BIRTH photography IN BARCELONA

Are you looking for someone you can trust to capture the most important moment of your life?

If you are considering hiring a photographer to capture your baby’s birth, you may be asking yourself whether you will feel comfortable in that situation. Having had a photographer colleague in my own birth, I can assure you that the last thing that will be bothering you is having someone nearby with a camera. And the result is priceless: pictures allow you to relive the experience from another perspective.

Birth photography is 100% documentary, a birth photographer will not guide your or pose you, but simply capture the moment.. My mission is to capture life as it unfolds and be like “a fly on the wall”. That doesn’t mean it’s a cold situation, on the contrary: as photographers, we are there to support you when you need it, to hold your hand or talk to you if need be; we are present but well aware of our place.

Many people associate childbirth with blood, but that is not true. Childbirth photography doesn’t have to be explicit, or show anything you don’t want to show. Although we can all picture a photograph of baby crowning in our minds, that specific moment is just the climax of a (sometimes painfully long) process.

Photographing a birth means telling a story – from the first contraction to the first hour of skin-to-skin contact with your baby. All the details help to tell the story of how a family grows. And the result is incredibly evocative and emotional, heartbreakingly honest and capable of making you relive that moment from another perspective.

How to hire a birth photographer?

If your wedding photographer asked you to schedule one or several previous appointments, in the case of a birth the process is exactly the same. We can’t just show up in the delivery room on “D” day without having seen each other’s faces beforehand. That’s why we will ask you to meet us, introduce yourself, so you can tell us your concerns and your preferences regarding the kind of imagery you would like to see.

Our face-to-face appointment is the best time to clear up your doubts and also to make sure that we will be allowed in the delivery room:

• should you choose a home birth, there will be no problem for you to be accompanied by whoever you want. We will talk to the midwives to make sure we do not interfere with their work: your well-being is the most important thing.
• If you are going to give birth in a hospital, we must make sure beforehand that we will be allowed to be in the delivery room. Since birth photography is still in its early days in Spain, there are often many bureaucratic hurdles and most doctors and ob-gyns are reluctant to have someone taking pictures. If you haven’t made a decision yet, we can recommend the best hospitals in Barcelona where the presence of a photographer is allowed.

How much does a birth photographer cost?

Having someone available 24/7 during the last weeks of pregnancy comes at a price: birth photography is not a low-cost service. Just like a midwife, doula or anyone else you hire to attend the birth of your child would do,as photographers we must ensure that we can be in the right place at the right time.

In addition, a birth is a predictably long process, lasting hours, so in a way it is no different from wedding photography. However, unlike a wedding, a birth is impossible to schedule (unless a doctor decides to induce you for medical reasons), so our dedication and time spent is even greater than in wedding photography.

In the case of childbirth:

• We can’t know exactly when it will happen (unless it’s an induction or scheduled cesarean).
• We know when the labor starts, but we can’t be sure when, how (or where) it will end.
• We don’t know how long it will last, and the resulting pictures should be able to tell the whole story of welcoming your baby into the world.

Therefore, if we want to guarantee a professional service, the price must cover everything that this entails. If you are sure you want to hire a photographer, it is advisable to start saving money during your pregnancy.

Photographing births is to making birth visible to society.

In Spain there is still much to be done so that births are more respected, attended with less urgency and fewer interventions. Birth still lacks a lot of affection and empathy, and a much more focused look on the birthing woman and less focused on the hands assisting her.

At the same time, we women are the first to become aware of our active role in order to change things. Because *everything* changes when we feel empowered, capable, informed and, above all, confident that we are in the best possible hands. And that is where I am sure photography can help:

• Photographers can show that every birth is different.
• Photographers can show that every woman has different rhythms, preferences, desires and all of them need to be honored and respected.
• Photographers can show that a woman who participates in the decisions affecting her pregnancy and childbirth experiences the process with peace of mind and feeling safe.
• Photographers can show that a c-section can also honor a significant moment for both mother and baby.
• Photographers can show the power of words, looks and accompanying gestures.
• Photographers can show that interventions, when necessary and based on transparency, are more than welcome.
• Photographers can show that there are great people and professionals attending births.
• We can show the importance of small gestures, such as the late clamping of the umbilical cord, the respect for skin-to-skin contact or the ability to chose who you want to share the experience with.

My experience as a birth photographer

Experiencing childbirth as a spectator and, more specifically, behind the camera lens, puts you in a strange position.

In some fleeting moments, you recognize yourself in some of the things happening around you, reliving your own births. Other times, the emotions make your heart skip a beat. You shudder listening to the sounds of the woman in labor and the amazing energy and strength she has. You can literally breath oxytocin floating in the air. You smile, and smile, and can’t stop smiling.

Sometimes you see things you don’t like. You don’t know if you see the same as the birthing woman and her partner. But you are aware of being in a privileged place, and you know that the images captured tell a life story. The couple’s life story. A story about LIFE. 40 weeks plus or minus two, three, four…

In most cases, the “expiration date” of a pregnant woman is 40 weeks. From that moment on, every day is like minutes of extra time in a game that should have ended. Anyone who has spoken to a woman beyond 40 weeks knows the psychological pressure of feeling those added minutes, which can turn into real anxiety at the prospect of an induction or cesarean as the inevitable culmination.