Nashville Birth Photographer + Videographer | The Top Questions Families Ask About Birth Videography (And Honest Answers!)

Welcoming your baby into the world is one of the most powerful, emotional experiences of your life. Many families want to remember every precious moment…but also be fully present in it. That’s where birth videography + photography comes in.

If you’ve been thinking about hiring a birth videographer, you probably have questions (lots of them!). Below are the most common questions families ask, along with honest, reassuring answers to help you decide if birth videography is right for you.

What Exactly Does a Birth Videographer Do?

As a birth videographer + photographer, I capture the real, unscripted story of your baby’s arrival…labor, delivery, and those first moments meeting your new baby. I want you to remember how you were supported, what the waves of labor were like for you, and how you overcame all of it for the sake of your child. It is impossible to be the mom in labor and be able to fully experience your birth. You turn inward and as a result, miss out on a lot. This lets you experience it both ways.

Why Hire a Birth Videographer Instead of a Family Member?

While it might seem easier to hand your phone to a partner or relative, or even a doula … but you will need them to be apart of your team. I have seen births where mom expected to people to be able to sit around, but actually everyone was needed. Either for warming the tub or getting towels, etc. Also, if they are taking the video, then they will then be missing from the story.

As a professional birth videographer and photographer, I know how to capture the emotion and beauty of your birth without disrupting the moment. Plus, I use experience, lighting, and editing skills to create a meaningful, high-quality keepsake you’ll treasure forever.

How Is Birth Videography Different From Photography?

Both capture this incredible moment in your life but in different ways. Photography freezes single moments, while video brings them to life with movement and sound: your laughter, your baby’s first cry, your partner’s voice whispering encouragement. Many families choose to have both for a complete memory of the day. Luckily, with me you get photos too!

When Do You Arrive and How Long Do You Stay?

Births don’t run on a schedule! I am to arrive once you’re in active labor around 6-7 cm and stay through the first hour or two after delivery. The goal is to document the full story without rushing….no matter how long your labor lasts.

What If My Birth Is Really Fast (or Really Long)?

Every birth is unique, and flexibility is key. If your labor is short, I will get there as quickly as possible once you call. If it’s long, we stay in touch, pacing coverage to ensure your story is complete without adding stress to your experience.

Do You Film in Hospitals, Birth Centers, and Homes?

As of now, I only offer birth videography and photography to clients having home births or birthing at Vanderbilt Birth Center. I only take 6 births a year.

What’s Your Filming and Editing Style?

My work revolves around the emotional aspects of giving birth rather than the physical. I want to tell the story how you labored, how people supported you. The thoughts that you had and voiced to your team. What they told you and how discussions about your options went. Then, when you finally give birth, the grit you had bringing baby into the world and then meeting your baby and the emotions you had - what you said when you met your baby, how you and your husband reacted to meeting your baby and maybe even finding out it’s gender!

Do You Include Sound in the Film?

Yes, most birth videos include ambient sound…the words of encouragement, laughter, and first cries that make the story feel alive. I love to use alot of audio that significantly enhance the story. Hearing moms and birth team talk really helps to explain what is happening.

How Long Is the Final Video?

Edited films typically range from 5 to 15 minutes..just long enough to relive the emotion without losing focus. It just depends on so many variables, but I make it long enough to tell the story and keep viewers engaged.

How Do You Handle Privacy and Modesty?

This is an area that makes me unique. Im not aiming to capture where the baby exits your body. I don’t actually think that plays a role in the story. We all know where babies come out. I believe the story lies in the emotional connection between you and your husband and the birth team. All of that is where the story is, and THOSE parts will be the parts you want to remember. You’ll be so attached to your birth team and want to relive how incredible they were at getting you through the hardest thing you have ever done.

Will My Video Be Private?

Always. Your video belongs to you. I will never post or share it publicly without your written permission.

When Should We Book a Birth Videographer?

The earlier the better, as I book up and I only take 6 births a year. I don’t take competing due dates. Because I truly want you to have ME at your birth. I want time to meet you and know we are a match prior to booking as well.

In the End: Your Story, Beautifully Remembered

Birth videography isn’t just about recording the day…it’s about preserving the emotions, connections, and strength that define it. Every cry, every squeeze, every tear of joy becomes part of your family’s story. Your kids will see this birth film and it will show them how amazing birth is and how strong mom was and it will shape their idea of birth for their future marriage and births.

When you look back years from now, you won’t just see the moment your baby was born…you’ll feel it all over again.

