Ten Beautiful Crowning Images

When people first hear about birth photography, I know many of them wrongly believe a birth photographer's number one goal is to capture that "in-your-face" crowning moment. I imagine that's why I sometimes get an involuntary grimace when I tell people what I do. 

But of course, birth photography is so much more than that actual "moment of birth." My goal as a birth photographer is to capture the big and small moments of my clients' birthing days. Their unique stories, those quiet moments of connection, and the overwhelming emotion of bringing a child into the world. That being said, I do find the "moment of birth" to be incredible - when a baby is crowning or being born there is such a seismic shift of energy in the room. Even after 100 births, I still find myself holding my breath in the seconds or minutes it takes to go from a peek of head to crowning to birth. Although some birth photographers choose to not share these images (perhaps to dispel the myth that birth photography is ALL about the graphic vagina shots) I believe these images are powerful and offer an incredible view into the beginning of life. 

The transition from womb to world is a monumental one - for mom, for baby, for parents, for siblings. These moments are the very first moments in which our dreams become reality....the moment we see the precious baby we've been dreaming about and imagining for months. 

Yes, the images below are real and graphic, but I also believe they are beautiful representations of life and birth. They are the kind of images that I would feel comfortable sharing with friends and family because they are the type of images that can change the way we talk about and view the miraculous process of birthing a baby into the world. 

Birth is beautiful. The emotion, the connection, AND the physical process...it's all important and it's all worth capturing and remembering.