Birth photography is on the rise.

It is one of the most raw and beautiful sessions that any photographer can offer.  People spend thousands of dollars on wedding photography.  At that time its deemed as “the most important day” of your life.  Little do people know, the most important day of your life will forever be the birth of your child/children. So, why not document it?

I understand some of the reservations.  I’ve been through labor and delivery and had some of the same fears and thoughts most everyone does.  I also want to clear up a lot of the excuses I hear when people decide not to hire a birth photographer.  SOOO, I will do that here!

1. “I don’t want a stranger in the room.”….When giving birth, you are in a room FULL of strangers.  Every nurse, midwife, tech, doctor, etc are strangers.  As birth photographers, we can take on any role you’d like.  We can act as a support or we can be a fly on the wall doing nothing more than documenting.  That role is completely up to you, the client.  Don’t let this stop you from having beautiful memories.
2. “My husband can just take them”… Some of you first time moms may not know this, but your husband is going to be super busy…taking care of YOU.  His focus will be on you, not taking pictures.  When the time comes to push, he has a job of helping you.  Sure the nurses would work with him if he wanted to take photos, but then you have the problem of not having his reaction of watching and seeing his child being born.  Help him out and hire a professional!
3. “It’s just so expensive”…  You are going to receive SO many gifts that you will never use.  Why not ask for donations towards photos if its something you really want?  Some photographers also are willing to work out payment plans.  ALSO, you’re pregnant for 40 weeks.  That gives plenty of time to save and put away to make sure you are able to capture the day your life changes forever.  Don’t let the price tag scare you!
4. “Why is it so expensive!?”…Well, birth is unpredictable. We are on call for you.  We have sitters, family, etc. on call.  If you call at 3:00am and you’re in labor, we jump into action, making sure that everyone is taken care of so we can head to the hospital.  Once at the hospital we are there until baby is born.  I personally have been at the hospital for only 4hrs and I have been there for 14hrs.  Also, it isn’t just the time there, it is also the time spent on editing.  All in all, its a lot of time.
5. “I don’t want pictures of ‘all that down there'”…Ok, then we won’t take pictures of anything “down there”.  I will, however, take hundreds of pictures of your baby’s first cry, first bath, first snuggle and your expressions the first time you see and hold your baby.  You don’t have to have pictures of anything you don’t want.  I had one of my best friends (who is a photographer) there to document the birth of my second son.  I told her “stay above my shoulder and keep it clean”.  She did exactly that.  I don’t have a single photo of anything that happened down under.

From personal experience, hiring a birth photographer was the best decision I ever made.  I cried seeing them…because I didn’t have the same types of pictures with my first.  Photos from my first son’s birth are grainy iPhone pictures, they don’t even come close to comparing.  Don’t let that be you.  Savor these memories.  Have something to look back on after birth when you were too tired and emotional to remember it all.  Don’t look at that newborn baby in your arms and think, “I should have hired that photographer”…

So what’s stopping you?

AND, if all of those aren’t reason enough to hire a birth photographer…look at these…

 

 

Xoxo-H