Nashville, TN Birth Videographer + Photographer | Why you need to prioritize rest and healing postpartum

Society. Our society is so wild. They have put this expectation on mothers that after we deliver a whole human we grew from nothing, that we are able to bounce right back, look amazing, and juggle all things motherhood within a few short weeks of giving birth. And as much as society is to blame, being stubborn as women, we are to blame too.

I want to talk about the things that need to happen postpartum and why it is so incredibly important to do whatever you can to heal and rest WELL during this period.

First of all, you are healing a dinner plate sized wound in your uterus. You need REST to heal that well. You are also VERY depleted from sharing all your nutrients with a baby for 9 months AND now you are sharing even MORE nutrients with that baby via nursing. Being friends with many midwives and doulas, I can tell you that postpartum you will need 4k cals a day of food to heal and recover and renourish your body. This information is from a doula who got specific training in postpartum nutrition. The lack of these 4k cals is why women's hair falls out, why postpartum depression and even psychosis exists as well as postpartum anxiety. It's why women feel completely exhausted. We have somehow managed to normalize waking up, drinking coffee first thing, eating nothing until noon and then barely surviving the day and wondering why we feel the way we do.

Whether you hire someone to help postpartum, or your husband and you have a plan that involves food prep, etc - PRIORITIZE getting nutrients in. It has even been said that mom doesn't even need to be drinking plain water, because ideally, she is drinking raw milk and bone broth - liquid calories - during the day, rather than water.

Your ONLY job postpartum is to rest and snuggle your newborn for AT LEAST one week. (per midwives' recommendation). When mommas are out of bed too soon and moving around too much, they run the risk of hemorrhaging from that dinner sized wound I mentioned earlier. The general rule of thumb in a home-birth setting is 5-5-5. Five days IN the bed, five days ON the bed, and five days NEAR the bed. To rest, to eat well, to learn about your baby. Have help mama, ASK for HELP. Find someone in your family or friends to come help. If possible, have a mother or mother in law come stay for a few weeks, and if that doesn't work, find friends to rotate through. Teach your husband about postpartum and set up plans for postpartum healing. Have a cleaning person, etc. Whatever helps you feel calm and rested. Because, you do not need to be stressed postpartum either - as your nervous system regulates the baby's.

These first few weeks with your baby go by SO incredibly fast. SOAK THEM IN. Don't try to do it all and miss this time. The laundry will aways be there waiting for you, but a 1 week old won't be, because he will turn 2 weeks shortly. So stare at your baby, be calm entering motherhood and set the stage for those first few years of mothering that baby. Start off in peace and love and being loved on.

We weren't meant to do this alone, ever. We weren't meant to be SO damn independent that it comes at a cost to our central nervous system. We were meant to be cared for and loved on during our pregnancy and postpartum periods.

I should also mention how much how we handle this time period can affect the future. If we aren't nourished well postpartum, this will greatly affect us when we get to be in our 40s. What happens is, women enter perimenopause very early and have a much harder menopause transition.

How we feel, in our nervous system, those first few weeks makes a HUGE difference in baby. If our fascia is tight because we are stressed, baby's fascia is also tight. Which then affects baby's ability to latch and nurse. I highly recommend having a provider come to the home if possible to give you and baby some CFT (cranial sacral fascial therapy) (which is not the same as CST). It is called the Gillespie method and it loosens fascia for baby and mom (because baby mimics mom) and can dramatically help the body be calm and relaxed. I hope midwives get trained in it so they can provide this service to their mamas.

You can enter motherhood in peace and love and become the mother you want to be. But it actually comes from doing LESS those first weeks and not from doing MORE. Put down the stubbornness and surrender to motherhood, the most amazing ride you will get to go on. You are amazing for prioritizing your health which then prioritizes your children's health.

Warmly,

Jennie

Nashville Pregnancy Photographer | Nika's Forrest Maternity Session

Its such an amazing job to be able to photograph a woman's pregnancy and her baby. Sometimes, I really believe I could not dream up my clients even if I tried. Nika is ridiculously beautiful. She brought a light blue dress that was perfect in every way. I love the pine needles and how they reflect that the photos were done in late November.We got fairly lucky in terms of weather, it wasn't brutally cold. Her gorgeous skin tone is amazing and makes me eager to see what her baby will look like. I loved working with this couple and their love was evident during the entire session.Nika,Thank you for choosing me to capture this special time in your life.Warmly,