WHAT ARE BIRTH STORIES?
Simply put, birth stories are a photographic documentation of the labor and delivery of your child. I record the photos in a documentary style and they are very PG-rated. :)
WHY WOULD I WANT THAT??
If you haven’t heard of birth stories or seen photos of one, I know they sound kind of scary and super-personal. But they are not as intense as you might think. I try my best to stay out of the way and not be too obtrusive. This third-person perspective is partly what allows the photos to be such a priceless treasure. You will end up with photos that tell the beginning of your baby’s life like nothing else could have. You’ll see things you missed the first time around. And you get to see and experience the birth of your child all over again after the fact and minus the pain. :)
The thing that excited me most about this is the idea of your children being able to see photographs of the day they were born. They’ll see the looks on their parents’ faces on the first day of their lives as they held them the first time and know how loved they are and what an important occasion this was in their parents’ lives. How wonderful is that??
HOW MUCH DOES THIS COST?
Okay, here’s the hard part. I had a really hard time nailing down pricing for birth stories because I want the price to be low enough to allow couples who want birth stories (who are sometimes younger and not necessarily wealthy) to afford them. But I also have to compensate myself for what ends up being quite a few hours away from my family and my regular schedule, plus the time it takes to sort and edit the HUNDREDS of photos I’ll take. I also feel very strongly that a book or album needs to be included in this package, so that adds to my costs as well, both for the book itself and my design time.
The fee for birth stories is $550, which includes a quality 40-page 8×8 book, a link to an online slideshow, and access to the low-res, watermarked images on my blog. While I am still getting into this area of photography, the price is lower than I originally planned… so it may not stay this cheap for long. Additional prints, album upgrades, and digital files are also available for purchase.
I also will offer payment plans to ease the cost a bit at no extra charge. If you want to do it, but still think it sounds like a lot of money, consider hinting to husbands, moms, mothers-in-law, and whoever else that this would be a perfect gift to go in on for a shower. :) I offer gift cards that can be purchased in $25 increments or in the full amount required for a certain type of session.
So if you are pregnant and wanting to get the low price offered while you can, book your birth story now! I can’t wait to make this a regular part of my business! If you have any questions about birth stories that I didn’t answer, send me an email!