What is Birth Photography?
Life as a birth doula and birth photographer means that I talk about common birth practices, doula services, local Grand Rapids midwives, labor signs, and navigating on call life basically all of the time. For many people birth is a foreign process, I know it was for me before I reached the age when my friends all started having kiddos and my world began to be filled with placenta encapsulation debates and birth stories. The biggest gift these friends gave me was that they Normalized Birth. It moved from being a scary medical event, to an empowering celebration of life entering the world. While I believe there is room for there to be tension there, birth often still is a medical event, and interventions are not the enemy it is also all still beautiful and worthy of celebrating, the home birth and the hospital birth. Both so good.
There are a few questions that pop up when I tell someone that I am a birth photographer.
Do you take pictures of . . . everything?!
What happens if you miss the birth?
How do you manage being on call?
How do you know when to go the birth? How are you handling COVID?
Are you even allowed in hospitals right now?
I LOVE answering every question. I light up in a totally unique way when I get to talk about birth and the honor it is to get to photograph the arrival of a tiny babe! So let me tell you why I love birth photography.
Why birth photography?
While I totally understand that having a camera at your birth may not your have been your first thought when putting together your birth plan, humor me for a second and consider your labor:
Imagine your spouse’s face when they see your baby for the first time.
Do you see all of the tiny details of your babe’s skin, their wispy hair, their wrinkled fingers?
Will you remember your birth team surrounding you, supporting you?
Can you picture yourself powerfully bringing your baby into this world?
I hope you imagined a beautiful scene worth cherishing, worth revisiting again! Birth is often fast paced and full of emotions, having another persons perspective can be really valuable. I believe that photography is powerful and can help us process a wide array of emotions and whether you get the birth of your dreams, or if your delivery doesn’t go according to plan, having photos that can help you process your experience afterwards is so valuable. All birthing people and scenarios are beautiful and worth documenting. It would bring me so much joy to see more families in Grand Rapids considering the value that photographically telling their birth story would bring.
Here are a few rapid fire reasons about why I love birth photography:
Birth is mind blowingly beautiful and impactful. Our bodies are capable of truly amazing things and I think there is some serious empowerment available from being able to see firsthand what your body can do to bring your baby into the world!
Babies change in a matter of hours, it amazing. Those wrinkles and squishy faces don’t last, and are so worth capturing.
You can totally call the shots, it’s your body and your birth! So whatever you are comfortable with wins.
As a photographer I get to be like a fly on the wall, silently cheering you on and holding space for you while capturing your birth story. It is an absolute joy and honor to be invited into your labor and I take that very seriously.
Photographers can be doulas too! If you choose to have me as your photographer and doula you get the continuous labor support that a doula provides and photographs as well along the way. We will discuss in your prenatal appointments which is most important to you and the kinds of labor support you would like as well!
Caesarean births, home births, hospital births, hotel births, birth centers, medicated or unmedicated, midwives, and doulas are all unique to your babe’s story. Including the surrounding context and documenting who was at the birth is a cool way to celebrate their very first birth day.
More support- your partner and team can focus on you instead of worrying about photos (and I can help in other ways as a trained doula, just ask!)
Your partner gets to be in the frame too. Getting to witness their hands holding and supporting you during labor through these images will be something you treasure for a lifetime.
If quality in your images is important to you then I would highly suggest hiring a professional birth photographer. Composing photos quickly in changing environments and especially in low light is quite challenging, but I have years of experience in photography, and have invested in high quality professional equipment that does amazing in low light. I’ve got you covered.
The day your baby is born is monumental like a wedding day, why not value documenting it?
Photographs can be cherished and revisited, someday your baby will grow up and love to see how they arrived! It could even make a lovely yearly tradition to go over their birth story with you!
Goodness, I love talking about this so much! Okay, let’s dig in a little bit deeper.
Do you take pictures of . . . everything?
I photograph only what you are comfortable with, and will make sure to discuss this long before you go into labor. I also am very selective as to which images I share online and in my marketing. So while I do typically include the quintessential (+ AMAZING) crowning shots in your birth story gallery, you don’t have to worry about your vagina ending up on the internet, that’s for sure. Your birth galleries are delivered through a secure and password protected album.
Won’t it be weird having a stranger in my birth space?
It could be, but that’s why I offer a free in person or Zoom consultation, as well as a prenatal visit before 36 weeks to discuss everything and get to know each other better! That way you get a chance to know me, and I get to learn your story so I can support you and your family best. I definitely want it to feel more like having another friend and support person in the room. Someone who is holding space for you as you work your baby into the world.
What happens if you miss a birth?
Babies are unpredictable, so it can happen, but I do have several practices in place to help minimize the likelihood of missing your birth. While on call I do not go further than 1 hour away from Grand Rapids and travel with my gear with me at all times. I have access to excellent backup birth photographers in the area, and I will be in contact with you if there is a reason that I have an emergency or illness that would keep me from attending your birth. If I miss the moment of birth due to baby coming really quickly I will still come and capture every glorious moment of babes first hours and postpartum. We can also discuss supplementing your birth coverage with a Fresh 48 session if needed. The best way to avoid a missed birth is to call me as soon as you think you might be in labor, and we can assess then. I would so rather come a tad too early and capture more of your early labor than miss your baby’s entrance into this world!
When do you know when to leave for the birth and start on call?
I’m on call 24/7 starting at 38 weeks (and will make every effort to come if needed before 38 weeks if you go into labor earlier than then). It helps me most if you keep me in the loop starting about 36 weeks. I ask my clients to let me know when anything feels different, but especially when contractions start picking up, and when you reach out to your birth team. For a typical birth I aim to be at the hospital or birth space around 6cm, your contractions reach the magical 5-1-1, your water breaks, or any other signals that you are in active labor. But I would always rather arrive too early than too late because there’s always beauty to capture through the whole day!
How are you handling COVID?
I’m fully vaccinated! I am practicing social distancing as much as possible and am committed to wearing a mask through your entire birth as well. I’m happy to answer any further questions you might have about my practices too.
How early can you schedule a birth?
As early as you want to! I am limited to 2-3 births a month, which means it is possible that I could book up quickly around your due date. If you’re expecting and interested in birth photograph I’d love to chat!!
If you have any other questions, please reach out in the comment section or via email at info@randiarmstrong.com and I’d love to answer those too.
