.

I absolutely love this job, I get to take pictures of squishy newborns all day. The first 48 hours in the hospital can be fast and scary for new parents, lots of testing, doctors and nurses coming it at all hours. I get to be the person who comes in with a smile ready to celebrate that you just had a freaking baby! You don't have to pass a test with me you just get to enjoy your perfect new baby with a fun photoshoot. Sometimes parents bring stuff from home like their own baby blankets or outfits they're excited to show off. Maybe it's the first girl after having 3 boys and mom can hardly wait to bust out that tutu. Or maybe its the first grand baby in the family and both sets of grandparents are in the room I get to do a generation photo. I once had a baby born on great grandpas birthday so we did a cute moment of the two of them with a little cake someone brought, it was so fun. I love hearing their stories and sharing this big moment. It's a quick 15-20 min session but every room has their own experiences to share. I have been here about 3 years and continue to learn and grow with each photoshoot. As far as the company itself; I have met some incredible people from all over the country who encourage me and support my photography journey. I can't imagine what I would do if I didn't have these people to turn to. Everything from tips in lightroom to shooting with an external flash. We share creative posing ideas and images of the insanely cute outfits we come across. I've been able to build my confidence in photography and sales not only with this company but with my personal photography brand as well. There are definitely challenges but you'd find that anywhere, working in a creative field is hard but its so worth it. I can't imagine doing anything else.

I call this a housewife job because it's something that you would do pretty much if you were bored and just looking to fill your time. You have to go through all these medical tests and hurdles just to get hired, and you don't get reimbursed for 3 months, and you have to remind them to do so. Training is all day for three days then they just throw you to the wolves to do it all yourself. They expect you to have the equipment, if you don't they want you to buy it, if you don't have the money they want to buy it for you and then you pay for it by taking the money out of your paycheck. If you use the equipment they have at the hospitals, good luck. None of the clients or staff at the hospitals seem to understand that you work on COMISSION and you aren't just trying to "hang out" all day because if no one buys you are not getting paid. They seem to think you get paid hourly. I wish that was the case. I think they either need to up the commission percentage or pay hourly plus commission. You can not survive off this job, there's no security at all. They try to tell you  your pictures will sell themselves and there's so much you can do to make a sale, but the bottom line is you can't force someone to buy. I'm currently sitting in the office, and I've waited for an hour for social services to get out of a room. The only baby I have today and I know she isn't going to buy. I'm literally wasting my time and for no pay. It's pretty much a gimmick, don't drag yourself into this unless you're just going to use it for experience or "extra" cash. Find a stable studio job elsewhere if you want an actual job. I'm not trying to be mean, just stating the reality that I have experienced.

Bella Baby Photography is a great company that produces a beautiful service for new families at the hospital. I have been working with Bella for 4 years and still love working for them! I love the flexible schedule they allow and the general feel of the pay and workflow. I generally get to work less and make more for my time. It's really special getting to work with families in the hospital taking photos of their baby's first moments of life.

It is a part-time job (usually 2-3 days a week) that allows you to pursue your own business and other opportunities at the same time. Of course, since its part-time job it does mean that it is still going to be supplementary income, so it is helpful to have another source of income. Overall, I do feel working with Bella is a great way to break into working with newborns and gain lots of hands-on experiences as a photographer.

I will say that you do have to be a hard-working individual that is great at multi-tasking and working independently. You also must be organized and have basic professional camera skills and camera gear. If you do not have these items you are not going to make as much since it is a commission paying job. I have noticed if you are willing to learn from your mistakes and be proactive and listen to suggestions, you can easily learn new ways to improve your sales.

I have also learned so much more about posing newborns, lighting and shadows, and clarity of images working with Bella Baby. Thanks, Bella for giving me a great way to grow my photography skills, while making money.

I had no issues with my manager, she was actually very helpful and understanding. With that being said, the area I worked in was extremely understaffed and therefore the entire team was constantly being stretched thin and trying to cover for one another and make ends meet. If you have a lot of availability you will often find yourself being asked to cover for someone else's shift on very short notice. The issue I struggled with the most was the money I made, or rather didn't make. There's a week for paid training at $10/hr which is nice, but then after that you only make 30-35% commission  on your sales.

Don't get me wrong, there is a chance for you to do well for yourself if you sell a lot, but this was simply not happening for me (or my coworkers either for the most part). You can go to work and spend an entire day and make no money at all. You can travel to other hospitals and get zero compensation. You can make beautiful images but people won't buy, and that's okay, they do not have to. However, this obviously directly effects the size of your check. I was not making anywhere close to minimum wage once I did the math. There is a back-up pay when things get bad but that was not enough to be sustainable for me at this time.

This job would be good as a second job or something to start part time, but just be wary of your time and the amount of work you put in to the compensation you earn. It is not an impossible job, and it's fun especially if you like working with babies and people, but just be cautious if you apply and want to make a sustainable amount of money within the first few months of your employment.

I needed a job that fit within my college degree and would allow me to complete my internship requirements. I'm so glad I found Bella Baby! They worked with my schedule throughout the hiring processes, and continue to work with me and my schedule! They have allowed me to complete my hours (and requirements) for my internship class, while giving me the hands on experience I was looking for! With this job you control the day by setting your schedule, photographing the babies, editing and selling to the families. If you're an aspiring photographer wanting to step out into the photography world, Bella Baby is a great step to take! Management is really good at helping you out, she always responds within a timely manner and answers any questions I have throughout the day! Before you start working on your own, you go through a 3 day field training at the hospital with a field trainer. After that your field trainer becomes another person in your corner ready to help when needed, I have been able to contact mine with any questions, or just random thoughts from the day and she always responds. There is a great support system helping you out from different hospitals in different areas, they are always happy to share advice and tips for you. The hospital is great as well, with a pretty high birth rate, so there's always the opportunity to have some great photo sessions. The hospital staff is also very friendly, from the high school volunteers to the nurses and pediatricians; they will talk to you, and help you out in any way that they can!  Plus you get to photograph babies everyday!

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