Seriously! It’s not about just the crotch shot! And actually, I don't get that shot if you don't want me to. As a birth photographer it’s my job to capture your birth images or film beautifully and tastefully. There are ways for me to capture the awesomeness that is your baby’s birth while keeping things PG, if that’s what you are worried about. You aren’t just receiving “crotch shots”, you receive the EMOTION of the day, the LITTLE DETAILS, and your EXPRESSION as you meet your little one for the first time. Don’t let the fear of the crotch shot scare you away from capturing such an amazing moment in your life!

The simple answer is because my time is valuable. The long answer is because I'm on call 24/7 for YOU for up to 4 weeks straight. What does that mean for me? It means being fully willing to drop whatever I'm doing - whether it be an important family event, a holiday, or my middle-of-the-night sleep - to be by your side and document the birth of your baby. It means no drinking, no vacations, and possibly missing one of my own children's birthday. Then I will be with you anywhere from 2 hours (the shortest time I've been at a birth) to 28 hours (the longest that I've been at a birth STRAIGHT). Then I spend countless hours editing your birth story so that it can be delivered to you within my 2 week turnaround time. It's a long and labor-intesive (pun intended) job that I absolutely adore. Not to mention, I find that it's a moment that cannot be recreated and is completely priceless. On top of all of that, there are plenty of behind-the-scenes expenses that go into running a business and making sure that I come to a birth 100% prepared every time.

Ideally, this wouldn’t be the case (unless you book SUPER last minute!) The goal is for us to get to meet in person before hand – maybe even do a maternity session – so we can get a feel for each other and so you know that I’m not some creepy old guy who enjoys checking out beautiful pregnant mamas such as yourself 😜 Then I’d keep in touch with you up until d-day…by then we are basically besties anyways, so it would be much less awkward for you!

Realistically, birth can happen at any time throughout your pregnancy. Though, I’m not “officially” on call until you’re 38 weeks, I set myself up to still be ready if things start happening sooner than expected. This means that as soon as you book me as your birth photographer, I save all of your contact info and set you to bypass my “do not disturb”. So, you can rest assured knowing that no matter when you go into labor I’ll do my absolute best to be there with you!

GREAT IDEA! (especially if that person is a birth photographer) But wouldn’t you rather them focusing on taking care of you and actually be IN some of the photos? Trust me, from experience, you’d MUCH rather hire a pro! I have 1 terrible quality photo from right after I had my first son and I regret not even knowing about birth photography then… with my second son, I remember giving my sister my camera and telling her NO CROTCH SHOTS…she didn’t listen 😂😂😂….and with my daughter, I had my dad on camera duty and although he got some decent shots, a lot were blurry or over exposed, (check out this post to see what I mean) and I felt like he missed some things that a professional would have known to get. Yes, I’m grateful for any pictures that I have but I would have loved to see more of a story and less of a half-hazard attempt to TRY to capture what I want ARTISTICALLY for me to refer back to. Ehhh….you live and learn, right? I just don’t want anyone else to have regrets about their choice of a photographer.

I would say most births are 95% pure awesomeness and only 5% gross. I mean, what your body has gone through for the previous 40ish weeks to grow a human is nothing short of miraculous! Then your baby’s birth is like the grand finale of a super interesting film… kind of like Titanic… haha!(okay, maybe NOT the titanic…there will be no iceberg, or sinking ship, or lifeboats, or Leonardo DiCaprio freezing to death in the ocean while Rose just sits there hogging the makeshift raft…lol) There will undoubtedly be ups and downs during labor, but that’s the beauty of your story! The only significantly “gross” part is all of the “stuff” that’s on your baby right after birth (SPOILER: they don’t come out all pristine and clean…😂)

Not at all! I carry the bare minimum – in terms of gear – to births in an effort to make my presence as small as possible. I can be as invisible as you need or I could be a person to chat with while you’re waiting on your baby to arrive. At the end of it all, my job is to be there for you to document your story as part of your chosen birth team. That is nothing short of a privilege and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that you are comfortable with me being there with you.

I’m going to be completely honest…It’s hard for me, as a photographer, to be allowed access to the OR as there’s typically only one support person allowed in (and client’s first choice is usually their birth partner..not me), but it’s not impossible. It just takes a lot of advocating on your part. Worst case scenario, I document everything leading up to the c-section, send my backup camera in with your birth partner, and resume documenting once ya’ll make your way to recovery.

I can assure you they won’t be! First of all, when it comes to pictures of THAT area, I know the angles to get that are least likely to freak anyone out… Google “implied nudity”… You can see what’s going on without actually seeing what’s going on….(Unless you specifically tell me that you want obvious crowning shots and/or are in a position that I can actually document it, you may not even get them)…even more important is that the photos I take are for YOU and your family…not for the Internet (although I’d really hope that you’d allow me to share a few so that other women can benefit from seeing your story). No photos or video would be made public without your permission. Everything that you see on my site and social media, I've been given explicit permission by the family to share.

Consent is an ongoing thing, my friend. You can sign the model release being cool with me sharing any and everything and decide after your birth that you'd rather keep everything to yourself. Likewise, you could decide after saying that you don't want to share anything, that you want the world to see what a badass you are. Either way, it's okay! I'll never share anything that you aren't comfortable with me sharing.

I realize that sometimes, documenting your birth may not have something that even occurred to you until late in your pregnancy. And according to my normal business policies I do require payment to be made in full by the time you're 37 weeks along. This is so you don't have to worry about having to make payments after you've had your baby when your whole life has been turned upside down and you're adjusting to having a new family member. BUT, not everyone can swing a full payment of over $1450 at 40 weeks pregnant. I get it. So to help ease the burden, we arrange an extended payment plan for those who need it. You would be required to higher retainer of $500 to secure your due date on my calendar and ensure that I'm immediately on call for your birth. Your payment for the balance of your package can be broken up into weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly automatic payments that fit your family's budget. Once your package is paid in full, you will recieve your photos and/or film. I do not edit anything at all until your full payment has been made and you will not be elible for live labor + birth updates for family via my optional INSTABIRTH add-on.