[Shelley D]

I love photographing newborn babies, toddlers and young kids. I also want to do more maternity photography, and build that segment of my portfolio. I have recently had an inquiry from a friend whose friend is pregnant, planning a home birth, and would love to have it photographed. They have no budget for a photographer, and I would be doing this for no charge, if I decide to do it. My first inclination is to say no; not because of the money, but because I'm afraid I may find myself too squeamish for this sort of experience. My kids were both c-sections, so I have never experienced a natural delivery. On the other hand, it could turn out to be an amazing experience. everyone I know who has been present for a birth says it is incredible, but they are with friends or family members, not people they really don't know.

So, before I decide whether or not to do this, I would like to hear from those who have done this type of photography before. What do I need to consider before I decide? What questions do I need to ask the mother to be? Have any of you declined to do birth photography? If so, why? What are the potential upsides to this, and the potential downsides?

Thank you in advance for any insight you can give me on this.

[cloudnine]

I have photographed 2 births , and have a 3rd I am suppose to do in June. One was in a birthing center run by midwives , one was a home birth. This 3rd one will be a home birth.

There are SO many things to consider. I have only done it for close friends.

For the first birth I was there for 4 hours. For the second I was there for 18 hours.

There is A LOT of body fluid of various description . Plan to do a lot of b/w conversions

If you are at all squeamish , I assure you it will freak you out lol

It is a beautiful thing , it really is.

I don't know from the client end what should be covered , because I have done these as gifts for close friends.

Plan to use lighting that is out of the way. The people delivering the baby will not mind out of the way studio lights..they WILL mind obnoxious speed lights. Bring ALL of your lenses. If things get tricky you may get banished to a far corner of the room and need your most telephoto lens.

Since you could be there a very long time , pack food, drinks , bring a pillow and blanket if it goes long over night and you want to nap while stuff is quiet. Things stall in birth , so be prepared for long waiting periods. Births can also go super quick , so don;t dilly dally once you get the call In other words , be totally self sustaining so you don;t have to ask anyone involved in the birth for anything in case it turns into a marathon labor . KWIM?

I think a birth shoot is one that requires a lengthy meeting with the mom to plan everything and get every detail ( does she want shots of her privates..i.e baby crowning , ask who will be cutting the cord) , down. A woman in labor will NOT answer questions nicely lol

I would also have a meet and greet with the midwife who is delivering to find out what her expectations , allowances , and no nos are. If this was in a hospital or birthing center , you would need to ok things with them ahead of time and find out their policies. Since this will be a home birth , get to know the midwife.

Also , find out the plan if she has to get transported for any reason. Will they allow you to continue photographing at the hospital she would go to? A phone call to them is a good idea that way everyone knows if the shoot is on or off if she gets admitted. Probably the biggest two reasons home births get transported is because A ) they want an epidural all the sudden ( hey , it happens ) , and if labor takes too long and the midwife wants to get the baby on a monitor to make sure they are tolerating the difficult stalled labor.

If you have any other specifics to ask about , let me know.

It is messy , and beautiful. And no , the baby is not cute when they first come out ..they are beautiful in their own way but not cute by any means

Oh - one important thing. If the birth goes as planned when the baby FIRST comes out and gets put on mom's chest , all healthy babies have an alert period where they gaze at their mother. Almost all babies do this when they have a complication free birth. After this wide eyed alert period , they generally will nurse then go to sleep for like a few days. So you REALLY want to focus on capturing that standard bonding period , right when the baby comes out and gets placed with mom. My 2 kids did that even though they were C sections ( my one daughter went right to NICU so we didn;t get time in the beginning ) . They stared at me for a few minutes ..then they go intoi that newborn sleep.eat/sleep/eat thing for a few days.

Good luck! It is a very nice thing for you to do

[wendiandtravis]

Email me info @wendiriggens.com. I do a lot of this and have several things typed up already that I can send you when I am on my computer tomorrow.

I do 2-3 births a month.

[wendiandtravis]

And Speedlites are much less obtrusive than strobes. Speaking from lots of experience here. Strobes can get blocked by people in the way, not Speedlites. Speedlites can be easily adjusted, strobes you may not be able to access easily once set up. Either way it is light flashing. And either way every single person in that room is focusing on something much more important.

Especially in hospital settings, there is NOT room to set up strobes.

[cloudnine]

^ that is why you have to check with the birth attendants individually. Both midwives told me no flash or strobes..they only ok with lights that stayed on constantly , not too bright , and had to be set up out of the way in the corners of the room. They were pretty specific about that!

Also , I do volunteer photography at a NICU in Morristown and Hackensack..they allow NO off camera speedlights , no wireless light tripping whatsoever. Must interfere with equipment or something ((shrug)) , I know cells a banned in the NICU for that reason.Off camera flash , wireless tripped lights etc are not allowed anywhere in the hospital.

Always best to check with the people in charge . Speedlights are my go to lights , but I have been bit in the butt by assuming they were allowed.

[wendiandtravis]

I don't do OCF with births.
The 6 hospitals I've done births at, none have minded the Speedlites. I always talk to the nurse in charge when I get there. Then again, the nurses all know me pretty well and trust that I won't be a bother with whatever I decide to do.

I have found midwives to be much more particular and picky about what goes on in the birthing room than the nurses or the doctors. One midwife won't even allow a single shot to be taken until after the baby is delivered and the cord is cut. The doctors on the other hand don't mind about much at all!

[cloudnine]

There are a few hospitals that do not allow pictures at all , until the baby is given to mom post check up ! That is sad. All because of lawsuit possibilities .

Doctors are less hyper about it than midwives for sure . Midwives are wonderful ! Just very matriarchal

[photobuggie]

If you suspect you might get squeamish, you shouldn't consider it. Even though every birth can be different, I would suggest you actually view a natural child birth before you consider photographing one.

[Shelley D]

Thank you so much, everyone, for your replies. I have decided I am not going to take on this challenge. I simply do not have the child care resources to be away for 24 hours (or longer) in the event that labor goes that long, especially with being called away at the last minute. I think that if this was for a close friend, I would push to find a way. However, since this is not, I have to also agree with Photobuggie about the squeamish factor...it probably would NOT help anyone if I ended up passed out on the floor like I did after my son got stitches on his lip! Thank you again, though. I really appreciate it!