Birth photography: Framing labour room moments for eternity

Happiness knows no bound when a mother holds her baby for the first time, after battling excruciating labour pain. What if one gets a chance to look back at those moments later? In an emerging trend, birth photography is gaining popularity in India. Women photographers are taking shots in portrait mode during labour hours, till the baby is out of the womb.

City-based photographer Urshita Saini, who has already done more than 10 birth photography shoots, says, “Birth-photography is not about flashes and clicks. It concerns the mother and the baby’s life. We want her to feel empowered about how miraculously she brought the little one to life amid all pain.”

Anega Bawa, a Gurgoanbased photographer, says, “The atmosphere inside a labour room remains dramatic. Seeing a baby come out of the womb is just not an emotional moment for the parents but for us too, and nothing is more satisfactory than getting that perfect shot.”

Birth photographs are developed in monochrome shades. “This is mainly to avoid the display of too much blood. Visually, blood often gives a gory impression,” says Bawa.

The photographers make a lot of effort to get that perfect shot. “It is extremely challenging to shoot inside the labour room. We have to be very careful that the medical process is not hampered. A photographer has to appear nonexistent in the room,” says Bawa. While the labour hours are long, the delivery happens quickly. So, the photographer is left with a small duration and needs to be quick in taking photos. But, they say that the pain is worth it. After all, nothing is more aesthetic than capturing a mother holding her new born for the first time.

We’ve to be careful that the medical process is not hampered. A photographer has to appear nonexistent in the labour room ANEGA BAWA, PHOTOGRAPHER