Birth photography?

[PumpkinsMum18]

I was speaking with a friend recently who wants to get into birth photography. She was saying how she is finding it difficult to find clients or ‘team up’ with doulas or midwives. We discussed about how birth photography is popular in other countries, so maybe it’s a cultural thing that it’s not a priority with mums here.

I had a home birth recently and it didn’t occur to me to hire a doula or a photographer. If I did, I wouldn’t know when I would look back at the photos, or who I would show them to.

Just curious what others think? Would you hire a birth photographer if you had the opportunity?

No I wouldn't have hired one.

Not in a million years! This new phenomenon of recording every second of your life is alien to me. I have happy memories of birth and photos my DH took after baby was born, that's all I need.

Oh god no! I would hate this.

Having an extra person around in the most intense part of labour? Absolutely not for me.

I can’t think of much I’d like less tbh…horrible idea!

Wtf have i just read 😂

Absolutely not.
I was approached in the maternity hospital when I was heavily pregnant by people making a “One Born Every Minute “ type reality show. They asked if I was interested in taking part and I basically told them to fuck off.
A private photographer is different of course but to me, it’s in the same category of Not in a million years.
I don’t think it would be allowed in the hospital I went though anyway. You could only have one person in with you and that was before Covid.

Can't think of anything worse than photos of myself in labour. I shit myself while howling before my DD2 came in the next push - not something I would want captured on camera to be honest.

I had ELCSs, but I found it really intrusive having a nurse sat in with me for the first few hours after having DC1 (I had had complications) as I just wanted to enjoy my new baby with DH. I couldn't stand having a photographer in with me too. Actually, a midwife did take a photo of the 3 of us after DC2 was born whilst I was still in theatre, but 1 close up of our faces is more than enough.

Also, I had a very straightforward birth physically but at the time, I was absolutely terrified and it was all very strange and hard to cope with. I blocked a lot of what was happening out and I don’t really want to remember it tbh. I would not like to look back on photos like the ones online. They are interesting in an objective way but honestly I would not like to have those kinds of pictures taken. I remember thinking how merciful a thing it was that I couldn’t see most of what was going on.

No. I gave birth (in a big hurry) last week and I think I'd blanked it all out to the point I'm happy it was relatively quick and wasn't as bad as I'd thought a drug free birth would be.

My husband took a few photos after the birth and was going through them today saying how much pain I was in and that I was in shock and shaking and couldn't hold our daughter for about half an hour afterwards. I didn't really need reminding of that!!

Absolutely not!!

Nooooooo.

Just no.

Definitely not. I would have loved someone to take pictures of my DP and I as soon as I gave birth but during? Definitely not. I got on all fours and it would have looked like I was shitting ds

Re pp being approached for the documentary type programme - what if labour is not straightforward or there are complications?
I was haemorrhaging blood clots the size of my baby and had to be rushed into emergency surgery 17 hours after giving birth. I've never seen anything like that happening on one born every minute

I've just looked up images of birth photography.

Absolutely not!

Sounds horrific.

Not for me, but I'm glad that some other women do. Some of the most powerful and moving pictures I've ever seen have been birth photographs and it must be wonderful to be part of something like that.

Just googled as well and, no. Imagine the extra pressure to have a suitable expression in the photo when you are probably still in shock and maybe a bit scared. You could definitely forget they were though, I think. I had a student doctor there to observe and only remembered when I turned round after giving birth on all fours.

Just another hideous way for people to feel like they're celebrities. So self-indulgent

No not personally. A school friends husband is a photographer and took some beautiful pictures of the births of their children (not graphic or the ones they shared publicly aren't).
Have seen some amazing photos though. I follow someone in Instagram who changed hospitals specifically so she could have a birth photographer. Said she wasn't sharing the babies face or name on her page then posted a photo the baby crowing her photographer took.

I don’t know but I presume it’s a static camera set up beforehand in the delivery room rather than a tv crew present. They edit the footage afterwards and interview the people on a later date. I would imagine they need permission from the parent/s to air it as well as to record it and they can withdraw consent afterwards
depending on how it goes.
The Irish version of One Born Every Minute has tragic things on it sometimes though. I couldn’t believe my eyes but there was an episode where one of twins only lived for less than a couple of hours following a planned cs.
The parents knew one of the twins had fatal fetal abnormalities and wouldn’t survive for long after the birth. It was the only episode I ever watched. I had just had my dd and I was in shock looking at it. Obviously those parents decided they wanted to go ahead with the filming and broadcasting for their own reasons.

Absolutely not. Why on earth would you want some stranger taking photos at such a special and intimate moment. Weird!

I don't know about birth photography. It's an intimate moment, very crude, who wants that ? Taking pictures of the new born is something else entirely, with make up artist for you before you meet and greet anyone seems more appealing. And you baby positioned in all those famous pauses but it's you. It can be done within the first week after birth. At hospital or at home. Usually the first standard picture is free, then the photograph takes more and you pay if you are interested in the others. This is how it's done in my country. You basically get treated like regalia. It's a moment filled with positivity. It's almost a tax post birth. But I think it's like marriage photos. The children like them the most.

I had a friend who became obsessed with social media and her Instagram page, she had a few thousand strangers followers watching her kid’s every move. The last straw was her graphic birth photos, taken by a professional doula, uploaded in real time, including her 3yo wearing a headlight to look up his mother’s vagina while she was on all fours pushing his little sister out, in candlelight. It was the middle of the night, they’d woken up him so he ‘could be part of it’

Just why? Unfollowed immediately.

You'd have to pay me life changing amount of money to allow a photographer there - and I'm talking in excess of £5million here.
I'd still then have to think about it.