Hiring a professional Ottawa Birth Photographer makes documenting this important event in your life EASY.

Your family is growing. Perhaps you are adopting, perhaps your baby will be born through surrogacy, this could be your fifth or first baby - either way things are about to get pretty exciting!

Below are 4 reasons to hire a birth photographer and/or videographer.

Professional Birth Photographers have the equipment and skill to capture the teeny tiny details you want to remember

Yes our phones are INCREDIBLE nowadays! 100% If you want to capture the images yourself read this post for some photos to add to your must-haves.

Hiring a photographer who has the camera and lenses that can capture the tiniest wrinkles and sharpest images of the first moments can offer some ease:

you don’t need to think about the photos so you can be present in every moment
you won’t need to know where your phone is (or your charger!)
if a professional birth photographer’s equipment fails - they have a back-up camera

I use high-quality sharp lenses (24mm, 35mm and sometimes 24-70mm) that work in very low-light so they can still capture the details. I arrive with two full-frame cameras with lenses, two microphones for video, lots of extra batteries and chargers, flash and an extra lens in case of failure.

I have photographed many births in many settings and have the experience to move around the room and capture your dream images. (I’ve had a camera in my hand since I was 4-5 years old!)

As birth professionals, Birth Photographers know what to look for

The photo below is of a baby in the midst of the birth-crawl. The birth-crawl is an instinctual movement so the baby can locate the areola to get their first taste of colustrum. As the baby moves their head they will also use their feet to push up and around their parent’s body to find the breasts. One of the coolest things is that the baby’s feet pressing on the after-birth belly means that the uterus is getting stimulated to shrink down - nature’s design is amazing!

As your birth photographer, I am very familiar with the birth process and baby’s golden hour post-birth so I will be paying attention. This way I can capture images like:

birth-crawl
first latch
first eye contact
first cry
first breath (this is often a lucky photo!!)
first finger grasp

While you are having your baby and while you are connecting with your baby post-birth - I will be there with my camera taking care of the photos.

Birth Photography helps fill in the gaps

Sometimes you, as the birthing person, are in another space while baby is getting settled. This is varying of course, but let’s run with it for a minute.

While they are being examined (if exam is not happening ON you which is also possible in some settings) for example, I am there capturing:

wellness check
head measurement
baby’s length
baby’s weight
first diaper

If I’m capturing video of this (which I will!) it can all be included in your birth film so you can see it all again (or for the first time).

Birth Photographers will capture your partner too

Those first moments when baby is with their family are some of the most divine. There are little details that I see as the photographer like this image below that I knew in that moment I wanted to capture. The way Dad’s huge hands looked holding such a tiny soft-skinned newborn was heart-melting and powerful. In this case, Dad was facing away from Mom and carrying baby from the weighing table. This was a moment Mom would not otherwise have seen.

I am there to capture all the awkward, learning, delicate moments of new parenthood and I am focused on getting those photos so you can tell your child the whole story of the day they were born from everyone’s perspective.

There are a hundred reasons that families choose birth photography and I’m not here to convince anyone of anything. If birth photography is what you want - you will know it. You may even be reading this post AFTER having chosen a birth photographer. No matter where you are on your family’s journey - know that Elle Odyn Photography & Film is here for your family’s transformational days in Ottawa, Ontario.

Photography Workshops for Doulas