My Take | Birth Photography - Gauteng Birth Doula & Photographer

So you are now pregnant. THE rollercoaster has begun! Yeehaa!

Ever thought of professionally Photographing your precious new Baby’s Birth Day? I hadn’t. Not until I had my daughter six months ago. It never occurred to me in the slightest. In fact, I was slightly repelled by the idea! I really didn’t fancy the idea of someone taking picture of my ‘you know what’!! With me on that?

I came across some professionally done Birth photographs whilst scouting around on the net one day. They were anything but the horrid, gory, graphic pictures I had imagined. They scared the life out of me, I will admit. But they were beautiful. So beautiful. They captured the amazing essence of what was about to happen. They captured a new life. A new breathe. They were simply amazing. No gory bits… just pure emotion.

I gave Birth to my Daughter, Eva, on the 10^th of April 2012. Although I never had a professional Birth Photographer, I did have a very willing Doula on hand. Robyn Hertog. Although her role as my Doula required other duties, I still handed her my camera – with very strict instructions. No ‘down there’ s! At all! I bet she was thinking, gosh, what am I to photograph now! She did a sterling job! She captured the pain, the joy, the support, the relief, the triumph… She captured my new family – together for the very first time. It’s on paper. It is worth more than Gold to me.

Now you might be thinking, that the idea of having a stranger taking pictures while you are in this moment of severe vulnerability, is just not nice. Well of course it wouldn’t be, if it were a stranger. Tip: No stranger’s in the delivery room – hire a Birth Photographer who is prepared to meet more than once, and become well acquainted and maybe even friends. It really does need to be someone who one is comfortable with.

I can tell you, though, from experience, that having someone else in the room with you other than your husband is reassuring. It’s comforting. It’s a very scary time for most! Another positive is that when things really do start to heat up, you will not notice (unless, maybe, if you have an Epidural!) what is going on in the room. I never noticed Robyn taking photographs. All I remember was clutching onto her hand – how she managed to squeeze in some photos I don’t know. Multi-talented she must be!!

In a nutshell – photographing your baby’s Birth Day is a MUST! Absolute. Almost EVERY body hires a professional photographer to photograph their wedding day. Your child’s Birth Day is just as important, if not more. If you thought your wedding day was the best day of your life… This day will be the most empowering, uplifting and life changing, for sure!