birth photography

over the summer i had the most wonderful opportunity to document two of my good friends home-births. if you know me, you probably know i’m passionate about birth! i gave birth to harper at a birth center almost a year ago and the experience was absolutely life changing.  you can read all about it here .

i honestly don’t think i’ve ever been so moved by photos. not because of my skills, but because i got to document life. the relationship between husband and wife, the amazing endurance that God has blessed women with in order to persevere through labor. it’s amazing!

as a photographer i sat back and watched the story unfold. typically, i have some control over my work. i place a bride and groom just so, i use a cute chair for a portrait with a child. but with this photography there was no interfering. i was challenged to not only document the mother in labor, but to find details that moved the story along. i used the movement of fans to represent time, and photos of clocks to give the viewers perspective as if they were there. i used photos of a tree in color to show what time of day it was. it was so wonderful to view photography in that way. this is why i love home-births. they’re so personal and intimate. i’m truly thankful that my friends, my dear friends allowed me to witness their births.

be sure to check out their slide shows.  there’s just something about photos set to music…

audrey’s slide show

arden’s slide show

here are a few of my favorite shots from audrey and arden’s births

and arden’s

this image above might be one of my favorites of all time.

you can read audrey’s birth story here

and

arden’s birth story here

my harper grace {5 months}

i can’t believe our sweet girl is already 5 months…in some ways i feel as though this is her last month to be my little baby.  once they hit 6 months they start trying to crawl and then it’s a fast train to independence from there!  my favorite ages to photograph is between 6 and 9 months. so while i’m a little sad she’s growing so quickly, i am looking forward to taking lots of photos during that time .

now i know how my clients feel when they come to the studio to view their kids portraits.  i couldn’t leave one photo behind, i love them all!

this was jim’s blanket when he was a baby!

i bought her this outfit when i was 6 months pregnant with her, and i couldn’t wait to see it on her! so special