Birthing photography?

[katrin_d.]

<p>Not sure if this is right forum but I've been asked to photograph a birth. Have neither witnessed nor experienced childbirth, I'm completely dumbfounded. Has anybody ever photographed this event and if so, would you mind sharing your experience so I can make a somewhat more informed decision? The photographer in me is intrigued, the regular old me would rather look the other way. Thank you for you input.</p>

[david_schilling___chicago_]

<p>I've done a baby photo less than 24 hours after home-birthing and did some video & stills at my son's birth almost 8 years ago. I've also volunteered and shot a couple of times for NILMDTS. A major issue will be scheduling, you can't really schedule the birth (unless it's a C-section) and even if the birth is induced you can end up waiting hour after hour, with best guesstimates based on dilation, the moment will be hard to predict a solid time. There's also likely a limit on numbers of guests/relatives allowed in the room and plenty of factors that could complicate the process.</p>

<p>Unless this is for your family, I'd suggest that you look to schedule some portraits for the next day. Not sure if this is the right forum, perhaps we could classify it as a birthday party event :-)</p>

[nishnishant]

<p>Is this in a hospital? If it is, and it's a C-section birth, the hospital may not allow photography (assuming they even let anyone other than the spouse or mother of the mom-to-be to stay inside).</p>

<p>In our case, while I was in with a camera, they asked me to not take pics till until after the birth. Once the baby was outside, they asked me to click away as I wanted to. Oddly enough, I was so mesmerised at seeing my baby son for the first time that I only took 2 pics, and spent the rest of the time just enjoying the moment.</p>

[craig_gillette]

<p>Well, when my daughters were born, I was busy. Not as busy as my wife, of course, but taking pictures wouldn't have been possible for the first (the hospital was very busy and I ended up helping with positioning my wife as she couldn't hold the rails - the doctor was fussy about her (the doctor's) position more than my wife's and moving lights around, etc.) and photography would have been unappreciated for the second. I'd suggest that if you haven't seen a child birth, you might not want to be "on the clock" for one until you are sure how you will respond. Although child birth prep classes, etc., include birth movies and the like, they are typically time compressed and shot under more planned circumstances (that is a planned, professional shoot and all parties are prepared). So while it may be an "interesting" opportunity, you may want to investigate the process more fully, even though you'll probably get a variety of answers, it's going to be "you" in there with the camera.</p>

<p> </p>

[William Michael]

<p>Yes, two: my two Daughters being born. <br />Also I have shot some still and a little cine work inside an Hospital - Medical Procedures, but not Births.<br /><br />I mention both these experiences of mine, because there is a great difference between the two. The first was an emotional event which we wanted recorded by me, for our use, and I was involved in that event. <br /><br />The second I was recording an event (and capturing the emotion of it), but I was not involved emotionally <strong><em>in the event</em></strong>: my emotion was focused on my task at hand.<br /><br />So, as you ask specifically: <strong><em>"would you mind sharing your experience, so I can make a somewhat more informed decision?" </em></strong></p>

<p>I suggest you consider these three points very carefully:</p>

<p>1. Are you emotionally involved with the Subjects? If so can you adequately detach yourself such that you only concentrate on the anticipation necessary and the images you need to acquire?</p>

<p>2. Will the subject matter: human anatomy; birth specific material, throw you off balance and result in you not performing you job effectively? <em>(“</em><em>the regular old me would rather look the other way”)</em><br>

<em></em><br>

3. Also, as David mentioned you will need to set aside a period of <strong><em>unknown</em></strong> and <strong><em>undesignated</em></strong> time (unless Induced or Caesar-Section – but still they don’t necessarily go to a stopwatch plan, either). So let’s assume a natural birth, and you contract to cover it. The birth begins on a Saturday morning and you have a Package 4 booked that Saturday, beginning at midday (<em>up to 12 hours unlimited coverage</em>) . . . what’s your plan B?<br>

***<br>

FYI: There are a few older threads about equipment and etc, you might research, some are:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00PlCx">http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00PlCx</a><br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00Ow01">http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00Ow01</a><br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00SFEq">http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00SFEq</a><br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00PaDx">http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00PaDx</a></p>

<p>WW</p>

[katrin_d.]

<p>Thank you all so much.<br>

W.W. - you raise interesting questions.<br>

1) No.<br>

2) You correctly picked up on my hesitancy. I *think* I would be able to just focus on what I'm doing but I wouldn't swear to it. Which is where the mental prep work Craig mentioned comes in. Not sure if I have what it takes to photograph childbirth. Certainly no re-staging after the fact. ;-)<br>

3) Backup photographer wouldn't be an issue.<br>

However, re-reading all your posts, I would be much happier following David's approach of taking portraits of the newborn and the family as opposed to being a semi-stranger photographing the entire process ... it sure feels like I would be an intruder otherwise.<br>

Thank you all so much for your help!</p>

[stephanie_ostermann]

<p>I haven't ever done it, but I think it would be a pretty amazing experience. For me, and for many of the women I've met since having my children, birth is a really spiritual (loud, messy, gross, raw, primal) experience. There are some amazingly emotional moments to capture during a birth that don't include the gory and horrible, and if a couple has asked you, they aren't worried about you being a semi stranger.<br>

