Birth Unscripted is a trio of talented birth photographers (and my friends!) who deliver an amazing service and experience for families, and I could not be more excited to share a little about them today!
Natasha Hance, Amanda Gipson, and Jamie Cain are each talented and accomplished photographers in their own rights. Birth Unscripted was born out of a desire to give families the best when it comes to birth photography, and have balance in their own lives by sharing the on call load and lifestyle with each other.
What made you guys want to be birth photographers, how did you get into it?
We each have our own story about how we got here but what brings us together is that we are all super passionate about birth! Something changes in us when we give birth and we get to capture that for our clients so they can physically SEE it and hold on to those moments forever. How cool is that?! We each respect birth and our clients’ sacred space so much. It is just such an honor to be there and capture these beautiful, soul changing moments. We truly love what we do!
What are the common myths or misconceptions you think are out there about birth photography?
When we tell most people what we do, they squish up their face and say, “You take pictures of WHAT?” Most people associate birth with the actual physical [act] of baby being born but it is so much more than that! While we definitely will capture the actual birth if our clients want that, it is not at all necessary to document your story. Your birth story is unique and we are there to capture the love in the room; the way your husband looks at you in awe as you face yet another contraction, how he wants so badly to take the pain away, the way your family anxiously tapped their feet in the waiting room, your care provider’s joy as she watched you deliver your baby, the relief, joy, tears on your face as your baby is placed on your chest. THOSE are the moments that matter. These are the memories that get fuzzy over time or you won’t remember at all because you were working so hard to bring your baby earthside. Another misconception is that we will be invasive in your birthing space. The last thing we want to do is disturb your birth. With over 300 births under our belts, we are experienced in blending in to your birthing space so that you barely notice us, if at all. Many clients don’t even know we are there until after their baby is born! Again, your sacred birth space is so special and we do our best to capture it just as it is!
{This was definitely my experience! Women get to a place in labor where everything else slips out of focus while your body takes over, so they don’t even notice who’s in the room. Amanda ran in when I was pushing, and I had no idea until after!}
What makes the Birth Unscripted team unique, and why did you guys decide to team up and offer this?
We are unique because we can guarantee that our clients will always get one of us, not a backup that they aren’t familiar with. If one of us is sick or out of town, there are two other photographers available. We have trained together so we shoot and edit the same. No matter which one of us attends your birth, you can feel confident that you will get the same amazing images. The way we work also allows us to be off call for our important family events so you never have to worry that your photographer got called away from their child’s birthday party or other important event. When we are at your birth, we WANT to be there, we aren’t thinking about where we should be. We decided to offer this because we needed to be able to take better care of our clients AND ourselves!
What have been some of your favorite experiences capturing birth photography, what are some of your favorite aspects about what you do? What kind of response do you get from parents about their photos?
We have so many amazing moments! Seeing a mama’s face as she catches her baby will never get old! Our favorite thing about what we do has to be seeing everything come together and showing our clients their slideshows and/or films at the movie premiere! We bring them in to watch it for the first time on our big screen. We serve wine and have a popcorn bar. They can invite their birth team, friends, family or it ca just be them! We love getting to watch them laugh, cry and feel all the feels while watching their video. We snuggles their baby and reminisce about their birth. It is such a fun time and a great way to close out this chapter in their lives.
I LOVE the movie reveals. Mine was so special to me. It’s such an amazing idea. Here’s what one client had to say:
“All during pregnancy the mama is showered with attention. Your birth is this incredible transformative experience, but once it’s all over it’s over. The attention shifts, nothing is about you anymore, this great transformation has happened yet you don’t feel seen or even celebrated. Most of the time you feel isolated. By taking the time to have movie reveals you are saying ‘What you did was strong and brave and important, we see that – we see YOU and want to celebrate with you.’ It’s so validating and empowering and so very important.”
Natasha says this is exactly why they do them, and I agree- it is such an incredible acknowledgement and celebration of your birth, your baby, your experience, and you and your partner’s parenthood.
I actually hired them for my own birth, so I can tell you from experience- they’re amazing! I treasure the images I have, and sometimes watch my slideshow and video back to marvel at the miracle and all the little details I would’ve never remembered or known about had they not been there to document them.
Thank you Birth Unscripted for all that you do to capture and celebrate the beautiful stories of new life joining their families here earthside.
Birth Unscripted can be found at www.birthunscripted.com/ and contacted at birthunscriptedtx@gmail.com.
Their studio where they offer the movie reveals, portraits, maternity and newborn photography, and more is located north of Fort Worth in Keller, Texas.
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