Because of moments like this.
At the birth of my first child, I did not know any better. Someone did take a few photos - but the light was very dim/tricky (common at births!), and this person did not know how to use my camera very well. Because of this, of the few images taken I do not have a single image from the day that was not blurry. Totally my fault. I had not prepared. But moreover, I was not prepared for how much I would care about those images after the birth. Before the birth I had seen other people's birth videos and thought to myself "why in the world would you ever want to remember that?!". Birth was scary enough to me at this point - I had no interest in preserving those moments forever, because I had no reason to think that I would or could ever appreciate them!
Thankfully somebody else decided to care - realizing that one day, I would care too.
Now I cherish the few blurry image from that birth! And now I realize how important it is to have a birth photographer.
But why are these birth images so important to you?
- My birth images empower me to be a better, stronger person. There are few times in my life when I've been given strong and constant support and affirmation, towards achieving a goal. And so far, I've only experienced a couple times when I've achieved something unarguably incredible (here is a hint -giving birth!). I may not have looked my best at the time, but that's really not the point. It's about what I was able to achieve, with the help of God and support of others. These images remind me "If I can do that, I can do anything"!
- My birth images help me to never forget the "firsts". I forget things so easily (my husband can attest to this!). It actually scares me sometimes, how easily I forget things. I think this is part of the reason why I became so interested in photography in the first place - because it became so important to me, to remember. To always remember the people most important to me, and the times we've shared together. So of course, after I determined I actually wanted to remember the births of my children ( ;-) ), capturing images from those moments became paramount. I can hardly express how happy I am that 5 years from now I'll be able to look at these birth images, and be reminded what those "first moments" looked like. I'll remember how thrilled my little Debbie looked, the first time she saw her baby brother! How proud my husband looked the first time he saw his son (awww!!); and how my sweet baby looked, the moment I met him for the very first time. These "firsts" are captured moments I'd be sad to forget - and so I thank God for cameras and birth photographers.
These are also some of the reasons related to why I became interested in birth photography as a profession. But I'll leave the details on that for a future post. :-)
- I couldn't take them, myself! Obviously. But I also knew that unless I specifically asked assigned someone to exclusively take photos, I would have a very difficult time finding anyone else with the "free time" to take pictures. Afterall, my husband would be paying full attention to me (and I wanted him in the photos!), and my doula and the midwives would have their hands full as well. I didn't want a repeat of the first birth, where I only got a few blurry photos...so I knew professional was needed.
- I wanted good pictures of my brand-new baby. Come to find out - new babies are exhausting. So exhausting in fact, that I barely have any pictures of my first baby before she was three weeks old (just fyi, camera phones don't [yet] make for quality documentation), and by then she looked so different from when she was first born! By hiring a birth photographer I was assured that I would have quality images of my baby as a newborn. This was important to me, so I knew I needed a birth photographer. This turned out to be a wise decision, as my hardy little boy has grown out of his "newborn look" very quickly. By hiring a professional birth photographer I was able to get some beautiful images of my brand-new baby, and I am so happy to have them!
So why did you hire a professional birth photographer?
Now I know I have yet to tell the tale of how I came to choose the fabulous Erica Laurice as my birth photographer...but I'll have to leave you in some suspense. Babies to tend to, and all that! But go ahead and view more images from the birth on her blog...and stay tuned for my next post.
