From Breech to VBAC: Gabrielle's Empowering Birth Journey in Boca Raton

Pregnancy is a journey filled with anticipation, joy, and sometimes, unexpected turns. For Gabrielle, a discerning mother residing in the heart of Boca Raton, her path to motherhood was marked by both challenges and triumphs, culminating in two beautifully unique birth experiences. As a luxury birth photographer serving expecting women in South Florida, I had the privilege of documenting Gabrielle's journey, capturing the raw emotions and intimate moments of both her births.

Gabrielle's story begins with her first pregnancy, where she faced the news that her baby was in a breech position. Working closely with Certified Nurse Midwife Courtney McMillan of Boca Midwifery and OBGYN Dr. Lubetkin, she made the informed decision to schedule a cesarean section. While a C-section can be a safe and necessary option, it can also bring about a mix of emotions for mothers who had envisioned a different birth experience.

However, Gabrielle approached her planned C-section with grace and strength, embracing the unexpected turn in her journey. Her focus remained on the health and well-being of her baby, a sentiment I deeply admire and one that resonates with many of my clients, who are often successful business women, world travelers, and mothers who prioritize the health and happiness of their families above all else.

VBAC

Fast forward to Gabrielle's second pregnancy, and a new hope blossomed: the possibility of a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). VBACs have become increasingly common, offering mothers who have had a previous C-section the opportunity to experience a vaginal birth. Gabrielle, once again under the care of the compassionate Courtney McMillan at Boca Midwifery, and supported by her labor doula, Samara, of Orchid Nest in Delray Beach, embarked on this new path with determination and a deep trust in her body.

Throughout her pregnancy, Gabrielle kept me updated on her progress, sharing her hopes, anxieties, and excitement. These open lines of communication are essential in my work as a birth photographer. Building trust and rapport with my clients allows me to capture their stories authentically and discreetly, preserving the intimacy of their birth experience.

As her due date approached, Gabrielle diligently prepared for her VBAC. She attended appointments with her midwife Courtney and her partners Nikki and Ryan, and discussed various labor interventions with her care team. Her dedication to informed decision-making and her proactive approach to her birth plan are qualities I often observe in my clients, who are accustomed to taking charge and making empowered choices in all aspects of their lives.

Finally, the moment arrived. Gabrielle's water broke, and she contacted me, her voice filled with a mix of excitement and nerves. I reassured her, reminding her of the strength and resilience she had already demonstrated. As she labored with her husband and doula, I documented the culmination of her journey.

Gabrielle's VBAC was nothing short of empowering. She labored with focus and determination, supported by her loving birth team. Witnessing her bring her baby earthside was an incredible honor. The room was filled with a palpable sense of joy and relief as she welcomed her daughter into the world.

Following her birth, Gabrielle expressed her gratitude for the images I captured, recognizing their power to preserve these fleeting moments forever. Her kind words in her Google review are a testament to the impact that birth photography can have, providing families with tangible memories of one of life's most profound experiences.

To witness the full beauty and emotion of this birth, watch the video below.

You'll see the incredible strength of the mother, the unwavering support of her partner, and the magical moment they meet their baby for the first time.

“I cannot express enough gratitude for Paulina and the incredible work she did capturing the births of both our daughters. Our first was a scheduled c-section back in 2022, and more recently, I had a VBAC earlier this year! From the moment I first reached out, she was warm, professional, and attentive to every detail that mattered most to us.

The experience each day was a seamless and comforting. Paulina blended in perfectly, managing to capture the raw, emotional, and beautiful moments without ever being intrusive. She was incredibly considerate, respecting our birth plan and providing immense comfort in knowing that we were in expert hands. She even managed to capture small details that we would have otherwise forgotten in the whirlwind of the moment.

The photos are breathtaking and exceeded all our expectations. We will cherish these memories forever. Thank you, Paulina. We are forever grateful and would wholeheartedly recommend your services to any parents-to-be!”

— Gabrielle, Boca Raton

Gabrielle's story is a powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the beauty of the birth process. It also highlights the importance of informed choice, compassionate care, and unwavering support in achieving a fulfilling birth experience.

Whether you're considering a maternity photoshoot, seeking a baby photographer near you, or searching for family photographers near me in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Coral Springs, Fort Lauderdale, Parkland, Jupiter, or the surrounding areas, I encourage you to explore the power of birth photography to document your own unique journey.

