Thinking About Hiring a Birth Photographer? Here's What You Should Know
In our years as birth photographers and filmmakers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, we’ve conducted tons of interviews with prospective clients, documented hundreds of birth stories in dozens of settings, and learned a lot about how to run a legitimate birth business. As full-time professional birth workers in the Twin Cities, we want you to have the best possible experience at your birth, and we want your birth photos to be something you look at with pride as they take you back to the incredible day you met your child.
As you email and interview birth photographers, here are some questions to keep in mind.
How many births have you documented?
Experience matters. And birth photography is vastly different than other kinds of photography. Birth photographers need to be able to shoot in every type of lighting situation, day or night, and they sometimes must work on little sleep and missed meals, all while witnessing (and feeling!) big emotions. We’ve documented hundreds of births in the Twin Cities, and our skills as birth photographers have grown with each one. From dark home births to beautifully lit daytime birth center births to hospital births with mixed lighting, we know our cameras inside and out, and we have the skills, experience, and vision to expertly capture your birth story. Not only that, but we’re intimately familiar with birth, and we have a profound respect for birthing people and birth spaces. We also have tons of experience with the many birthing locations and providers in the metro area, which means that you can be confident your family will have the best documentation possible.
What happens if you are sick or already with a birth client when I go into labor?
Birth photographers are only human, after all. Sometimes, despite all the best intentions and lots of planning, a birth photographer won’t be able to make it to a birth. Your birth photographer should have a support network around them and qualified, dedicated backups who can step in if life happens when your baby decides it’s go time. Ask to see their potential backups’ portfolios, make sure they’ll adhere to the model release you have with your birth photographer, and find out what their qualifications are. Know that your birth photographer should be the one who compensates a backup photographer for their time, not you.
This is one of the many benefits of Gather’s unique partnership model. Unless disaster strikes, at least two members of the Gather Birth team will always be ready to drop everything and join you at your birthplace. And even though we’re confident that our bases are covered, we maintain strong professional relationships with other local birth workers, just in case. If a trusted member of Gather’s extended team attends your birth, your images will still be edited in Gather’s signature style and delivered in a timely manner, and your model release will be honored.
What happens if I have an unplanned cesarean?
The cesarean section rate in the US is still hovering around 30%, which means that almost a third of birthing people in America will deliver their babies surgically. While steps can be taken in partnership with your provider and your doula to decrease the likelihood of an unplanned cesarean, your photographer should be comfortable supporting you through a surgical birth. Make sure they are open to the idea of witnessing and documenting the process for you if you want them to. Ask to see examples of other c-sections they’ve documented and make sure you know what your hospital’s policy is regarding photography in the operating room. Because of the pandemic, some hospital’s policies surrounding documentation in the OR have changed. Your photographer should have a contingency plan, and that plan should be reflected in your contract with them. Maybe they’ll meet you again in a few days for a Fresh 48 session, or they’ll visit your home a month later for a Real Postpartum session. Whatever the case may be, this should be decided upon well in advance so there are no surprises.
At Gather Birth Cooperative, we’ll work with you to come up with a contingency plan that feels right for you and your family.
Do you offer birth videography as well as birth photography? How do you prioritize when to take video vs. still images?
Maybe you’d like to capture the sound and motions of your birthing experience in addition to the sights. Does your photographer offer videography? And do they know how to capture video footage while they’re taking photos? Having multiple professional cameras and lenses makes this possible, and it’s one of our favorite things to do for clients. Here’s a recent example.
Some of our birth photography clients in Minneapolis and St. Paul request that we capture video footage as well as stills for the moment of birth, and some opt for one over the other. While it’s not always possible to do both simultaneously (see recent example, above), we’re proud of our ability to deliver well-rounded birth galleries alongside beautiful birth films.
Can you show me what your full birth galleries look like?
To know whether your birth photographer is a good fit for you, you should see the full story - not just the stand-alone images they put on their website and social media pages. Any professional worth hiring will have a few full galleries available to share with you.
What to look for:
Are the images high quality? All of the photos should be in focus and not blurry. They shouldn’t be too grainy. Too much grain indicates either improper exposure in the camera, over-editing, or an inability to work in low light.
Do you like how the photographer edits their images? Digital photography is meant to be manipulated, and every photographer has their own style. Make sure you want your photos to look the way the photographer processes/edits their images.
Are the photos in color or black and white? Again, be sure the photographer’s style aligns with your preferences. A good birth photographer will be able to deliver most images from your session in color and should be able to provide any of your birth photos in black and white too.
Here are links to a few of our full birth galleries: Zoey (hospital), KJ (birth center), and Wilde (home birth).
Are you comfortable documenting births in dark spaces?
Cameras need light to work, and there isn’t usually much light in the middle of the night. A well-lit daytime birth is rare. Is your birth photographer capable of expertly capturing once-in-a-lifetime photos when the lights are dimmed and the curtains are pulled shut at your birthplace?
