If you know me, you know I am the nice and unassuming sort; an empath and a peacemaker. I want everyone to be happy! It feels icky to even try and convince someone they should choose me over someone else. So be aware that I am absolutely not doing that. There are many incredible established photographers to choose from in the Central Arkansas area who have documented births. And if you connect with another tog and feel that they are the right person for your birth space...that is awesome! What I will do is tell you why I would be honored to be invited into your birth space and kind of touch on some answers to investment questions.
On the subject of me: I started out with photography as a teenager and then took a long break for college and starting a family. As soon as I picked up a camera again I knew that I should never have put them down. I love telling stories: with words or images, there is nothing better than crafting a story to delight an audience. Even more important, and pertinent to this discussion, I love birth (you can read more about my lifelong love affair with it here). I love birth and telling birth stories so much, in fact, that the minute I moved back from overseas I was raring to go with this crazy dream of elevating birth photography here in my home state to an accepted art form. An art form that is sought after and compensated fairly so that its practitioners are able to continue perfecting their craft without burning out or going bankrupt. But wait, you may be thinking! If you love telling birth stories so much, why do you have to charge for them? Ah, there's the rub isn't it? Life. Life insinuates its self into the thing and insists that the passions be compensated so that the children may be fed and have new shoes. Birth photography has been likened to wedding photography in many ways - and yet the demands of thoroughly capturing a birth story can be even more intense. Imagine, if you will, contacting a wedding photographer and telling them that you will be having a wedding sometime within a 5+ week span (probably), and that it could last from 1-36 hours, anytime of day or night, in any lighting conditions, with whichever officiant happens to be on call...I imagine you would be paying a whole lot more that the $3,200 I shelled out for my wedding photos 11ish years ago! All of those factors come into play with birth photography pricing, in addition to the old standby of any business who must calculate their CODB. Insurance, licenses, taxes, editing time, equipment wear and tear all must be considered. Time away from family and childcare must be factored in. And on and on until thinking about it just strips all of the joy away!
Ah, but that joy. That's what keeps me going in this crazy journey and I would be so incredibly honored for you to join me in it <3 Together we can continue to tell beautiful stories, normalize all birthing experiences and work to improve the local and global birth landscapes for everyone.
If you have any questions or want to discuss whether birth photography (or maybe something more along the lines of a fresh baby session) is right for you, please don't hesitate to give me a call or send a message! I would love nothing more than to chat about my favorite subject <3