A Note to Expectant Mothers in South Florida:

If you're seeking a luxury birth photographer to capture your birth story, I invite you to connect with me. I specialize in providing discreet and artistic documentation of births, catering to discerning families in Palm Beach County and Broward County. My services extend beyond birth photography, encompassing high-end maternity photo sessions, studio portraiture, and newborn photography. I am committed to providing a personalized and luxurious experience, ensuring that your precious memories are preserved with the utmost care and artistry.

Parker’s Birth Story - A Decade in the Making | South Florida Birth Photography at Baptist Health Boca Regional

As a South Florida birth photographer, being invited back to Baptist Health Boca Regional to document Parker’s birth felt especially meaningful to me… as now in 2026, it has been nearly ten years now since I first met Jamie and Daniel while photographing his sister’s birth in the very same hospital.

…I still remember almost ten years ago, back to February 2016… I had just had my second baby myself 6 months earlier… my photographer friend Emily (who back then was a birth photographer) reached out and asked if I could back her up with one of her birth photography clients, Jamie, at Baptist Health Boca Regional Hospital because Emily needed to unexpectedly attend an out of town conference and wouldn’t be able to attend the birth.

I happened to be available at the time and agreed, albeit a little nervous about photographing a birth of a second time mom I had not yet had met.

I spend a good amount of time getting to know my birth photography clients during the three trimesters of their pregnancies, so naturally, I worried if Jamie and I would have a good connection during her labor & birth.

But that day that I met Jamie and Daniel couldn’t have possibly been a better first time meeting.

I instantly connected with both of them and was able to capture the smallest details and the biggest moments of their baby girl Emery’s arrival in such a special and meaningful way for them.

It was truly magical capturing them meet their second daughter, and incredible photographing their firstborn Madeline coming into the hospital as a toddler and meeting her baby sister Emery.

I felt so fortunate to be attending my first birth at Baptist health Boca regional that day, the first time I was back since I had my daughter there. 

And now… almost ten years later, little Emery is about to turn 10!

Happy 10th Birthday, sweet girl Emery!

Ten years since my first birth at my favorite hospital. With the same family.

I couldn’t possibly express how grateful I am for the trust my families have in me. Thank you, thank you!

Happy 3rd Birthday baby boy Parker!

Fast forward 7 years, I was absolutely thrilled when Jamie reached out that she was expecting again. I was grateful we got to work together in such an unexpected way back in 2016 but I didn’t think we’d see each other again for birth since she was my colleagues client after all, but over those 7 years my colleague shifted gears with her photography away from births whereas I went deeper into birth photography as I found footing in my own path with my work. 

It was a pleasure to work with Jamie in such a new way for baby boy Parker. We got to spend time connecting during her pregnancy, which I really enjoy doing with my birth photography clients, and since I had only met her the day of her daughter Emery’s birth back in 2016, I never had the opportunity to have that connection with her before. It was wonderful receiving pregnancy updates on how she was feeling and how baby was growing in her belly. 

Finally came the day that baby was coming. It was a Saturday in February, and I love love that both of Jamie’s babies births that I photographed for her were in February. Two little Aquarius babies!

She was due February 12th, but by February 4th, the day had finally arrived.

Jamie and I kept in touch by text messages all morning regarding how early labor was going. Once I was there with Jamie and her husband, I was able to capture a few quiet moments between them and baby boy Parker’s arrival came at 12:56pm, all 7 pounds and 9 ounces and 20 and a half inches of him! 

I was so excited for Jamie and Daniel that they would have the exciting journey now of being a boy dad and boy mom.

I’ve often wondered what life would be like having a son, since I have two daughters who’s ages closely mirror Jamie’s daughters ages (don’t you just love how serendipitous motherhood can be in bringing us together?) And now she would get to walk that journey with her little boy!

So grateful to Jamie and Daniel for trusting me with both of their birth stories, especially almost 10 years ago when I was a total stranger stepping in for your Birth Photographer when you were pregnant with Emery. I can only imagine, it must have been nerve-racking not knowing how everything would turn out back then.

I’m so thankful to have gotten to know you and your family over the years and so grateful at how much closer Parker’s birth brought us, making every single moment & detail I captured at his birth so incredibly special & meaningful in my journey as Boca’s birth photographer.

