women, breastfeeding and photography

I guess because we started shooting pregnant women and newborn babies way back in 2000 (according to the IRS, just between you and me it was closer to 1998) we have had it pretty easy.

Well, in the beginning we got a lot of “you take pictures of pregnant women, why?” But that’s all changed now!

Now we have three kids a house and a couple of cars and, like everyone else, it’s tough to make ends meet some times.

So, something new, or maybe, so that’s why everyone does this advertising thing.

Yes, we have purchased a printed ad in the Expectant Mother’s Guide to Chicago.

So far I love them! They helped with the ad design, set up an online ad and I didn’t have to do much of anything.

So Chicago, lets have some fun!!

~Joe Albright

Last month Joe and I went to a showing of The Business of  Being Born brought to Fort Wayne by Birth Matters.

We have been working with Birth Matters for nearly a year now by getting them photos of our to use for their promotions. They are great people and we are so happy that we found each other. Before the movie showing they had a loop on the movie screen of great statistics and quotes about birth and they had our pictures in between every few statistics. So our photos were seen by a full theater of people.
They also used our card on their Birth Matter promotional cards that they gave out before and after the movie as well.

The movie was really fantastic. Throughout the entire film I was an active participant. I was either crying because of the way that women are treated in hospitals during labor and birth or I was crying because of the empowering and joyful births that women had in their own homes. I was also shaking my head, biting my lip and few times jaw dropped open in shock and disaproval. Apparently I am still very passionate about natural child birth.

There are times when a doctor’s/hospital intervention is necessary and I am thankful that in those times women have resources available to them. However I don’t feel that a hospital is the best place or even necessary for a woman that is not a high risk. What I feel matters only to me though. What I want for all people but especially pregnant women is that they educate themselves. Don’t take what a doctor or nurse or even midwife says at face value. Investigate your options. Ask questions. If you don’t know what questions to ask then seek people out who might. 

I love that I can be involved in someway, even if it is through images alone, with Birth Matters here in Fort Wayne. Hallie and Jordan and so much information that they are so happy to share with people. They aren’t judgmental and they really do want women to make there own choices about where and how to have there babies but to have the information that they need.

Birth is so powerful and unlike anything else that we ever do on a day to day basis. It seems that in hospitals birth has become managed and kept on a clock and is just “routine” now. I don’t feel that way at all though. I know that the birthing mother is one of the most awe inspiring forces in our human existence. Both the mother and her birth are not anything to be handled.

During the movie both Joe and I were inspired. We want to continue to photograph pregnant women and newborns but we also want to begin photographing births. It would be just me photographing the birth. I would not use flash and I would be as unintusive as possible.  I would only photograph births that were at home. The style of the photography would be very photojournalistic.

When I mentioned this idea of photographing births to some of the women at the wine and cheese party after the movie, they were very receptive and also that it would be so nice to have more of an artistic portrayal of the birth. What I gathered is that many women have pictures of their births but the pictures are very graphic and “business” oriented. Havign been a birhting mother myself I think that a few shots of the baby’s head crowning and actual birth is interesting but I think that what is going on around the mother and in her surroundings is just as, if not more  interesting. So I really want to capture everything around the mother as well. Also I want to capture the little things like a holding of hands or sweeping of moms hair from her face as she labors. If their are other children around I want to capture them and what they are up to during the labor as well.

I am so excited when I think about photographing births! I really am so very passionate about birth and respecting the mother and the new baby. It is such a precious time in our lives and photos can help keep those memories fresh and vivid. Also another reason that I am excited about this work is that I want to help change the perception about birth. In our modern day society birth is seen as painful and scary. I think if we could just shift the conciousness just a little by seeing birth as strong, not painful, and exciting, not scary then we could have so many more women with wonderful birth experiences. Maybe I can help make that change with the birth pictures that I want to take.

~Koren Albright

We recently collaborated with the Doula Network of Fort Wayne. Our goal was to capture the pregnancy images that they needed for their organization.

Thanks Kerry, Jordan and Kat for a great experience!

Koren and I have found that a couple that have a good connection with each other make our job easy. It never fails, they touch or look into each others eyes and their postures change, their faces light up, their eyes beam with love. What’s left for a photographer to do but take the picture!

Recently we traveled to Chicago and shot a young pregnant couple that definitely have a loving connection.

With a downtown apartment and limited windows, most of our shots were with the softbox. But that’s OK because the real light was coming from them!

Koren and I made a connection with this pregnant couple too. We were both struck at how much they reminded us of ourselves and our first pregnancy.

This was an interesting shoot. The kind of shoot that tests your creativity and lets you know if your getting too comfortable with your surroundings.

It started with a four hour trip to Liberty Township Ohio, close to Youngstown. It was rained the whole way there and continued to do so after we arrived. Koren prefers to shoot with natural light so dark rainy days are the enemy. And on top of that our expecting mother’s apartment didn’t have a lot of window light. Luckily we cary a portable softbox (light) just for these occasions.

After the introductions and setup, aka “rearrange your furniture and turn your house into a studio”, she describes her desires for artistic pregnant nudes. Great! That’s what we do. But, that she also really, really dislikes her breasts and it is obvious that she is uncomfortable. So, all the usual shots are out the window and it’s time for pure organic, unpasteurized creativity.

Your temperature raises, your hands are hot. Visions of shots are racing through your mind faster than you can take the pictures. At least that’s what Koren is experiencing. I am handing Koren fresh memory cards and holding a light reflector, just trying to make sure the basics are covered so she can focus on being creative. But I am plagued with this persistent image in my mind of a pregnant belly against a white background, but not just a white background, illuminated! I tell Koren about it. It now seamed obvious how to achieve this effect, why hadn’t I thought of it before?

It worked better than I ever could have imagined. Now it is one of our favorite shots. The entire shoot turned out fantastic and I still smile when I look the images because with all the technical things that can go wrong at any moment during a shoot, staying centered and focused on the art is the true test of talent and creativity. After ten years of loving what we do, we still pass the test!

But what about this issue our subject had about not liking her breasts. Unfortunately this is not at all uncommon for us. I find this so sad and disturbing.

It seems like every woman at some point in her life picks a body part and decides that it is in some way substandard. Most likely due to some magazine image featuring a picture of a woman that has been digitally enhanced. Possibly repeated offhand comments from a boyfriend or even her own mother. All innocent enough but latent with heavy consequences.

Koren and I have been doing this for a long time and we both agree that women come in all shapes and sizes and we have yet to see a “bad” one.

If you have a part of your body that you think is ugly, you’re just looking at it from the wrong perspective.

By the end of the shoot our mom-to-be became completely relaxed and comfortable with us and Koren got a few shots with her not covering up. I am sure you can see that the only thing wrong with her breasts is her own perception of them.

For more on this subject check out the I Am Project