Birth Photography Tip #6 – Last Minute Advice

Your first birth is coming up and you are super excited and a bit nervous! What’s a photographer to do? Well if you use social media, you post looking for last minute advice before you head out.

This is such a hard post to respond to for a couple reasons:

If you don’t know what the photographer already knows, and you don’t want to seem patronizing listing off the most basic facts about birth photography.
You don’t know that the birth environment will be like. Is it a home birth, hospital, or birth center? Is it a first time mom, a multiples birth, your sister, friend, are they shoot stills or video or both??? Each birth has a special set of circumstances that can make blanket statements difficult.

That being said, I know it can be comforting to know you have a handle on things, and are ready to shoot your first birth. Here are some bare bones basics of what I offer as last minute advice before heading to the birth:

Know your camera equipment inside and out. You don’t want to be fumbling with settings during the birth.
Have you gear packed and ready to go at all times, even if that means traveling with it everywhere you go.
Have lots of batteries, camera cards, back up camera, phone charger, and a battery charger.
Prepare to be there a lonnnnng time. Bring toothbrush, extra clothes, money, something to do during quieter times (I bring knitting).
Wear comfortable shoes.
Have multiple childcare options lined up so you aren’t trying to find someone last minute.
Be prepared for a very dark room.
Know that not all staff members will be keen on being in pictures.
The parents may change their mind about having parts of the birth photographed and may ask you to step out.
Not all hospitals allow cesarean births to be photographed. Sometimes the policy changes daily.
If there is an emergency situation have a plan for what you will do. Will you keep shooting? See Tip #5 for more info.
When you get home the next day after a long birth you will be toast.
The birthing family will make different choices than you would make for yourself. You are going to have to accept this and be able to continue to do your job even if you don’t agree with their choices. Repeat to yourself, “This is not my birth, this is not my birth.”
Their birth is not an opportunity for you to advance your birth agenda. This goes hand in hand with #13. Yes, birth photographer can be birth advocates, but there is a time and place for advocacy. Unless you are 10000% sure the parents agree with your opinions and objectives I would be careful. “Fighting the good fight” for your client may impact their birth in a negative way. I do encourage parents to advocate for themselves but I am never their mouthpiece at a birth.
Ask your client what their expectations are for what you will and will not photograph, and what they are comfortable with you sharing. Be thankful when they agree to sharing your work but be respectful when they aren’t. If this birth is photographed at a discount for the sole purpose of using the images to market, make sure you have a solid agreement in place to be compensated if they ask you not to share them.
Remember that this birth is not yours to post about. You will be excited and happy and want to post all about it. It is up to the family to decide when and where to announce their birth, don’t take that away from them.

I started photographing birth in 2009, that was the Wild West of birth photography. I don’t want to sound like an old curmudgeon, but back in the day we didn’t have the flourishing birth photography community that exists today. Birth photography mentoring wasn’t a thing back then and it was a lot learning on the fly. If you are interested in having a mentor you should drop me a line. If I am not a good fit for you I can gladly recommend a list of very talented women that have helped shape this industry. Mentoring is a great way to build your skills, business, and confidence when you are building your birth photography business.