So, what is the difference, other than price?

I get this a lot. Especially lately. As birth photography becomes more and more popular, there are photographers who want experience and who charge very little (or nothing!) to photograph a birth. When I cost several hundreds of dollars, you can certainly understand the question. I thought it would be a good idea to walk everyone through it. That way you understand the difference.

First and foremost, photography is not just a skill, but an art. It seems fairly straightforward, because everyone you know takes pictures. But that is the difference. Taking pictures and photography are VERY different. Anyone can take pictures. Hold up camera in auto mode, press shutter button, voila! Picture. Photography is a whole other subject. Professional photographers do so many things when they take pictures. They assess the composition of the image, or how they are going to set it up. What goes where, the best angle to shoot from, the most flattering positions (looking up noses and in armpits just isn't that flattering!). They determine the type of lighting and the amount of light, where the light falls, areas in shadows, the background and it's many distractions. They adjust their camera to fit the situation. They move focal points, change their depth of field, determine what their shutter speed should be, adjust their custom white balance. Then they take their picture. Whew! Even I am tired and I do this for a living. And trust me, that is just the beginning.

During a birth, the photographer must be able to anticipate the moment. She has to know what is coming, where to position herself to get the shot, but at the same time, not be in the way. She has to recognize the subtle details amidst the chaos. She has to be fast enough to not miss something important as birth can move very quickly. She has to be discrete enough to not disturb the mothers birthing environment. She has to be comfortable with birth in all it's glory, the good and the bad. She has to determine when she has enough and when there may be one more fantastic image just waiting on the other side. This is the joy of birth photography.

So, I now have photographs for you, right? NOPE! I take them home, back them up- several times over, pick the best, edit, post your sneak peaks, go back through, pick the rest, edit again, and then I start on your slideshow! I time the music to the moments, creating a crescendo to your birth, stirring up the emotion that makes birth photography so amazing. It takes time, knowledge, experience, and patience.

Oh and "edit". It is such a small word for such a big thing. For those who switched from film to digital, you may have noticed that your images weren't quite as good. The reason is that digital images are meant to be post processed on your computer. You can't do things in camera that you would have done with film. Post processing is HUGE. And I don't just mean changing your colorspace so that your image is greyscale instead of color. A true black and white image looks very different. It has higher contrasts, deep blacks, the whitest whites. It is stunning and breathtaking. Anyone can use a free program to convert to black and white. A professional photographer will give you REAL and classic black and white images.

Now, about your images. Some photographers will give you proofs and have you order prints. Others will give you images on a CD. If you order your prints through the photographer, you are getting professional quality, archival images. These will last for generations. The color will be correct, the exposure will be correct. They will look exactly they way they should. If you order yourself from your CD, your birth photographer should be able to walk you through that process. Where to get them printed, how to avoid standard pitfalls and have your images look like they came from your point and shoot, how to get true black and white prints rather than those that look blue or green. This is a very important step. If your photographer can't help you with this, your images become less valuable. It is also important to find out what resolution your images are. How heartbreaking to pay a lot of money for a beautiful canvas that your image wasn't big enough for.

So does it matter? I think it matters a lot! You can not redo a birth. You can't go back in time and get that moment back. It can only happen once. You only get one chance to capture that miracle in a photograph. It is infinitely important. If you are considering hiring a birth photographer, please take your time. You do get what you pay for. Make sure you ask how they shoot, the equipment they use, their policies, what their contracts look like, what size your finished images are, what type of post processing is done. If they don't readily know these answers, you may want to keep looking. If you don't care, then I am sure you will be thrilled with your images, no matter who takes them. Although it might be cheaper to hand your camera to your mother in law. Ultimately, it's up to you-the art of a photograph or someone taking a picture. It's a choice only you can make.
Happy birthing!