Nicole Hamic, birth photographer
Birth photography is something that I think a lot of people are unsure about or feel kind of weirded out by. They wonder just how much the photographer will be interrupting the flow of the moment, or if having them there will make the space feel too crowded. Some people are hesitant to spend more on their birth. What I can tell you is that birth photography is NOT someone up in your space with a camera saying “look here!” or stepping in front of your partner to get a shot. And as for cost, I like to think of building your birth support team as one of the single best investments you can make for yourself. As a comparison, if you happen to be married, think about your wedding. What did you spend on your photographer? Your outfit? Cake? Maybe a wedding planner? Odds are you (like most of us) have been culturally conditioned to expect to spend a lot of money on a wedding, and yet our culture doesn’t put the same importance on your birth.
Birth photographers are incredible at blending into the scenery of a birth space, quietly snapping photos here and there to capture moments that you otherwise wouldn’t remember. They catch the moments of your partner quietly holding your hand, your doula providing counter pressure, and your birth team buzzing around you. They capture the hard work, determination, fatigue, elation, exhaustion, love, and disbelief that you will go through during labor. They capture the first moments with your newborn, as you touch their tiny ears, the fuzz on their shoulders, smell their head, take in their impossibly small fingernails, and catch your partner’s eye with a look of “I can’t believe we did it!”
Julie Francom, birth photographer
There are so many moments during birth that will fade into vague, hazy memories as time passes. You think in the moment that there’s no way you could possibly forget any of what just happened, but somehow you do forget a lot of the small details. Having photographs to look back at is one of the best ways to preserve all those big, small, and powerful moments.
You deserve to remember your birth. You deserve to have a tangible memento to help you process the experience as the years pass. Your child deserves to be able to look at photos of when they were born and hear you tell their birth story over and over again.
Eva Cooper, birth photographer
So if you’ve even vaguely entertained the idea of having a birth photographer capture your labor and birth, I highly suggest you meet with some photographers to find one that is the best fit and give yourself, your parter and your future child this amazing gift.
Below are galleries from some of our favorite local birth photographers.