Jessica’s VBAC After Two C-Sections - Empowering Boca Birth Story

I remember what I said to Jessica during our prenatal phone call, and I think the reason I said it this way was because her husband was on the Facetime call with us, and with him, Jessica and I all being business people running our own businesses here in South Florida, I knew this perspective would resonate with them deeply. I said “think of it this way, if you are going to make an investment in your team, make sure you are investing in the team that is going to give you the greatest chances at having a safe and successful vaginal birth after your two c-sections, because there are many birth teams out there that are great for other women and other families, but keeping in mind what your priorities are for this birth, you need to choose a birth team only you both will trust and only you two will feel can help you achieve this VBAC after two c-sections (VBA2C) if it is possible. Which birth team is going to give you the greatest return on your investment? That is who you need to hire”

I am so proud of Jessica deciding to work with the midwives at Boca Midwifery and hire her birth doula, Samara from The Orchid Nest. Following your intuition and making an educated, informed decision about your birth team is step one of having a positive prenatal, birthing and post partum experience. This step is essential.

I met Jessica through our mutual friend Claire, who if you follow me, had a whirlwind of a birth story herself with her son Carter in January of 2020 (I cannot believe he is turning 6 this year!) She had gone through a journey of IUI fertility with Boca Fertility, and I remember it as if it was yesterday, I was with Claire prepping to capture her older child coming to the hospital to meet his baby brother and during this time, her friend Jessica stopped by to see Claire in her post partum hospital room at Baptist Boca Regional. I would have never guessed this mama was going to end up working with me for her empowering VBA2C almost 6 years from that point, but here we are, the universe works in mysterious ways and if you keep yourself open, you will start to see the magic in how all of our lives overlap one way or another.

Over the years I got to know Jessica through instagram and through our friend Claire, celebrating Claire’s birthday together, attending photo sessions at Jessica’s photography studio in Delray Beach (she captured my girls last year with Santa and for that I will be forever grateful! I have the cutest pajama shots of the girls enjoying milk and cookies with Santa at her gorgeous Christmas photoshoots).

But that is just who I am. I genuinely care about people. I want to know who they are, what they love about their lives, and what their heart really is calling to in the motherhood journey, so I can see how I can be there to support them. I really truly enjoy getting to know my birth photography clients.

Jessica’s first child was born via c-section with her OBGYN Dr. David Lubetkin, and Jessica had her son quite close in timeframe to her daughter, so she had a scheduled c-section with him with Dr. Lubetkin’s team again during covid hospital restrictions, a time where some families felt relieved the hospital strict policies did the talking for them and they did not have to explain to their parents, siblings, friends or in-laws why they didn’t want them there during their baby’s delivery. But other families, like Jessica’s, despaired over not being able to have their family there. As a Birth Photographer and birth worker, I’ve recognized that absolutely every single family is inherently unique, and there really isn’t a ‘right way’ to plan for your baby’s birth nor a ‘wrong way’. It’s just the uniqueness of what is best suited for your needs and expectations. I held onto that for a while, after reading Jessica’s instagram stories about how devastating it was for her to not have their families be able to meet the baby and support them in-hospital, and to not have a siblings meeting be possible in-hospital. It really struck a cord with me. I had two really complicated experiences with both of my births (which just so happened to mirror Jessica’s births in that I also had two c-sections with my two children like she did). So hearing that a mom experienced a loss or a heart break of the experience she hoped to have does sit seriously with me.

Of course a healthy mom and baby is key in every delivery.

But mental health matters too.

And I do not take mental health in childbirth lightly. I pay very close attention to it. It is important to me that my client’s heart and emotions are as importantly seen as everything else.

I think perhaps as I got to know Jessica, and what it was like for her to go through two cesareans with her first two babies births at the Boca Regional hospital, and missing out on that family experience in post partum, it really created the shape and mold of how her birth story through photos would unravel.

As you scroll through Jessica’s photos, I feel like Jessica’s birth photo gallery will show how much I wanted to capture her family being part of her experience meeting her third child, a little baby girl they named Francesca!

I am so grateful to Jessica for trusting me to be the guardian of her birth story. She could have chosen anyone to be there for her in this moment and the fact that she felt the greatest trust and confidence in me being her birth photographer means so much to me. It is a true honor to have witnessed her strength, resilience, wisdom in decision making, and what an incredible woman, wife, daughter, sister and mother she is. I thank God for allowing our paths to cross as I have been inspired and empowered by her in my own life.

Thank you to Jessica’s doula Samara and her midwives at Boca Midwifery for never giving up on her, for working so hard side by side with her, for believing her and for helping instill such a powerful belief in herself that she absolutely could do this. VBA2C can absolutely be a reality and it can be a safe and controlled and empowering experience, but the hard work must be done ahead of time in order to achieve it and by following her intuition and researching who the right team would be to support her expectations would be, Jessica was able to achieve a birth many women hope for, a birth many women will hopefully have access to with the more empowering stories like this one that are shared with our south Florida community.

