This Photographer Captured Her Own Labor and Delivery

Professional birth photography has been growing as a niche over the past few years as more and more expectant mothers want their labor and delivery experiences captured on camera. Lauren Chenault decided to go a different route: as a photographer herself, she decided to shoot her own delivery room photos.

Note: This post contains photos of childbirth.

When Chenault gave birth to a son on January 31st, 2017, she had her camera ready and was snapping photos as the baby emerged into the outside world.

“I had my camera on my chest, and I just kept clicking away hoping to get the shot I wanted,” Chenault tells the Huffington Post, saying that the picture-taking didn’t affect her delivery experience.

“I didn’t take any while I was actually pushing,” she continues. “My friend Wendy, who was holding one of my legs, told me, ‘Get your camera ready, he’s coming.’ It wasn’t hard at all since I was just clicking a button.”

Based in New York, Chenault shoots portraits, landscapes, and events, and her own delivery was the first time she had tried her hand at birth photography.