You may be asking yourself, "Why would I want a professional birth photographer?"  Or even - "Why would I want birth pictures in the first place? "

A few of my friends could tell you their stories. My friend Allison does not have a single picture from her child's birth.  In the busy rush of it all, they forgot the camera and now those moments are lost forever.  "You don't realize until later how important those images will be to you." She told me, "The birth of my daughter was one of the greatest moments in my life, and though I try to remember what she looked like and all that happened that day, all I have are little bits and pieces. I wish I could remember it all more clearly." Megan did not forget her camera, but her husband was the dutiful labor support and so unable to take pictures.  A nurse volunteered to help, but she was unfamiliar with the camera and did not realize that spot focusing was on - every single image ended up blurry and out of focus.  To Megan, a professional photographer herself, this was quite the tragedy! My friend Skye wishes she had pictures from her twins birth.  Not many get to experience twins, after all!  "To be able to have a visual of all the emotions of the day would have been an incredible gift to be treasured forever. Pictures help you remember the details, and It saddens me to realize that I've already begun to forget the events of that day." The saddest story is perhaps Emily's.  She did manage to get pictures from her births, but as her children grew older she became fearful and even embarrassed over the graphic nature of her birth images - and so she burned almost all of them.  Now her children are grown and have families of their own, but she still mourns the loss of these images.  "I wish I hadn't burned them!" She told me, "But I was so worried that my children would find them and be scarred for life. They were just too graphic...  I wish I could have had a professional take them. Birth photos need to be taken from a more beautiful perspective."  I first became interested in birth photography after having my first child. Before her birth, I really had no idea what I was getting into, and the idea of birth pictures just sounded…well, gross. So I didn’t plan for photos at all. Thankfully my sister-in-law had the presence of mind to find a camera and take a few shots for me. Unfortunately she did not really know how to use my camera and she was dealing with difficult lighting, so all of the images turned out extremely blurry.  Though I'm certainly glad I have something, it saddens me that I have no nice pictures to share with my little girl, or simply to help me remember the day.  I was truly not prepared for how much I would care about those images later. It wasn't until after the birth that I fully realized how incredible, beautiful, and empowering the event really was.  It was truly one of the most important moments of my life - and I don't have a decent picture to show for it! So of course, after I determined I actually wanted to remember the births of my children, capturing images from those moments became paramount.  By the time I had my second child, I was determined to do things differently. I had photographed many births myself by this time, and had learned from experience how difficult it is to photograph births well. So this time I hired a pro, and I was incredibly blessed by the results. These images of my son's birth are now enjoyed by not only my husband and I, but by my 3 year old daughter. One of her favorite pastimes to look through her brother's beautifully bound, G-rated birth book. She loves to remember and hear about the day her brother joined our family! I myself can hardly express how happy I am that 5 years from now I’ll be able to look at these birth images and be reminded what those “first moments” looked like.  I’ll always be able to remember exactly how my sweet baby looked the moment I met him for the very first time. My husband was proud and beaming as he held his little boy...and my daughter was so excited to have a new baby brother! It makes my heart melt just to think of it. And now because of my birth photographer, I'll always have a tangible way to remember these moments clearly. These “firsts” are captured moments I’d be sad to forget, and will cherish always. And so it has become my passion to help other families capture those most important moments. By joining with other photographers who share a similar passion, I founded MN Birth Photographers to provide expectant parents with the information and resources they need to find their ideal birth photographer.  Together we are Elevating the Art of Birth Photography. Peace,