As a seasoned chicago birth photographer, I understand you have so many options for birth workers in our area, I put together the guide below to help you when deciding on who will join your birth team on the big day. Hope it helps!

Experience Matters

Birth photography is unlike any other genre. There are no do-overs with birth. If a moment is gone, it is gone forever.

Before any contracts are signed, hands are shook, or money exchanged, it is important that you are 110% convinced that the person you are hiring to be your birth photographer, is totally and completely the most qualified person for the job. Your choice of a birth photographer is an integral part in ensuring your birth story is truly documented the way it deserves to be, and there are many ways to ensure that the right decision is being made about who to hire, and at the top of the list comes experience and professionalism.

Birth photography isn't like shooting a wedding; you can't just put a dress back on and "relive" the day. Birth photography is raw, uncut, documenting every single moment inside the labor room and beyond. Things are always happening, events moving at the speed of light sometimes, and an experienced birth photographer knows how to think, and act, two steps ahead of what is happening in the labor room to ensure the moments taking place are captured and not missed.  

Here are some suggestions to consider before hiring a professional birth photographer:

• Check reviews on Facebook and Google.

• Experience is key, knowledge about childbirth and the labor process can really make a big impact on the overall experience.

• When you think you've identified someone, know that you should be entitled to an in-person consultation. Please do not take this lightly, it is so incredibly important that you are comfortable with every single person that will be present inside your birth space on delivery day, and your birth photographer is no exception to rule, this works the other way around as well. The best way to ensure that you are all a good fit for each other is to meet as a couple with your birth photographer and get to know each other.

• Ask them how many births they have covered? How long have they been in business? What is the longest labor they've attended? The shortest? What is their experience with birth in general?

• When looking at their work, look at their portfolio, does it look and feel good to you? Does it resonate with you? Is it consistent? Have they demonstrated growth in their skills? Are the pictures getting better or worse with time?

Personality Matters

This is the most intimate day of your life. 

Bringing a child into this world takes time, strength and patience. It is very important that you are comfortable with anyone who you will be spending time with in the hours leading up to this highly anticipated affair. A qualified birth photographer should be someone that you can trust, and who can make you feel comfortable in their presence, like you've known them for a really long time. 

You Matter Too, Dad!

 This is the day your life will forever be changed.

The day you become a dad.

A birth photographer immediately frees up Dad's hands, and attention, to focus on mom and be present in the moment.It allows him to be the support she needs while she works her way through the intense waves of labor, instead of being busy trying to capture shots of what is going on in the room. There is no pressure to take any pictures or video or to "live" the moment behind a black screen. A professional birth photographer is able to fully step into the role of documenting this momentous event the way it truly deserves. Imagine a Dad that is able to be truly immersed and enjoying his first moments with his new baby, cutting the cord, having skin to skin with his young one, or even just making the mental adjustment of the reality of his new life and how his definition of love will forever be changed. We often forget that pregnancy and birth are both journeys that affect EVERYONE in the family. The birth of a new baby is the birth of a new mother, father, sibling, grandparent... Don’t forget that this is their story too, how lovely would it be if they all get to be in the pictures too?

Family Matters

The reactions and emotions of siblings and family. forever captured. 

This is the day siblings become older brothers or sisters, aunts and uncles acquire a niece or nephew, grandparents expand their hearts a little more to fit in the love of their new grandchildren. You tell yourself that you will never forget, but the reality is that memories become fuzzy and things will slip away. Birth photographers can capture all of this and more, and help keep the memories alive within your family. These pictures will become a treasured family keepsake, to be pulled out, admired and observed and discussed at countless family occasions and reunions.

Belly Births Matter

Make no mistake, there is STILL so much to capture during cesarean deliveries, and it is still just as much work.

Being allowed into the operating room to document a birth is every birth photographer's hope, and while it is possible sometimes, even if it does not happen, there is STILL so much to capture during the day, and it is still just as much work, if not more! A birth photographer acts as the family's eyes and ears on delivery day, specially a mother's, documenting everything happening in and around the operation room, building up the story and pulling in the pieces that may be forgotten as time passes along. 

Despite having a delivery date booked in advance, birth is unpredictable, and these delivery dates often change, so operating on that booked date is not always guaranteed. Regardless of when your delivery date shifts to, your birth photographer is on call for you during the weeks leading up to your delivery.

Privacy Matters

Birth photography does NOT need to be revealing.

Birth photography does not have to be revealing. A professional birth photographer would know exactly how to artistically document the intimacy of the events of the day without excessive skin exposure, and with elegance and care. The fear of being too revealing or too exposed should not stop any family from hiring a birth photographer. Remember that you should always have a say about whether or not the images taken of you are to be shared online or published publicly. This is where contracts become very important, they not only ensure that despite the images being the intellectual property of the photographer, but they also ensure that anything that you do not wish to be shared online or on social media can remain private and only visible to you through a private, password protected gallery. A professional birth photographer is happy to work under these conditions.