‘There is no such thing as a neutral presence in birth and even though you are not the doula, midwife or OBG, you form an integral part of the birth team where your role is to hold the birth space, whilst capturing memories.’
Birth photographers are facilitators and guides in their own way. We offer gentle, non-judgmental support – walking alongside their clients in the journey they are on, without trying to impact or be part of the outcome or memories they are capturing.’
In this environment we need medical professionals to trust us. They still need to uphold their responsibility to the patient while allowing us to be in the birth space. We need to respect them and understand that we are going into their environment. There is a lot to keep in mind in terms of the regulations.
The process of booking.
When you are going to do a birth at a hospital it is important to get in touch with hospital management, making them aware that you are SABPA registered.
You will also need a contract for the hospital and client to sign.
By signing and paying your contract you are agreeing to make use of your birth photographer and is your responsibility to contact her when in labour.
The shot list
The shot list is always the client’s preference and they will share what their preferences and requirements are.
That being said I do always guide my clients into knowing that each and every birth is so different and unpredictable that having a shot list is probably the least ideal thing you want me to have.
I can bear in mind the important moments they want me to get but I always tell them that for me to work with them they need to trust my abilities to capture every beautiful moment I am able to get and they are always very understanding.
We don’t use a flash and we don’t use tripods, out of respect for the birth space.
We also need to have identifiable hospital scrubs .