To view another full birth story or inquire about your own estimated due date for a maternity or newborn photo session or for birth photography or birth video here in Palm Beach County, contact me below through the blue button or here: www.paulinasplechta.com/contact

To view another full birth story or inquire about your own estimated due date for a maternity or newborn photo session or for birth photography or birth video here in Palm Beach County, contact me below through the blue button or here: www.paulinasplechta.com/contact

6 Powerful Birth Photos 2026 Birth Photography Competition IAPBP

The 2026 IAPBP (International Association of Professional Birth Photographers) Image Competition is officially live and taking submissions until an extended date today Thursday January 29, 2026! If you aren’t a member yet, it’s not too late to join and submit your best work from births in 2025! Members do have discounted pricing making it worth it to join!

I have been submitting my images to the international Association of professional Birth photographers for years now.

I started out as a Birth Photographer in South Florida my very first hospital birth at Memorial West Hospital in Pembroke Pines on August 31, 2014. To be honest with you, I did it kind of backwards, where I went to the Birth without having any experience or training with being a Birth Photographer whatsoever. Technically I didn’t go to this birth in a photographer role! A maternity photo shoot model of mine was in labor, and we became friends, and I came to support her in labor (I was also super curious what birth in a positive, supported environment with a great birth team even looked like because I was considering expanding my own family but I was scared, my first birth had been really scary and uninformed) and my friend was happy with me being there. I figured I’d bring my camera so that once her baby boy was born, I could take some newborn photos of him in her hospital room kind of like a Fresh 48 Photo Session.

But her labor actually ended up being a little slow paced when I first arrived, and I started capturing photos of her and the details the color of her nails, and I kinda learned on the go.

I definitely don’t recommend jumping in this way for your first birth as a birth photographer! Now that the industry of Birth Photography has grown over the last decade, you want to set your client or model’s expectations accordingly that you are coming in having at the very least gone through training or education beforehand, so you won’t be surprised nor caught off guard by anything that comes your way.

There are so many wonderful ways of getting started in earth photography in 2026, Birth Becomes You offers fantastic education courses for Birth Photographers, along with The Beauty in Birth that teaches you everything you need to know so that when you arrive, you’re able to assure your client that you will capture worthwhile images that are professionally crafted, instead of novice photos.

Taking a physiological birthing education class is also vital so you really understand the process of childbirth and know what stage of labor your client is in. I like the childbirth classes with Zully at Boca Midwifery and there are so many childbirth classes in south Florida from the Orchid Nest, offered at hospitals like Boca Regional, and many more even with doula organizations.

Vanessa Brown even offers Birth Photography Workshops and Mentorship and you can find mentors everywhere these days even virtually.

Now I was really lucky because that very first birth I attended as a birth photographer happened during the daytime and was pretty straight forward physiologically, so with 7 years of professional photography experience at the time back in 2014 under my belt and great lighting and a pretty easy delivery, I got pretty lucky and my photos were wonderful! But there’s a bunch of things that I wish that I could’ve done differently if I had the proper education and training before that birth, even though my client is super happy with her photos because she wasn’t expecting them to begin with and I’m super grateful that I was able to get into Birth photography coincidentally, I definitely recommend that if Birth Photography interest you that you are far more intentional with your approach than I was when I stumbled into this field almost 12 years ago.

Now 2020 was the roughest year of my career for me. I was not able to attend any of my South Florida hospital births with midwives nor obgyns, and my clients birthing in hospitals who lost their birth teams had such a hard time, it was emotionally devastating. It was during this time I really uncovered my passion and love for advocating for women in pregnancy and childbirth. I missed my hospital births, I really did. I love my home births, and they are some of my absolute favorite, liberating and invigorating artistically and emotionally, but my hospital births also hold a very special space in my heart. My connection with my clients has been deep within my heart for nearly 12 years, this August 2026 will be my 12th year as a birth photographer. So not being able to be part of any of their births in 2020 was incredibly rough. I do feel I was really heart broken.

I continued to pour my heart and love into birth stories every opportunity I got from then until the start of 2025, but when 2025 started, I turned some sort of new corner of my life’s journey. My father became very ill with stage 4 cancer, and so much of my focus and time became solely dedicated to supporting him.

