You are 5 months pregnant – happily enjoying the second trimester and you decide to hire a birth photographer. This is, after all, a very special time and the birth of your baby will be one of the most important days of your life. The days and months pass and soon it is time to have your baby. You know exactly when to call your birth photographer and you excitedly make that phone call as labor progresses! It’s time!
But what happens if you make that call, and you find out your birth photographer is sick? Of course you don’t want someone who is sick at the birth of your baby. But you have also been so excited about having photos of this experience to look back on in the years so come!
Sickness happens, we all know that and we know we cannot control it. But professionals have back-ups they can call in case of sickness. Professionals are ready for anything.
This past October, I experienced my first ever migraine and it knocked me out. I could not believe the pain I was in. I was able to sleep for several hours right before getting “the call” from a laboring mother. When I woke up for that call, the migraine was gone. Little did I know that without proper sleep that migraine would come back with a vengeance!
I went to the birth center to meet mom & dad and felt fine. A few hours later, however, the migraine reared its ugly head. At first I was just a little dizzy with a headache so I pushed through. Then my vision started to get blurry and I knew it was time to call a back up. Thankfully, I have a great relationship with several birth photographers here in town and called up one of my backups. She happened to be available, so she came down to the birth center to take my place. I am so thankful she took over, as my migraine just kept getting worse and the mom labored for several more hours before delivering her baby.
When you hire a professional birth photographer – you get a photographer who knows that sometimes things come up. And while I will do almost anything to be at your birth, I will not jeopardize your baby’s health and I will not jeopardize the quality of your photos if my vision starts to go (with a migraine). This is why I have not one, but several talented and qualified birth photographers I can call on to back me up.
The following photos are from the birth in October where I had to call a back up. Some of them are photos I took, some of them are from her. My goal is that they look cohesive and beautiful, as if I was there the whole time.