Look at the images your photographer showcases on their website. Do they feature a variety of lighting situations? Are they as able to create beautiful images in a dim room as they are at one of those rare sunny daytime births? Not only can birthing locations be dark, but sometimes the lighting is incredibly complex. Between overhead fluorescent light bulbs, ambient lighting, natural light, the surgical spotlight that is often turned on for the moment of birth at a hospital, and even operating room lights, a variety of light sources is something that a pro will know how to navigate. The images featured in this post highlight different settings and lighting situations, including flash photography.
Are you running a legitimate business?
It’s easier than ever to say you’re a photographer, but any birth photographer worth their salt will be operating a legal business and using professional-quality gear. Merely owning a camera does not make one a professional photographer, and entry-level equipment doesn’t always perform well given the unique challenges birth can present. Along with having high-quality cameras, lenses, and memory cards, your photographer should know how to use their camera in manual settings and be able to consistently and expertly edit their images. Additionally, your birth photographer should bring at least two cameras to every birth. There are no do-overs in birth, and gear failure (it happens!) should not prevent them from capturing your priceless moments.
Do they sign a contract and model release with their clients? Is your photographer charging a living wage? What is their turnaround time? Do they limit the number of clients they take each month to decrease the likelihood of overlapping birthdays? Does your photographer have good relationships with reliable backups? Are they continuing their education in the field? Do they give back to their local birth community? While you don’t necessarily need to know all the details of how they run their business, working with an experienced professional will likely give you a lot of peace of mind.
Each member of the Gather Birth team carries a minimum of two professional-grade cameras to every birth attended. We also carry multiple lenses, spare batteries and battery chargers, and extra memory cards. We take a limited number of clients each month and we make sure that our service radius is narrow so that we’re never too far from home.
Are there any hidden costs that I should know about? Will I have to pay more after my baby’s birth?
Your birth photographer should be able to tell you exactly what they include in your package, and you shouldn’t have to worry about whether you’ll end up paying more later. If they list their prices on their website, great! If they send you a cost sheet via email, that works too! As long as they are transparent about what they are selling you and it’s clearly outlined in your contract, you’re good.
If you’d like to see our pricing for birth photography in Minneapolis and St. Paul, click here. Interested in videography too? Here you go! Each of our birth documentation packages comes with full download and print rights. We require 50% of the service cost to hold your spot on our calendar and the remaining balance is due by your 36th week of pregnancy.
Are you going to put my photos on the internet? Are you going to take, ahem, that photo?
Your birth photographer should have you sign a model release that doesn’t permit them to share a single image if that’s what you want. We’re fortunate that so many of our clients have allowed us to share their beautiful and intimate birth images but we do not require them to do so.
As far as that image goes — you know… the crowning shot — if you want your photographer to capture that incredible moment where your baby is thisclose to being in your arms, talk to them about it. While the odds are good that they will be able to, sometimes birth is speedy, a well-intentioned nurse steps in front of the camera at the exact wrong moment, or safety becomes the priority over capturing those short seconds when your baby is between two worlds. We know better than to guarantee specific shots, but we can promise that we will deliver a gallery of expertly-captured photos that will beautifully tell your birth story. Oh! And if you’re concerned about modesty, a pro will know how to work with your preferences and can find creative angles to preserve your privacy.
What is your childcare situation?
It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes babies don’t give us much warning before they’re suddenly in your arms. Your photographer should have childcare lined up 24/7, and they should be able to tell you how long it will take them to get out the door once they receive your call. If you have a history of fast births and the photographer you’re interviewing lives 30 minutes away from your birthplace AND they need to wait 40 minutes for their babysitter to arrive, you might be better off hiring someone else. Or maybe you end up going into labor on an icy, snowy day. If your photographer’s childcare options aren’t immediately available, those timelines may be extended out even further.
At Gather, half our team has built-in childcare in their live-in partners who are privileged to have flexible work schedules, and the other half has yet to welcome kiddos into their lives. On average, it takes us 20-40 minutes to get to a birthplace once we receive your call, depending on location, weather, and advance notice.
What other services do you offer?
Can your photographer offer support beyond documentation at your labor and delivery? Maybe you’re interested in information about making a birth plan or you’re looking for lactation support after baby’s birth. We’ve got you covered. And of course, we also provide dynamic birth doula support, which can have a profound impact on birth outcomes. Not only that, we can help you with infant sleep, making a postpartum plan, and connecting you with resources for anything that might be outside our scope of practice.
How are you navigating COVID-19? What steps are you taking to keep your clients safe?
Every family has different expectations and priorities during the pandemic. The Gather Birth team is taking every precaution in order to keep ourselves, our families, our clients, and members of the birth community we come into contact with healthy. Read more about the steps we’re taking here.
Is there anything else birthing people should ask their prospective birth photographers about? Let us know in the comments!
Are you looking for a birth photographer in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the surrounding areas? You’ve come to the right place.
Learn more about Gather Birth Cooperative, the leading birth photographers in the Twin Cities.
Do you still have questions? Visit our FAQ, read our about page, or send us a message.