During the last year of his life, I would get these tiny moments at Birth‘s where I disconnected from reality and was in a creative space that also happened to be a portal. It’s wild to look at the result of my 2025 Birth compared to everything I have captured During my career because there is such a psychological/emotional/spiritual component to all the photos that I captured in 2025, I went through all of my births from 2025 when I was picking my favorite photos and it was instantly clear which ones I should submit For this year‘s image competition, I’ve never had that experience before because I always struggled to try to figure out which photos to submit. I was never sure which of my photos the world would consider worthy of an award yet somehow this year I instantly knew that it was exactly the six photos. I don’t think I even asked myself what photos the world wants to see. I just asked myself which of my photos am I truly proud of that are award-winning and that is how I chose these, when it came to naming them, I can’t even tell you how I’ve agonized over the years on how to name my images Yet the names for all of these flowed straight from my heart without absolutely any difficulty whatsoever as if they had already been named to begin with color, me surprised, but I really think that 2025 was more than just attending births where they were portals for women, they really did something to me emotionally and spiritually I think that people say that in death you relearn so much about yourself and I think that I finally understand that I don’t wish it upon anyone, but it was part of my journey, losing my father who passed away October 22 and any of you who know me super well will know What the 22nd means to me so many of my clients babies have been born on the 22nd, so I honestly can’t believe that that is the day that my dad chose to leave this earthly plane. I hope you find something lovely in my work that I’ve submitted that speaks to you And helps you too find your own path. I’d absolutely love your feedback on what you think of my photos I’m very passionate about receiving feedback from others and have an open heart always for that so I welcome you to leave a comment for me below and if you Have your own photos that you submitted, please link me below so that I can see what you have submitted I literally cannot wait.

Catalyst For Change (VBA2C) It is the women who, despite being doubted by society, who continue to persevere, who are the fire starters, who bring about real change, real opportunities for all those who follow to birth the way they want. After two c-sections, she built a team that did not doubt that she could, and vbac after two c-sections she absolutely did. 

Hold Me Tight Forever (Baby 5) They've done this not once, not twice, but four times before. And despite going through the intensity of labor with four daughters, she continued to push through with the intense pangs of labor with their fifth daughter, while being held yet again and forever in the arms of the man she's trusted to hold her all these years.

I Choose You - Due to medical risks, she was unable to have an epidural, and for this reason, she built a birth team that would support her birth plan, to labor and birth unmedicated and who would especially be there in moments of doubt, and when labor got to be way too intense, she stepped into her power as a first time birthing mother and said to her unborn son “I Choose You” and birthed him despite the physical intensity that overwhelmed her, and she’ll continue choosing him every single day.

Purposefully Present - She could have chosen anywhere to give birth and anyone she wanted to be part of her birth team, and these are the people she chose, her mother, watching over her from a quiet distance, her husband, keeping his hands on her body and their unborn son in every moment, her doula, providing reassurance through every wave and every breath, her daughter unseen in her stillness behind the door, waiting to meet her baby brother and watch her powerful mother birth, and her birth photographer, who became a soul sister through their journey woven together. And each birth team member was purposefully present, chosen intentionally. 

She Is Divine - Every now and then as birth workers we enter a birth space with a woman who reminds us why we started out being birth workers, whether doulas, midwives, birth photographers. She steps into a deeper level of her divine feminine, we witness her travel to the other plane to collect her baby and return with him earthside. We breathe and we remember, this is why we are birth workers, birth keepers, a sacred sisterhood. 

She Rushed So Much, She Flew- This birth story is a core reminder that birth belongs to women and their babies. Despite this medical facility not permitting water birth, this baby chose to be born in water. This third time mama arrived to the hospital in active labor, her doula inflated her birthing tub, and mama peacefully labored in it with her husband, doula and birth photographer at her side. Her midwife and labor nurse had stepped out, as even active labor can continue for hours. And suddenly something changed. Baby girl rushed so much, she flew out into mamas hands before anyone even realized it was time for her arrival. 

Thank all the incredible Birth workers who made these moments completely possible for me in 2025, the birth doulas here in South Florida, the amazing Midwives and OBGYNs, the labor and delivering nurses, especially at Baptist Health Boca Regional Hospital, as well as my husband & my family.

I wouldn’t have been able to capture any of these moments if you didn’t believe in me.

Thank you for welcoming me in these birthing spaces.

Above all, thank you for the love of my clients for which I am eternally grateful to have my career! I would not exist without you.

For the 6 images I submitted into the 2026 IAPBP Birth Photographers Image Competition: Thank you to my first time mom, my third time moms and my fifth time mom for allowing me to be in your Birth space and capture your journey to this baby. Thank you to the Midwives at Boca Midwifery for being an amazing support to my hospital Birth clients thank you to the doulas at the Orchid Nest and Coastal doulas for never giving up on supporting my clients through their journeys.

