I am sitting at my desk today wondering what to write about. I have a newborn session coming up in a few hours and something has been weighing heavily on my mind.
Since I have entered the world of birth photography, I have finally felt that I am photographing what I was meant to. You know that feeling you get when you are finally home? It is sorta like a relief, comfort…like you belong…like you are doing what you were put on this earth to do. That’s how I feel with birth photography.
This is no way implies a dislike for any other genre of photography. Oh my, I love the itty bitty babies that come to my studio, the children, the parents…I love “love” and photographing couples and weddings. These are all extensions of me. The art I create doing these portraits is immensely gratifying.
Birth though. It’s an entirely different animal. So as I sit here I think not only about births, but my birth. I think about adoption and how many people would love an opportunity to savor those moments. What must a mother feel like giving birth and know that someone else will be raising that child? The fear, excitement and joy an adoptive family must feel knowing that their dream is about to take place?
Having gone through birth adoption myself, I feel qualified to understand this situation a bit better than the average person who has not. I don’t pretend to know your specific emotions, but I am sensitive to your wonderful and individual situation. There are so many thoughts and feelings with the people involved. So much love going around. At the same time hearts can break. It is such a delicate time for everyone, but it is out of love for a little newborn child.
Looking back on my time going through adoption, I may have given up my little toe to have that journey documented.
So as I sit here, I think the world of adoption birth photography needs to become a real part of me and what I can offer people. Like I said, I would have given anything (including that pinky toe) to have my journey documented.
I have decided I will offer my normal birth photography package to adoptive parents. This includes an amazing Artbook of the day’s journey, a slideshow presentation set to music and the high resolution images matching those in the ArtBook. To see more information about these handcrafted Artbooks: click here. To view a sample slideshow, click here. The thing about this is that the birth mother would be gifted a duplicate version of everything. She may not want to look at it immediately, but in a year, two years or 10 years, she may be thrilled to see what she did and be proud of her decision.
What a fabulous heirloom to have. Whether you are the adoptive parent(s) or the birth mother, these books will always mean more than just a picture on a page to both you and your child. What a precious memory to give a baby – beautiful documentation of how he or she came into the world and the adults that loved them so very much.
I also understand that there are special circumstances surrounding adoption. Everyone is working on good faith and that includes me. After photographing this blessed event and if the adoption does not go through, the images will be immediately deleted and all monies will be returned to the adoptive parents (less any PayPal transaction fees). This is the chance I am willing to take to give these memories to both the adoptive parents and the birth mommy.
Please contact me for more information on this service. It truly is what I was meant to do. I do have an e-zine with a bit more information if you would like. Please make sure you click the little arrows at the bottom right for full screen. The horizontal toggle bar at the bottom near the little arrows has the -/+ symbols to magnify the text if you need.