.jpg)
When I tell people that I often get the honor of photographing a birth, they instantly make this face and I can tell what their thinking (standing in a hospital room with a woman in stirrups screaming and doctors/nurses in hats and masks yelling PUSH and a frantic dad about to pass out). This sadly is the common perception of births. It carries this stigma of being ugly, painful and ‘something that should be kept private’.
I know from experience that some births are like that, and I also know from experience that they can be serene, beautiful and magical. I have witnessed women give birth without making a sound, I’ve seen them arrive and give birth within 10mins and I’ve been present at a birth that lasted almost 12hours…every birth is different, but every birth is beautiful.
Birth Photography is tricky. Babies like to be born on their own schedule. They also can take hours to photograph and most likely will come in the middle of the night. I cannot guarantee that I when get ‘the call’ that I will be able to make it, so I advise my clients to contact me as early as possible in their labor (even if its a false alarm so I have time to make arrangements on my end) and have a back up plan photography-wise, but if I can make it, then I will be there. Towards the end of your pregnancy I usually check in with my clients daily via text messages or phone calls.
I do not require a deposit for birth sessions as I cannot guarantee my presence. If I am able to make it, then we can work out a payment plan to cover the cost later. Its more important to document the moment as its not something we can reschedule
I have been dubbed the ‘doula-ographer’ by the amazing women at The Charleston Birth Place (where I had my daughter in 2009). I am passionate about natural birth and with my medical background (Navy Corpsman) birth photography is the perfect blend of my passions, talent and knowledge. I am a fly on the wall that will fetch things, guide, comfort and document every thing. I also take the images and create a video that you can share with family and friends that you wouldn’t necessarily want in the room, but to be apart of the process.
The videos are powerful and a testament to the women who so beautifully brought these babies into the world. Ina Mays Gaskin uses my video “the birth of August Townes” to showcase how natural labor is hard work but worth every second. I’m honored. I truly am. With over 500,000 hits and counting its obvious that documenting this precious time is more than worth it.
Here are those videos.
The Birth of Nolan
The Birth of August Townes
The Birth of Cruze
The Birth of Gavin
The Charleston Birth Place
The Birth of Annabelle
The Birth of Landon
The Birth of Aubreyanna
The Birth of Dalton
The Birth of Matthew Parker
The Birth of Harrigan
BIRTH SESSIONS ARE ONLY FOR CLIENTS THAT HAVE BOOKED A NEWBORN SESSION