All the love in my heart to all of you and I cannot wait to see what 2026 has in store for all of us!

Past birth photography image competitions have been entered by birth photographers from every state in the country, and even from all over the world and featured on today.com and covered by news articles from publication such as mymodernmet.com, winners of the Birth photography contests winning birth photos would become viral even.

2025 Last year‘s winners included Anna Garvey, Sara Hunter, Dana Jacobs, Sanne van Schaik, Colleen Murtha.

Boredpanda.com, mumsatthetable.com, Huffington Post, (huffpost), fstoppers.com, romper, sheknows.com and ABC News and so many other news outlets are stepping up to be the first to report on the winners of the image competition.

I wonder how far will the 2026 competition reach and who the winners of the 2026 Birth photography awards winners will be.

Not to mention how much you’re able to truly learn from these competitions, while it can be at first a little bit discouraging to not win an award it’s incredibly important to walk away with the correct frame of mind which is what did you learn from this year‘s image competition did you pay attention to why the winners won? Is there something lacking in your work, are you just photographing for the sake of earning a quick box or are you trying to drop expectations and photograph using your creativity working with the lighting?

Make sure that you are entering this competition, not just to win an award, but to truly learn how much you’ve grown and what can you do to improve not for the competition but for yourself and for your clients over the next 12 months, perhaps it’s taking a photography class or a workshop from a Birth Photographer perhaps it’s going back and re-editing some of your past birth after taking a birth photography class. There’s so much to learn about yourself and ultimately this journey has nothing to do with anybody else, including not the winners not the big names in Birth photography. It has only to do with. What did you take out of your journey in the past 12 months as a Birth Photographer and as a human Because this is so much greater than just an image competition it’s our journey that is so so intimate in life.

Baby Boy Decker - Newborn Photographer Boynton Beach

I met mama J through a mutual mommy friend when she was first coming to Florida and it was such an honor to be asked who I recommend for her prenatal care and birth. A brand new mama to me was asking my feedback. I think that is the greatest compliment I could receive, someone having trust in me.

I knew the mama was looking for a doctor, an OBGYN to do her prenatal care and delivery. I of course recommended my favorite hospital where I can feel incredibly safe with moms I know delivering, which is Toppel Family Place at Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Boca. But when it came to the recommendation for a specific doctor, the first name that came to mind was Dr. David Lubetkin at Boca Midwifery. He had after all been there for so many of my clients and friends over the years, where I knew he always came through for their birth plans and wishes. Just before I had made this referral to mama J I had attended a birth alongside of him where he said to my client “reach down and catch your baby” and that honestly meant the world to me to hear an obstetrician say after years of attending births at other hospitals here in South Florida with other OBs and providers, where in those other experiences I felt like my client was just present physically to their doctor, but her mind and heart almost did not matter, and in this moment with Dr. Lubetkin, my client’s mind and heart mattered so much when he wanted her to catch her own baby, her to step into her own power and just like she was the one who birthed her child, she would be the one to catch her own child. These things may sound trivial when you don’t take a moment to realize what it really means, but a lot of doctors deliver babies. And while delivering babies is an honor and truly takes a committed and talented medical professional, Dr. Lubetkin doesn’t just deliver babies. He transcends the physical plane to actually care about the mama-baby spiritual connection that birth offers. That is not something you find every day at every obstetrical practice in Florida. A lot of practices are about the doctor walking in to deliver the baby and leaves just as quickly.

To enter a birthing space and acknowledge it as sacred is being more than a medical care provider, it is truly being a birth keeper. A quick thank you to Dr. L for being this to my clients. A Birth Keeper. I step beyond photography when I work with my birth photography clients. I love my clients as if they were family. So it means absolutely everything to me to see Dr. Lubetkin caring for them in this special way.

Fast forward a few years and mama J welcomed her third baby with Dr. Lubetkin and his team, little baby boy Decker. Isn’t he so so cute?

It was so much fun to capture this newborn family session in their home in Boynton Beach. I love mama J and her entire family so much and was so incredibly eager to share some of my favorite photos from their in-home newborn, family-centered photo session with you.

While I went a little overboard and their entire photo session includes 183 newborn photos, because that’s kind of the love that beams through my work when I’ve known a family for so long, I had to try to limit myself to my favorites for this blog post. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

December Baby Boy Birth in Labor Delivery Palm Beach County Florida

2025 was quite the whirlwind, right moms? My goodness, phew!

I am fully embracing 2026 with open arms!!!

