If booking a birth photographer is something that is important to you then you have probably inquired with photographers about pricing.
I thought I would explain what all you are paying for when hiring a birth photographer. I know there have been services I have inquired about and thought to myself, that is way too expensive; however, when it is explained to me why they charge what they do it makes sense.
When you book a birth photographer you are asking them to be on-call for a very special moment in your life. A special moment that is equal to a wedding day. For wedding days, you know the exact day and time you need to show up and work. For births, you usually do not know until last minute when you have to show up and capture someone’s special day. You also do not know how long it will take. My shortest birth has been my longest wedding.
Being on-call for two weeks is a lot. During those two weeks there is no going out-of-town, no casually drinking with friends, and always having your equipment handy/ready. When you book a birth photographer, you are not only paying for them to capture your day, you are paying for their on-call time. Think about it, would you be on-call for two weeks without pay? Also, if you go into labor at 2 am you want the photographer you booked to be willing to jump out of bed from a dead sleep. If you are only paying someone $200-$300 dollars, can you trust that they are going to have that creative desire to capture your special moment? You want to hire a birth photographer that is going to be excited and push through the long hours and lack of sleep.
I know birth photography may sound expensive and unnecessary for someone to just, “Take Pictures,” but just remember all of the previous things above you are paying for. A professional, birth photographer usually has thousands of dollars worth of equipment, is on-call for at least 2 weeks, loosing sleep, and at the hospital for hours at a time. You want your birth photographer to be compensated for their time so they want to come and capture your special day and make it a priority.
