Birth just IS. I have to start with that. The world of Professional Birth Photography is so tricky. Tricky in terms of what to post, how to crop. How will my images be received by society? Wow. Consider the workflow of a birth photographer. The added element of risk and judgement a birth photographer takes on surpasses – I believe all other forms of photography. We, risk being banned on social media platforms for sharing images of birth. Birth images are repeatedly kicked out of photography competitions trying to reason that said images might offend the overall audience. Birth photographers are constantly assessing their market to determine what types of birth images will be accepted or recoiled at.
Just think about that for a moment. If someone were to recoil at a birth image, doesn’t that speak volumes about that individual and their view of birth versus the artist? I say so. Looking at the big picture. – Society has yet to accept birth completely- accept women and our right to birth in a manner we choose, in a place that we choose (?)Yes, we are making waves in the community. There are more and more pockets of humans that love and appreciate birth and the sharing of the journey through images. We still have a long way to go.
This year 2017. I am unwilling to keep stunning birth images a “secret”. I will love what I do with complete abandon. Birth IS. I cannot risk stifling my passion and a women’s birth story for the sake of possibly offending some one individual. And maybe, just maybe…the more we start to look–really look at birth we all will be more accepting, uplifting, and empowering of women.