As many of you may know, I lost my dad a couple months ago, in October of 2025. That was really rough and unexpected. I am super thankful that my birth photography clients, especially my clients who walked through the hardest 14 final months of the tail end of my dads diagnosis along side of me. I cannot express how much deep joy and fulfillment it brought to me to be able to attend all of your births since my dad got sicker, because of the ability to support you100%, disconnect for a day or so from how difficult our family’s journey has been through this, and see you meet the littlest love of your lives was exactly the small joys that saved the end of 2024 and all of 2025 for me!

December 2025 was no different. I had lost my dad for two months but walking into the birth space of this incredible mama Stephanie, who advocated fiercely for her unborn son, was such an honor. To see how committed her husband, her mom, even her 13 year old daughter who was there for her labor, and meeting her Doula Olivia Beira (who is on the Coastal Doulas Doula team together with my Doula sister friends Bonnie Kelly, Cynda Kelley and Lindsey Ripley) was a dream, what a positively calming and peaceful birth worker who brought so much support to Stephanie’s labor and birthing space. I hope you’re able to feel those calming vibes through these images of Stephanie’s birth photography gallery.

In Stephanie’s words: “I was going to have a home birth and wanted to be able to have someone photograph the whole labor process and birth of my son. I knew how important that was for me to be able to have those memories! My sister referred me Paulina, and the very first time I talked to her I knew she was the one and I didn’t have to contact any other birth photographers. Talking to Paulina felt like I was talking to a best friend, and when I found out I couldn’t have a home birth due to preeclampsia I was devastated and Paulina was very loving and compassionate with everything that I was feeling, she understood what I was going through, and she kept reassuring me everything was going to be fine. She calm me down and I started to understand that God’s plans were different than mine and I just had to trust Him. You can text Paulina at anytime and she WILL get back to you right away, which gives us peace of mind since babies are so unpredictable and can come at anytime. I think it’s important to mention is that birth photography is something so personal and I can’t imagine having someone you never met in your life getting into your privacy and you feeling uncomfortable with that person, that’s why the connection Paulina builds with you from the beginning is SO IMPORTANT and you’ll feel like she’s part of the family and you know her since forever. She didn’t just stand there taking pictures, she was my support, she was proactive, always making sure I was hydrated, calm, laughing through pain, listening to my music, she was supporting me every step of the way, again, she felt more like a best friend than just a photographer. If I can refer her a thousand times I will, best birth photographer and friend.”

Stephanie reached out to me mid November that she and her husband Fabio were expecting their little boy around December 22nd and were planning their first home birth. The 22nd is a very special number and date in my life, and from the very first time we connected, I knew there was something incredibly special about this woman and mother, and when she chose me to be a member of her birth team, not only did I feel deeply honored, but I also felt like it was absolutely meant to be! Stephanie planned for her 13 year old daughter and her mom to be present at her birth along with her Doula Olivia and her Midwife Donna Blythe of Luxe Home Birth. But as we neared 40 weeks, she started struggling with elevated blood pressures that were a little higher than whats within the realm of the norm. After a lot of waiting and deliberating, Stephanie made the decision to be induced at Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, to stay close to her home while providing her baby boy with the environment he needed to arrive earthside in a way that felt safest to her.

The day finally came when her waters were broken and I was on my way up I-95 to join Stephanie for her birth. She worked HARD through her labor, she continued to believe in herself and she fully embraced the support of her entire birthing team.

We gave her a few minutes to rest, and soon her mom was calling us telling us to hurry because baby boy was already making his way out!

We all ran into her room just in time to greet baby boy Ethan, their fifth and loved baby boy, born on Monday December 8, 2025 at 5:10pm weighing 6 pounds and 4 ounces and look at those dimples!! You can truly feel the love as soon as they all meet him! Leave a comment of support for the amazing mama and her team and let me know what you think of her powerful birth story!

The 5 Things Every Parent Should Know About Hiring a Birth Photographer in South Florida

If you are brand new to Birth Photography, every second or third time parent who had a nurse, friend or family member take photos at their previous birth or hired a photographer for their previous birth, (and that photographer let them down in some way), will all tell you the same thing: “Hire a Professional Certified Birth Photographer in South Florida for your birth, they are worth their weight in gold.”

It is a great idea to hire a photographer for your birth, especially if this is your first baby or if you aren’t 100% happy with photos from your previous birth that maybe your nurse, or a friend or family member took. Or maybe you really loved having those photos or birth videos but would like to step it up for this Birth with some birth photography or video that is more professional. Or perhaps you don’t want your partner/spouse or family member or friend to have to have that role of birth photographer this time around, so they can be truly present, and having a birth photographer who is trusted and recommended by your doctor, midwife, doula or hospital really makes sense.

