Birth Photography

What is Birth Photography?

There are plenty of misconceptions about birth photography. The reaction that I often get when birth photography is mentioned is “EW! That’s gross!” Actually, birth photography is not gross at all! It is probably the most beautiful part of my job as a photographer, and doing it is such an honor that it takes my breath away.

So what IS birth photography, then? As a birth photographer, my job as part of your birth team is to document the day. Prior to your due date, we’ll talk about what you’d like me to take photos of. Usually it will be of interactions between you and your birth team, the support of your spouse or partner during labor, your doula offering help and support, a midwife or OB helping you deliver your baby, the love in your eyes when you see your baby for the first time, family and siblings while they wait, weighing and measuring your wee one, first introductions with awed siblings, your precious new baby’s teenie features, etc. It’s the celebration of a family, the most important, meaningful aspect of being alive, and having a birth photographer present allows those memories to be preserved

I’m on call for you for the week prior and week after your due date. When you go into labor and call me, I drop everything and come to you, then unobtrusively document your baby’s birth day. Your health and the health of your baby is my top priority, and as such I stay out of the way as much as possible and strictly follow the instructions of your health care provider. I don’t use a flash during births, because it would be horribly distracting for laboring moms and their team, not to mention new baby peepers. The majority of photos are processed in black and white so pure emotion and beauty are portrayed without the distraction of color.

Privacy is also important to me. You will see very few birth images on my website, although I would love to have some up so others can see the beautiful reality of what I do. No images will be shown without your express permission, however.

What will you receive from your session? My on call time, constant photography during labor, delivery, and beyond, painstaking editing and processing of your images, a beautiful slide show set to music on a DVD, and an album of your baby’s birth images. Prints and other products are available a la carte.

For more information and links to birth photography images, visit www.allegriaimagesbylynn.com and see FAQs under the “more” tab.