{Receiving: Birth Photography}

     I have tried to write this post many times now. Honestly, I just can't seem to find the right words. I have so many thoughts and so many posts that I could write about birth, and about birth photography. My thoughts are jumbled, and until I can sort them all out, I want to keep my words here brief. All that I can say is that birth photography has captured me like few other "genres" of photography have. Each birth that I have attended, whatever the scenario or the outcome, has been a powerful, gripping, and unique experience.
     To witness the power of birth is one thing. To capture it with a camera is another. To think that a group of pixels on a screen can convey so much emotion, depth, and beauty is an awesome thing. To share the gift of those pictures with the families that are receiving their newborns--that is a feeling that I can't trade. It is a sacred thing, to be able to seize those first few moments of a child's life on camera and hold on to them forever. Ultimately, whether those moments are captured on an iPhone camera, or on a point-and-shoot, or through a professional photographer, the power of those moments can never change. They remain sacred, frozen in time, breathtakingly beautiful.
     To try and put my passion for birth photography into words, any more than I already have, would undermine the experience. Just know that I have been captivated. Receiving new life--it is a beautiful gift. Capturing the receiving of a child on camera, well, that is a gift too.

 

The Tour

     During the past [almost] two years of doing photography as a business, I have covered a pretty broad range of focuses in my work. Although the majority of my photography is centered around families and children, really it feels as though I have done just about everything in-between. The past few years have seen me doing birthday parties and baby showers, maternity and newborn sessions, children and senior pictures, weddings, births, day-in-the-lives, and even business head-shots, all mixed in with a fair amount of families. Each session, no matter what category, has brought its own set of challenges and joys, and has taught me more about my camera and running a business.
     That being said, over the next few weeks it is my goal to take you on a tour. I will be visiting each category, one by one, in a series of posts. Each post will share some photo samples [of course!] from the chosen category, as well as a brief description about what each different category is teaching me. I will be covering categories in this order:

With You: Couple Photography

Promises: Wedding Photography

Waiting: Maternity Photography

Receiving: Birth Photography

Welcoming: Newborn Photography

Growing: Infant Photography (First Year)

Miracles: Child Photography

Moments: Day-in-the-Life Photography

Love: You and Your Child

Wings: Senior Portraits

Occasions: Event Photography

Professions: Business Photography

Together: Family Photography

I would be honored if you would join me for this tour! Check back in over the next few weeks-I really will be making an effort to post consistently :) I can't wait to share each of these with you!

Overload

Be prepared to be overloaded. With pictures. I recently went through photos from my summer/fall sessions, and picked a bunch of favorite photos to share with you. The number of photos grew... I really tried to trim it down, and narrow the selection, but I just have so many favorites. This, then, is an "overload" of pics. Enjoy!

*A quick note about the blog before I share pics: I have recently been thinking about the purpose of this blog. In the past, I have tried to post a selection of photos from each session here, and describe a little bit about each photo shoot in depth. However, recently I have been posting most sessions (samples and full albums) on my photography business page on Facebook. I really don't feel, at this point, that it is necessary to post every session on both the blog and my business page. Thus, I am in the process of re-shaping this blog a little bit. Instead of posting about individual sessions, I intend to post about my experience with photography as a whole. I would like to do more photo challenges (I have one brewing in my mind already...), once in a while post some favorites from sessions, and explain in depth where I am at in this learning process. I would also like to post more frequently on the blog... but I can't promise that one yet :) For now, though, I am getting any blog followers that I still have caught up to speed.

NOW I will share pics with you!