BellyitchBlog

A few years back, celebrities made a lot of money off of their babies’ first photos and magazines would pay millions for the exclusive rights. Gone are those days as more reveal first photos themselves on their social media feed without much fan fare.

I think the drop in demand has to do with decline in the magazine sales industry, in general, and also the explosive growth of digital and online media where getting free copies of “exclusive” things is really really easy to do. It no longer is a lucrative way for stars to earn money from their offspring.

But alas, though I am not sure if they were paid or not, but Lauren Conrad and her husband William Tell released their son William James‘ first photo to PEOPLE magazine.

They are featured on this week’s cover. Inside the magazine, the former star of MTV‘s The Hills and lifestyle brand talks how she’s evolved on the idea of becoming a mom.

“In my early 20s I was open to having them or not having them. But after meeting William, I changed my mind,” she told the mag. “I knew I wanted to have a family with him. But I didn’t want to do it right away.”

She adds that her new little one has definitely changed her perspective on things though she was never really baby crazy.

“I’m crazy about Liam, but I never really got baby fever,” she adds. “We wanted to enjoy being married and to really be in the right space. We took our time, so it was something to look forward to.”

The couple welcomed their son last month.

Kelly Rowland, Milla Jovovich, Vanessa Lachey, Alicia Keys, Terri Seymour and Liv Tyler showed off the first photos of their newborns in social media and magazines.

There have been a lot of awe-worthy moments of late as many of the celebrity moms we followed while pregnant have been sharing super adorable pics of their newborns in social media.

Gone is the trend when magazines paid top dollar upwards to millions for the first photos of babies born to celebrities. The economy and the advent of social media have dried up the market. Most celebs Instagram or tweet first photos these days.

Not all, however.

For example, new mom singer Kelly Rowland previously had shared obscure and behind the head shots of her newborn son Titan with manager-hubby Tim Witherspoon on social media. Fans can see Titan’s face on the cover and inside the April edition of Essence magazine, on shelves now.

For others, Instagram and Twitter are still the top choice for sharing. Yet, they are still choosing to shield their babies faces perhaps because they plan a full reveal later (in a magazine) or to avoid the sometimes critical and biting commentary from commenters.

Beyonce, early on, only showed photos of her daughter Blue Ivy from the back and so did British singer and TV host Rochelle Humes who shares plenty photos of her daughter Alaia-Mai with her ex-boyband hubby Marvin Humes but only from the back as well

Vanessa Lachey chose Easter to share a photo on Instagram of her second child, daughter Brooklyn Elisabeth, who is now 3-months old. She wore an adorable white knit rabbit hat and matching bottoms with the cutest bunny tail. It’s not a face pic so there’s still a chance we may see her in a mag soon too. Nick Lachey and Vanessa welcomed their daughter on Jan. 5. She joined big brother Camden John, 2.

Liv Tyler welcomed her son with boyfriend David Garner in February and recently shared a photo on Twitter of herself staring at her son lovingly while holding him. The Leftovers star is also mom to son Milo with ex-husband Royston Langdon.

Model Milla Jovovich also announced the birth of her second daughter Dashiel Edan Jovovich-Anderson via social media. The Resident Evil actress and her director-movie producer husband Paul W. S. Anderson welcomed their second child on Wednesday, April 1. They are also parents to 7-year old daughter Ever Gabo.

New mom Terri Seymour too took to Instagram to announcer her daughter’s arrival. The Extra! TV host who is married to 24-year old Brit model Clark Mallon welcomed her first child on on March 9 in Los Angeles and joins the moms having their first baby 40 and over club.

Finally, singer-songwriter-activist Alicia Keys chose Instagram as well to show off a family photo of her son as well.

First Photos

Lauren Conrad Shares Son’s First Photos In People

Celebrity moms share first photos of their newborns