As an experienced childbirth educator and birth doula, one of the things I consistently hear from the couples I work with is how they wished they had had more pictures (or any pictures!) taken during and directly after the birth of their baby. The birth of one’s child is a day they will remember for the rest of their lives. My husband and I have used Isabel as our photographer for the birth of our son, and when I found out I was expecting again, Isabel was one of the first people I contacted since I knew I wanted her to document another birth for us. It was an absolute no brainer! I cherish these pictures. Labor is such a blur and whirlwind, and I loved being able to see the birth of my child from a different angle. All of my students and clients who’ve hired Isabel to photograph their births have been beyond thrilled with the quality of her work and her ability to “fade into the background,” as one student put it, during the intimate moments of birth. I once showed a slideshow of Isabel’s birth photos to a class of mine and there wasn’t a single dry eye in the room. If you’re on the fence about having your birth documented, don’t be! You can only give birth to this baby once!
“I’m so grateful to you for your support and love during my pregnancy and 4th trimester! I’ll never forget how your guidance uplifted me and gave us the confidence to bring another life into this world, the way we wanted. Honestly, we couldn’t have done it without you. It sounds trite but my partner and I said those exact words to each other in the days and weeks after our birth…my partner was so thankful to have your extra hands (and heart!) there with us. Even more, I think you left us with a greater life lesson of asking for help - from each other, from the world - and we will continue to work that muscle over the years.”
I love this photo because it captured the first moment that my son and I met each other. Having our birth photographed by Isabel was one of the best birth decisions that I made. My labor is a total blur in my mind, and having photos to look back on it allows me to experience it and remember it in a beautiful way. I tell people over and over again how incredibly grateful I am that you were there, not only to take the most breathtaking photos, but also as support. We didn't hire a doula because I didn't think I needed one, but you were there to help me through each contraction, and I realized during labor that I really needed that help. I don't know what I would have done without you! Seriously, so much love and thankfulness to you for everything you did to help me through those long hours!
“Birth junkie. Trusted advisor. Courageous advocate.
Just some of the terms that come to mind when I think of Isabel, who partnered with us as our doula for the pregnancy and birth of our second child.
If you’re looking for someone to support you with excellence both in the run-up to, during and after birth you can do no better than Isabel. I have already recommended her to my closest friends and recommend her to others without hesitation.”
“I loved Isabel's work the minute I saw it. There's a raw openness and warmth to the way she documents the world; you can see that instead of arriving with the same preconceived narrative and shot list to each situation, she's really seeing each person she photographs, and that makes her able to truly capture not only their unique story but everything that is uniquely beautiful about it -- often things they don't even see. When we started making a birth plan she was one of the first people I contacted.
As our plan developed, we actually became less certain we wanted photos taken during birth at all -- my mom's unsolicited advice was "some things are better left forgotten," and as a photographer myself it was easy to get hung up on technicalities: how photographable would our birth be? What if things didn't go as planned (a scenario I was slowly realizing was pretty likely, since babies can't read your notes) or what if my hair looked bad or my face made dumb expressions or what if, god forbid, something really unexpected happened and the birth wound up being traumatic in some way? What if I was taking the most intimate and powerful thing you can experience and suddenly it felt like the paparazzi were there? So we went into our first meeting with Isabel more anxious than when we first reached out. But Isabel's whole demeanor immediately put us at ease; I realized that this was someone completely unobtrusive but also supportive. She's knowledgeable and funny and calm. I almost just wanted her in the birthing room for the good vibes.
Our birth, of course, didn't go exactly according to plan, but Isabel rolled with everything with aplomb. She was out of the way when things got briefly stressful, and immediately jumped into action when I needed a little assistance transitioning from a tub back to the bed, fluffing up pillows and helping the doula and midwives make me comfortable; I felt like the whole room was giving me a hug. Once I was set, she was back in fly-on-the-wall photographer mode again and I completely forgot she was there as the sun slowly came up and my partner and I held our baby for the first time. I can't get over how grateful I am to have those photos almost two years later.”