During labour, many women are off in their heads anyway, and oblivious to people around them. I think it would just be important to establish what the rules were ahead of time - what should be photographed, what shouldn't, what the word will be and who will give it if they want you to step out, that sort of thing.<br>

This is a really nice example of tasteful birth photos (warning! graphic images of birth<br /> ) http://www.blueolivephotography.com/ever/</p>

[anton frid photography]

<p>I shoot a lot in the hospital settings - <a href="http://www.afp-medical.com/">www.afp-medical.com</a> If its in the hospital, Good luck! :) The client has to notify everyone and i mean everyone who is going to be in the room prior to the procedure that a professional will be coming into a room to photo document her birth. Some docs are not happy with anyone present. Period! Some afraid of liability issues, some just not comfortable with someone walking around taking pictures nonstop. Flash going off every second. Your def going to be in the way, and if you are not, then you are not getting the shots she probably wants. <br>

<strong >Before delivery,</strong> try to capture: blanket for the soon to be baby, cap, room details, fetal monitor report/tracing, mood of the dad, mom, perhaps clothes awaiting a new born that mother prepared..etc<br>

<strong >After delivery</strong>: wrist band, little feet. def shoots few quick posed portraits with father, grandparents...mother...even staff members (nurses, doctor) - but depends on how the procedure went. you may not want to capture the staff :)<br>

It’s obviously important to her, so make sure to capture everything.<br>

If you are doing this for yourself, then try to enjoy the time and be there for her. Leave your camera at home. I nearly chew off a plastic cup waiting for my wife to deliver my son.<br>

good luck and keep your eyes open!</p>

[richard_cochran]

<p>Agree with what others have said, I'll add a few more questions and things to think about.</p>

<p>Is this a hospital birth? Or a home birth? The reason I ask is that, as others have suggested, in the hospital there will be staff who are very much in charge and who have established policies. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and it can be reassuring to know that you're not at all responsible for anything important if you're new to this and don't know what to do. </p>

<p>In particular, they may not want you to plug anything into their electric outlets (they might get fussy about keeping the power system "clean" for the instruments). And they may not appreciate a flash in the middle of everything.</p>

<p>So a fast lens that's long enough for you to stay back out of the way might be just the ticket.</p>

<p>If it's planned to be a home birth, I'd be asking a lot of questions, just because different people have wildly different expectations about a home birth.</p>

<p>What does the mother-to-be want the photos to capture? Both in the sense of which moments, events, processes, anatomical details does she expect the photos to show or hide, but also in the sense of what mood or emotion does she want to capture? And perhaps more importantly, what DOESN'T she want to capture, and how much intrusion is she willing to put up with for the photography? And what happens if, in the passion of the moment, she tells you to get out of the room or something like that? Will she forgive you for heeding her order and not getting the pictures? Or for disobeying her order and staying to get the pictures?</p>

<p>In our case, we didn't want cameras at the event itself. We didn't really want to relive that particular moment, nor was there anyone else we particularly wanted to show it to. We DID take pictures of the baby after about 30 minutes or so. But people have different attitudes about this sort of thing, and there's no right or wrong, so it's important that you and the mother-to-be understand each other and be on the same wavelength.</p>

<p>Black and white can be an effective medium, both for the birth and for newborn babies, since it can partially conceal some bruising and/or blood. Of course you can desaturate after the fact.</p>

<p>If you're taking pictures of a newborn, consider whether or not to use flash. It's a subject that's come up here repeatedly, and I really don't believe flash is harmful. But regardless of what I think or what medical evidence suggests, if the parents get freaked out about it, it's probably not such a good idea. Go over this subject in advance.</p>

[William Michael]

<p>I was hoping Anton would respond to this question.</p>

<p>His reputation precedes him - his work is noted even over the big pond.</p>

<p>It would bode well to have an in-depth and detailed look at the link he provided.</p>

<p>Others, including myself, will take our generalist skills honed by many years of capturing Wedding Photos and might have occasionally applied them to working in an Hospital Environment to capture an event for ourselves or otherwise . . . but this is Anton's speciality.</p>

<p>Even though it seems you have made your decision . . . all readers should take particular note of the tag to his first paragraph: <em>"Your def going to be in the way, and if you are not, then you are not getting the shots she probably wants"<br /></em><br /><br />WW</p>

[williamchuttonjr]

<p>No flash. Imagine how the intense light could terrorize/confuse/inappropriately stimulate the baby.<br>

Think about B&W. Newborns can have atypical skin color.</p>

[William Michael]

<p><strong><em>"No flash. Imagine how the intense light could terrorize/confuse/inappropriately stimulate the baby."</em></strong><br>

<br>

Oh boy ! ! ! . . . that can be an hot topic and has been visited here before: including harvesting comments from Ophthalmologists and Paediatricians.<br>

<br>

WW</p>

<p > </p>

 

[anton frid photography]

<p>Thank you William!</p>

[William Michael]

<p >You are welcome. But thanks are not required. I wrote only simple statements of fact to which I would sign my name. </p>

<p > </p>

<p >I had previously researched this particular topic (for other reasons); and as a result of that research I came across articles about you and your work. </p>

<p > </p>

<p >Hence, I then interrogated both in detail. It was only later I found that you were a member of Photonet.</p>

<p > </p>

<p >Best to you,</p>

<p > <br>

WW</p>