Hagit Baruch by Linda L. May
Following a Dream

Los Angeles-based professional photographer, Hagit Baruch, specializes in capturing the art and beauty of pregnancy, babies, children and families. She forms very personal, long-term relationships with her clients. Pregnancy is only the beginning of the family story she tells photographically. Hagit follows the growth and development of each family through the years, forming a bond of trust and friendship. As a result of this personal approach, Hagit’s business is booming, with no signs of letting up any time soon.

Hagit is an active member of PPA, WPPI and PPC (Professional Photographers of California). In 2004, she won first place in the WPPI 8x10 Print Competition in the individual category, for her image titled “Soft Touch.” In 2003 and 2004, Hagit also won numerous honorable mentions.
Several magazines have published Hagit’s outstanding photographs, including Entertainment Weekly, In Style, People, Teen, In Touch and Us Weekly.

Her love of photography began at age 15, when her parents bought her a Nikkormat camera. During high school in Israel, she studied photography and fine art, and grew up taking pictures. At age 18, Hagit served two years in the Israeli Army, before coming to Los Angeles in 1996. She fully intended to return to Israel; however, she met and married Steve Granitz, a highly published press photographer, and stayed in California.

For the next five years, Hagit honed her photographic skills by assisting her husband and shooting alongside him at charity events. But after shooting her first portraits of a pregnant woman, and the first few hours of the baby’s life at the hospital, she realized she had found her passion. The beauty of this experience overwhelmed her. The images revealed so much more than she could express in words. By freezing this amazing event, showing the hope and anticipation of a new life, Hagit knew she had captured an irreversible moment in time. Pregnancy, newborns and children have always made her feel very close to the creation of life. In 2002, she started her business specializing in this type of important photography.

“When I started my business, I was very surprised to learn there was not much competition in this field, for as important as it is,” Hagit says. “My pregnant friends and their children helped me get my portfolio together. From the very beginning, my business steadily grew by word of mouth. This is a very lucrative market. I decided to expand my coverage to include not just the pregnancy, but the first days of life at the hospital, the party for the baby, at three months, and six months and then the baby’s first birthday. The idea is to capture the special moments of each family’s first year with the baby, and continue with the next pregnancy and future children. This approach is different than most photographers who shoot either pregnancy or children, but not both. Instead, I’m offering a long-term relationship with clients, and telling a complete story of the first year of life.”

Hagit offers this coverage in the form of packages. Clients may buy one session, two sessions, or the complete story, depending on their needs. Clients book this coverage up front, and pay for it as well, so the responsibility for the baby’s pictures is taken off the parents. Clients who buy the entire plan, from pregnancy through the first birthday, receive a discount. Additional reprints and enlargements cost extra.

Advertising and promoting in the usual manner is not for Hagit. All her business comes through referrals, word of mouth, and her unique web site. She believes in giving back to the families and children who support her business, so she donates portrait sessions and photographs to local charity auctions and schools. She also volunteers her time helping such organizations as Children With AIDS and Cancer. Hagit’s target market group is also exposed to her outstanding images lining the walls of area OB-GYN and pediatrician offices, baby and maternity stores and yoga centers.

Instead of sending messengers to drop off her business cards at these various locations, she goes personally, meets the store owner or doctor, and offers to hand out their business cards in her studio. This personal contact establishes good working relationships, and further increases studio revenues, because she often photographs the children and families of these establishments as a result of her exhibits.

All printed materials, including the colorful business cards, are created to “wow” the public. The postcard-sized business cards come in various shapes, like stars and circles. They boast vibrant colors, and striking images, matching those on her web site, which influence people to pick one up and take it home. At one maternity ward, Hagit supplies over 400 cards a month, so this method of getting the word out is productive. Hagit refuses to be like any other photographer, although she is eager to learn from others. Her style of work and approach to the business stands out from the crowd.

