The Miracle of Birth Captured Through Child Birth Photography

When my first daughter was born, I fell in love with the miracle that is child birth. I had such a fantastic experience birthing her and I knew that I wanted to be a part of that miracle as often as possible. Of course, having dozens of children myself wasn't exactly what I had in mind so I started pondering the different career paths I could venture into that would allow me to be a part of birth as often as possible. I toyed with the idea of becoming a doula, I thought about going into nursing with the intention of becoming a labour and delivery nurse. I even briefly entertained the idea of going as far as to become a midwife. But then I discovered the world of child birth photography.

My best friend gave birth to her second child in October of 2008 and a mutual friend of ours was in the delivery room and photographed the birth. The pictures moved me to tears and I instantly knew I had found my calling, the way I could be involved in the miracle of birth on a regular basis. I had always been interested in photography and had already toyed with the idea of starting my own photography studio and after seeing the images from KJ's birth, I was sold. I told my husband I was ready to go into business and he supported me 100%.

I often get funny looks when I tell people that I am a photographer who specialize in child birth photography. For a lot of people, their first thought is “ewww! I don't want pictures of that!”, but more often than not, once I share some of the images from my child birth photography sessions, they change their minds, or at least recognize the fact that birth photography isn't necessarily what they think it is.

Birth photography really can be a beautiful thing when done right. It captures all the emotions of a huge day in a family's life. It captures the concentration on mom's face as she puts all her energy into pushing. It captures the concern of dad as he watches his wife work so hard, knowing there is little he can do to truly help bring baby into the world. It captures baby's first breath and mom and dad's reaction to seeing their little one for the very first time. It is highly emotional and I can't think of one birth I have photographed where I haven't shed at least a tear or two at being given the opportunity to witness such a beautiful, miraculous and intimate event.

All that being said, I completely realize that hiring a birth photographer isn't for everyone. For some people, having a photographer capture every moment of something as intimate as child birth just does not appeal. Even my husband has been leery of hiring someone to photograph the births of our children, and I've been working in the field of child birth photography for over three years now! He is only just comfortable with the idea now that we are a few weeks away from having our third child. I am so excited to finally be having my own birth experience photographed.

I am grateful for those who do allow me into such a special moment in their lives. Each birth I attend takes my breath away, regardless of the circumstances... natural birth or c section, home birth or hospital, induction or completely med free, each birth is incredible and I feel so blessed to be apart of them.