WHY HIRE A birth story photographer

There are so many things I would have done differently regarding delivering our babies if I could go back in time. I choose not to live in regrets, but rather lessons learned. Perhaps if I had known then what I know now I would have clear memories of three of the four most precious moments of my life. I may have chosen a different birthing method or pain management, who knows? BUT, one thing I would have done differently without question is actually document our birth stories. My husband has clear memories of our children’s births, but I do not.

We have snapshots of each of our babies and our family just after birth and the day or two following in the hospital. Why? Because those moments are never to be forgotten moments (and if nothing else is a 100% ONCE IN A LIFETIME moment, BIRTH IS). Because of the general fatigue I experienced following childbirth, I have almost no clear memories of my babies’ first moments and hours. And of the photos we do have, we don’t share those often. Why? I looked like I had been hit by a truck! Great for guilting kiddos (See what you did to me!), but not a look I want displayed on my walls. Quite frankly, the point-and-shoot camera we had at the time combined with no knowledge of flattering angles and using natural light had more to do with the unflattering images than my recent labor and delivery. (I’ve since learned a few things.)

See the difference? I wish I had these quality images of my babies…clean, fresh images, complete with detail…The Fresh 48 images I now offer my clients put to shame the 3 images I posted at the start.

In considering the possibility of adding birth photography to my offered services, I’ve had to ask myself, “Would I have wanted some stranger with a camera documenting my labors and deliveries?” I won’t lie; I went back and forth quite a bit. But I have seen some beautiful, powerful…and pretty modest…images that finally swayed me, to a resounding “YES”! The raw emotion and realness of birth photography done as I want to do them are breathtaking.

For my deliveries I wonder was there an “I did it!” or “She’s here!” expression when I delivered our first? I vaguely remember the look on the nurse’s face when our #2 Baby grabbed her finger during “the progress exam” during that labor. A photographer may have caught it…or my face…What did it look like?! And my only clear memory when our youngest was born was that we had the Tennessee-Alabama game on to distract the eyes of all the very young male corpsman on hand to assist the pediatrician while I pushed. I wish I had images to look upon to tell my birth stories. Instead, I have haze.

The growing of one’s family is deeply personal. How we celebrate and document these special moments are just as personal. For this reason, Robin McMurry Photography offers a variety of sessions to photograph the arrival of your family’s newest little one: Maternity, Birth, Fresh 48, In-home Newborn. I welcome the opportunity to discuss which one fits with your family.

When our  babies were born, I had never heard of Birth Photography, and if someone had mentioned Fresh 48s I would have assumed they meant the hospital’s “Baby’s First Portrait” that has always made me think of a newborn version of school pictures. [With our first, we bought it…and NEVER show it. Our baby girl was BEAUTIFUL! And that little red, squinty-faced creature in that picture was NOT!]