When photographing children, she always takes some time to play and interact with them before introducing the camera. Parents are also instructed to bring the child’s favorite toys and snacks to the portrait session. Whenever possible, Hagit meets with the whole family for half an hour prior to the session, so the children know she’s a friend and get used to being around her on the portrait day.

“I have learned that many little ones get scared when the big camera is pulled out. They don’t know what to expect. Some even cry. Most of my sessions are done outdoors, often in the client’s backyard. My clients are tired of the same old posed studio shots. They want more candid shots, in special locations, with the kids playing with familiar toys. When I’m shooting outdoors or in their backyards, I lay a blanket down, with some of their favorite toys, and we chat and play for 15 minutes. I ask the parents to sit on the blanket with us, which makes me appear to be more a part of the family. By the time I bring out the camera, they don’t even notice because they’re having fun playing with me,” Hagit says.

“Little girls are more cooperative than boys, and easier to work with. However, I’ve found a foolproof method for winning over little boys too. I give them a plastic camera and ask them to shoot pictures of mommy and daddy and me before I photograph them. Many photographers forget that children cannot be forced to have fun or be comfortable. You can’t plop them down and begin taking pictures. The camera idea is better than giving them candy because they are learning something constructive, which also helps them to understand the photographic process. Several children have later told their parents that they wanted to become photographers someday too.”

When photographing pregnant women, Hagit has to be sensitive to their needs and careful to capture them in the most flattering way. Therefore, Hagit encourages them to be photographed during their sixth or seventh month, before they get puffy and bloated and too tired to bother being photographed.

“Women come to me because they feel that someday the baby will appreciate seeing what mommy looked like when she was pregnant, not because they feel sexy or beautiful. But, I make them look good. I ask the girls to be ready with hair and makeup done before the session. I use different kinds of fabrics, scarves and accessories to drape them. My photography is not about the face, but the belly. Placing fabric all around hides areas we don’t want to show. I ask them to bring something from their past, like old baby shoes or rings—anything that connects them to their own childhood. My pregnant subjects look so gentle and sweet. People just love the pictures,” Hagit explains.

“Before the shoot, I like to spend 15 minutes showing them my portfolio, discussing their expectations and desires, and explaining the photographic process. To break the ice during the actual shoot, we talk about baby names, their doctors and hospitals—whatever is of interest to them. Then, I ask if they have some feature on their face that they feel uncomfortable about or a part of the body they wish to hide. I also ask to see previous pictures that they liked and disliked. By seeing the pictures, I know which is their best side, and which angles work best. Shooting infrared film seems to bring out their best too, because those images are the most popular. I had one woman with stretch marks all over her belly. She was a bit embarrassed to get the portraits done. When she saw the proofs, she cried her eyes out, she was so pleased. She didn’t even recognize herself because the infrared made her appear artistic and super.”

As for equipment, Hagit still prefers film over digital. However, she owns a Nikon D100 camera, which she uses when shooting events with her husband. For her portrait work, she uses Nikon F100 and Hasselblad cameras, loaded with a variety of Kodak and Fuji films, in color, black and white and black-and- white infrared . Because 90 percent of her work is done with available light, she only uses Nikon SB-800 and SB-80DX flash units when absolutely necessary, in low-light situations and for fill-in. She also uses a variety of focal length lenses with each format, for various perspectives and angles.

All the images she delivers are custom-printed by master printer Robert Cavalli, owner of Still Moving Pictures lab.

Usually, Hagit shoots three rolls of film for each sitting. Proofs are presented to clients in tastefully designed boxes, tied with a ribbon, like a gift—which it is because clients get to keep the 4x6-inch photographic proofs as part of the price.

Hagit has a busy schedule planned for the future, including publishing books on pregnancy and children, holding exhibitions in art galleries and museums, and speaking to beginning photographers on how to start a successful studio business. Of course, she plans to continue growing her business and following her dream. Readers may contact Hagit Baruch at: hagit@wireimage.com; or view her web site at: www.hagitbaruch.com/.

Linda L. May is a freelance writer/photographer based in the Midwest.