Celebrity’s baby photos can fetch an enormous amount of money, often causing the paparazzi to go to extreme measures to get one. Leaving the parents with the option of selling the picture themselves or being stalked until someone else captures their bundle of joy.

Music stars Beyonce and Jay-Z decided to introduce their daughter Blue Ivy to their fans via Tumblr explaining, ‘We welcome you to share in our joy. Thank you for respecting our privacy during this beautiful time in our lives. The Carter Family.’ By doing so, the parents may not have made any money from the photographs but they did buy themselves some privacy by removing the paparazzi’s incentive.

How much money would a magazine have paid for Blue Ivy’s picture? The exact amount is unknown but a look at the high amounts other celebrity parents have received is a good indicator. According to Today, Jennifer Lopez and Mark Anthony were paid a reported $5 million by People magazine for pictures of twins Max and Emme while the Jolie-Pitt twins were brought in a reported 15 to $20 million for theirs.

In a Forbes article, OK! Deputy Editor Rob Shuter explains the reasons magazines are willing to pay such high sums: first off, they sell magazines--job No. 1 for publishers. Consider Shiloh's June 19, 2006 People cover. The debut pictures sold nearly 2.2 million copies, 45% above average.

The Today article quotes a source as saying “I think people forget that one of the things that motivate celebrities is greed. Celebrities like free s--- and will walk off a photo shoot wearing a $10,000 mink coat like it’s theirs…They feel like part of the payback for being harassed (by the paparazzi) should be cash. It’s only a select few who are motivated by charity and charitable things.”

In a video with CNN, Jessica Alba, 30, clarified why she and husband Cash Warren sold their daughter’s picture to OK! magazine (for a reported $1.5 million) and felt Beyonce should do the same. Alba explains, For our family, we just wanted to control the experience. We put the money that the picture made into a bank account for Honor to do whatever she wants to do with. It's her picture, it's her birth, and we didn't want it to be like a weird thing when we were walking out of the house with her for the first time. The Sin City actor continues, If there's a price tag on your child -- which is so bizarre -- people will go to crazy lengths. We wanted to avoid the hysteria.

The Jolie-Pitts also choose how their children’s photos would be debuted and in turned helped others. The mega stars donated the money paid for the first photos of Pax, Shiloh and their record-breaking amount for the twins, all to charity.

It is obvious that Beyonce and Jay-Z highly value their privacy and by releasing family pictures themselves, they gave everyone equal access to Blue Ivy’s first pictures. However, it is unlikely it will cause the paparazzi to back away from snapping the new family every chance they get. 

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