Through the special Lens of Birth Photography

I wanted to talk about what the experience of birth through the special Lens of Birth Photography, as often people stop in their track when they hear what I do -“You photograph what??”

My name is Diana Hinek and I am a professional Birth Photographer and Doula serving the West Los Angeles area.

Mothers choose ( hopefully) where to birth their babies; so the first requirement to be a good birth photographer is to invest in a good DSRL camera and lens so that whether mom decides to meet her baby under the bright spot lights of a hospital room or in the darkness of her closet ( mama cats!), It will be possible to capture her birth journey and provide them with good quality digitals and prints.To be a birth photographer takes lots of skills, patience, knowledge and flexibility – mentally and physically. I have been called to a birth whilst in the middle of the most inconvenient times: concerts, my children birthday parties, holidays, airplane landing, teacher/parents conferences, hairdresser appointments and I have had to climb furniture, balance on toilet seats and bath tubs in order to get a good shot of mom and her family.

Witnessing birth through the special lens of birth photography is a very emotional, physically exhausting and engaging profession that is definitely not for the faint of heart.

It definitely requires the will to sacrifice the feeling and hope to be in control of your own life, when in reality many of the decisions I have to make daily are based on the location and EDD of my clients. Once I am on call, I feel committed and even though by contract I am available to be on call “only” for a month, the reality is that I don’t ever want to miss a birth.

I am as emotionally invested as my clients are. So in this sense, being a birth photographer can be very taxing. I am not expecting my family to be birth crazy like me, so I can understand when they give me the grumpy faces whenever I have to leave for a birth.

But a life through the special lens of birth photography is also extremely rewarding because I get to witness the miracle of life, the whole spectrum of emotions embodying a woman’s heart during her process of becoming a mother.

It is the most sacred experience and closest to the divine, besides giving birth. No matter how many times I have walked into the birth space and attended the love fest party of a family giving birth, I always leave high on happy hormones, with a heart full joy for the hope that a new life may bring to the world.

In a way I am also the first person in the room who has a clear sense of the story that just unfolded; as often while OBs nurses, midwives and doulas are busy delivering their tasks and fulfilling their roles, aka taking care of mom and baby, I get to notice details such as daddy’s tears, or the sunset light entering the room, the expression of siblings, relatives and best friends present at the birth. The reaction of pets. The first touch between mom and baby and the surprise in her face in discovering she just birthed her fourth boy!

Will she have ever remember the details, if it weren’t for preserving the memory heirlooms through the special lens of birth Photography?

After all, our mammal bodies are designed to forget or just remember the blurs.

Above are few images gathered from different births that I loved attending and that I feel honored to have captured through the special Lens of Birth Photography.

If you wish to find out more about my services please reach out.