As the process of taking pictures has become easier and more readily available, people have taken to doing photo shoots for all kinds of big events in their lives – senior portraits, engagement shoots, pregnancy photos – you name it!
One of the more recent – and arguably most incredible – trends has been birth photography. Moms will often hire a photographer to be in the room as they are giving birth, and they are able to capture some truly remarkable images of the mom and the baby’s first moments in the world.
One new mom, though, decided to take things to the next level and photograph her own birth!
Lauren Chenault is a 24-year-old photographer from New York. When she was getting ready to give birth to her son she decided it would be special to try and capture the moment from her own perspective, so she brought her camera along when she went into labor.
“I wanted to photograph my own birth to show how powerful women are,” she said. “I’m able to grow a human inside me and push it out, so I wanted to document it.”
With her first child, Lauren didn’t realize that she would have to hold her own legs back as she was giving birth, so she wasn’t able to take pictures as she planned. When she got ready to give birth to her second child, though, she was ready. She asked some friends to be by her side and hold her legs back so she could hold the camera and try to capture the moment.
For most women in labor, capturing the perfect shot would be the furthest thing from their minds, but Lauren was determined, and it paid off. The image she was able to capture is an incredibly beautiful and rare perspective of birth and motherhood.
Lauren recalled being in labor and trying to get the shot, just hoping that one of the pictures she snapped would turn out.
“It was amazing capturing them,” she said. “I wasn’t even looking at what I was doing with the camera, I just kept snapping, hoping that I got it.”
The image Lauren ended up capturing has since gone viral, and it is one this proud mom will treasure forever.
“Looking back at it, I see an amazing image of my son that I’ll have forever,” she said. “As a photographer, I love being able to credit myself for my own work. And this is one that I’m so proud of — to call my own.”
Were you amazed by what this mom was able to capture during labor? So share this!
