My Birth Story

I have my fair share of people give me a funny look, a scrunched up face, when I bring up birth photography. And I GET IT. When I was preparing for the birth of my first child in 2007, someone mentioned to me that someone should take photos during this and I made that exact facial reaction. I had always been a private person, and the thought of another person in the room, taking photos of the most precious, vulnerable time was daunting. Even just the thought of a photo of me during this time just EXISTING was enough to make me shake my head. There had been so many changes to my body, that even though I expected, were still a bit of a struggle to fully accept and love these changes. If you’ve been nodding your head along with this, I feel you!

Let me tell you how much I regret shaking my head and scrunching up my nose. While the thought that my husband was going to take some photos during this time was what I was planning, in reality, the moment our first daughter was born was so busy, so overwhelming that he forgot. He was so wrapped up in the moment of becoming a father, not a single photo was taken, not one.

For our second daughter, I thought I would ask the nurse to take some photos. The result was two photos of wall, wall, wall, ceiling and then in the bottom right of the image, was me, legs up with a baby on my chest (although that wasn’t very easy to even see) and that was it. (And yes, I totally understand this wasn’t her job to take photographs!)

For our third daughter, 8 years had passed since I first became a mother. I felt differently, I knew differently. I had been photographing births for over 3 years by this time. And so I hired one of my best friends, another local talented photographer, to be present. I remember her walking into the room and that was it. I was determined to do this birth completely unmedicated and so my focus was intense. When she was born, I actually said in a sad, exasperated voice, “oh my goodness, you didn’t get any photos did you?” But she DID! My entire story, captured and told and I didn’t even remember one click of the camera.

Your Birth Story

My initial thoughts of birth photography being graphic or “gross” and only images of babies crowning were SO misguided it makes my heart hurt to think about. Birth stories are YOUR story, told through my lens. When I am contacted by you, we first set up a consultation and meeting. This meeting serves so many purposes; a face to the name, getting to know one another and of course, discussing what your heart desires for your birth story. I mean, we should get to know each other a little bit before I’m present at an incredibly intimate time of your life!

I LOVE to hear your stories. I love listening to your excitement and hopes and dreams and plan. I love to connect with you through my own experiences, knowledge and passion.

One of the most important parts of our consultation is discussing your level of comfort, what you envision when you think of your images. What is important to me, is capturing your surroundings, the support, the little details you might not have noticed or eventually would no longer remember.

First looks. First breath. First cry; from baby or parents. The moments when your life has changed forever and every day will be different from the last.