Overcoming uncertainty about Birth Photography | Part 1: Birth photography is a thing

The universe just put you on the most fantastic roller coaster. There’s infinite possibility ahead and an overwhelming amount of choices on your radar.

You’ve made most or all of the salient decisions regarding your birth: location, healthcare providers, support people, maybe even the songs that will go on your labor playlist.

Then the question pops in your brain, inspired by a relative, a friend, or images you recently saw on Instagram:

DO I WANT A professional PHOTOGRAPHER at my birth? Is that a thing people do?

Yes. Yes, it’s a thing that some people do. Shocked?

Let’s unpack this for a moment.

It’s your wedding day. A photographer is a given.

Maybe your kid has a baptism, a mitzvah, a sweet sixteen, or a college graduation party. Photographers are welcome, sometimes expected.

In terms of emotional life moments, these can’t hold a candle to the birth of a child. Then why is it so crazy to have a photographer present to document it all? As written in a prior post:

Birth is the single most moving and visceral of all human experiences.

For most people, that flood of joy when you hold that baby - your baby - for the first time. . .well, you just can’t beat it.

And for the many people who don’t have an instant connection with their child, for parents whose attachment comes days, weeks, or months later, birth images can be a means to process their feelings in their own time.

So, yes, birth photography IS a thing. It’s a raw and beautiful thing. It’s a tribute to your unyielding love and a celebration of the fiercest human emotions.

“Truthfully, I didn’t realize birth photography was a thing until our surrogate mentioned it. I had originally wanted to take photos together with our family while she was pregnant, but our surrogate felt that birth photos would be more meaningful in the long run - and wow, was she right! It was amazing to see our reaction to when our son was first born. The word 'amazing' does not even do the images justice. I know how I felt at that very moment of his birth and I know in my mind what it was to see him for the first time. However, to be able to have those images forever and to be able to share them with family, and in the future, our son, is priceless. There were so many feelings and emotions that we were keeping contained up to his birth and the entire process of bringing him into this world. The image of us seeing him for the first time is the true expression of our bodies releasing all of the tension and emotion that we had up to that moment.”
- Kristen, intended mother and birth client

Interested in learning more about birth photography? Visit my birth page or reach out to chat. If we’re not a fit, I’ll try my best to help you find someone who is.

P.S. If you're an expectant parent, get the FREE printable list of little jobs your visitors can help out with while you nest with your new baby. Because you should be drinking up all that newborn goodness and let someone else handle the cooking and cleaning. Click here to get the printable.