Why pay a professional - can't my friend just take the photos?

I hear this a LOT! Yeah sure you can. YOU GET what you PAY FOR, or not pay for in this instance.

Getting a friend to take photos of ANYTHING that is important, puts not only a lot of pressure on them, but also on your friendship.

Take birth photography, for example, this is one instance where "the friend" typically seems to get given this job.

The friend is there in the first place to be part of your support system, as well as your partners support, to help out when needed, when one of you gets tired etc etc.

Well here's a few more reasons why this is not the best idea.

Firstly, to get good coverage and to tell a great birth story, professional birth photographers ( I'm going to call them BP's) need to be present at the right times. Usually from active birth right through to an hour or so after birth. This means they need to be ON CALL and available at this time. This could be at 2am and go all day!! They would have to be a pretty good friend to do this. A professional won't be caught snoozing at the critical time.

Secondly, a professional BP will be concentrating on just this one important job. They have the experience in knowing when to take a shot, when to do a short video, when to leave the room. They will only speak when spoken to and be respectful of your space. They also know where to BE at the moment of birth, so this complies with your wishes of what you do and do not want captured.

Another reason is simply a technical one. BP's will have awesome gear. They won't be dancing around the room flicking on light switches so they have enough light. They won't be shooting off flashlights in your face. They have the gear that can perform in low light without you having blurry, grainy, dark images. At the other end of the scale, they know how to cope with bright harsh hospital fluros.

Lastly, a good friend may get caught up in the drama going on and may even forget that they are meant to be capturing all this, and as they are usually close friends they may be too emotional to do the job. You are doing them a favour by not asking them to take this on.

I have heard people say that one of their most treasured photos is the one of their just born baby being handed to them, taken on someones phone camera, it's the only pic they have. The emotion that this simple image conveys is so super powerful.
Beautiful clear images of this special day that you become a family are priceless.



#birth #birthphotography #birthphotographers

Heres some cool pics of some AMAZING birth images captured by Lielani Rogers.

http://www.kidspot.com.au/birth/pregnancy/pregnancy-galleries/the-most-amazing-birth-photos-weve-ever-seen/image-gallery/3164382a2c8d62f9d19beb815570c597

Enjoy!

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