There really is a very big difference between hiring a photographer versus a photographer who photographs births versus a professional certified birth photographer.

Here are five things. Every parent should know about hiring a Birth Photographer in South Florida.

1. Your Birth Photographer should be more than just a photographer with a camera

A photographer who has never photographed a birth before will likely not have much childbirth education about the physiological process that unfolds as your uterus contracts and brings your baby into lower and lower stations of the pelvis, and with that education lacking, they may not know when they should head over to a birth. Even after 10 years as a birth photographer in South Florida, I still have clients who aren’t sure when I should starting heading over to them, and it makes sense! It’s hard to know how much longer until your baby is born, whether it’s your first baby or your birth with your third baby.

In my experience attending over 200 births, I’ve learned that relying only on what’s being communicated by your team in the moment isn’t always enough. Birth can unfold in countless different ways, and recognizing certain patterns helps me make thoughtful calls about when to arrive. Sometimes I opt to come out a little earlier than everyone’s expecting me, not just to be safe, but to capture meaningful moments, a partner/spouse sitting quietly along his laboring wife, a midwife’s verbal support, or a doula doing double hip squeezes through tough contractions.

An experienced, professionally certified birth photographer has witnessed the most unexpected turns. I’ve seen first-time moms have precipitous labors, under 3 hours from start to finish, and other clients face true emergencies where everyone rushed to the hospital, or where babies arrived at home or in the car because there wasn’t time.

Some births, on the other hand, can stretch far longer than anticipated. If your photographer doesn’t understand the physiology of birth, they may arrive too early, exhaust themselves and need to go home to sleep, and risk missing the most important moments when your baby is actually born. This is also why your photographer must take the on-call life seriously, having their cell phone volume on for 24 hours a day, all week long, from the moment you are 37 weeks pregnant until your baby is born, even if that's at 42 weeks and three days later. It's heart-shattering when you call your birth photographer at 3 AM and they don't answer their phone because they forgot to have their volume on, or they say they have to pick up their kids from school or drop their kids off with a friend before they can get out to your birth.

Understanding birth physiology is also critical for knowing when to begin on-call time. What if you're predisposed to preterm births, your photographer should actually know better and start on-call by 32 weeks just in case. Or what if you're pregnant with twins, most twins are born before 38 weeks so your photographer should probably start on-call by 32 weeks too, and the dozens and dozens of other unique cases. These are the things that are mastered by seasoned professionals who have been doing this for years.

That’s why it’s so vital to hire someone who isn’t just a photographer. Your birth photographer should be a professionally certified birth photographer who’s taken comprehensive training to understand childbirth physiology, someone who knows when to arrive, what’s happening during your labor, and when to respectfully step back so medical staff can care for you and your baby during more sensitive interventions. Your birth photographer should also be a birth worker, someone who understands the physical and emotional intensity of labor, can support you unobtrusively, and anticipates what you need without you even having to ask.

You'll especially know you're hiring a true professional by reading their Google reviews. How many reviews do they have? Factor in that if they have 5 Google reviews, that’s probably out of at least 15 or 20 clients because not everyone remembers or has time to write a review. Do your OBGYN or midwife know your birth photographer, and do they recommend them? Have their past patients said good things about this photographer? How about your doula? How about your hospital? These are the questions you should be asking.

2. Birth Photography is not just about a baby crowning

An experienced birth photographer isn't just snapping pictures, they've honed their unique style and editing process. They're not there to document 50 crowning shots, but rather to tell your unique and beautiful story. Your story unfolds through intimate and important moments, your partner/spouse supporting you, as eager as you are with anticipation for your baby's arrival, your doula's crucial and memorable role as she guides you through labor, your obgyn or midwife helping you catch your baby, those precious, immediate skin-to-skin moments as you and your husband look at your baby and take all of her in, her face, her lips, her cheeks, her voice.

But it's not just about the big moments, it's also about noticing and capturing the delicate details of your birthing day. The clock on the wall, the baby monitor showing your baby's heartbeat, your husband holding your hand, the special necklace you wore, the color you painted your nails, the calming candles in your birthing space, or the diffuser you filled with Clary Sage or lavender oil. Even the comfy slippers you brought to the hospital are a detail of your unique story. These are the little touches you poured thought and time into, and you deserve to have them all remembered. Without that specialized experience, a photographer might simply overlook these incredibly meaningful details.

3. How skilled is your Birth Photographer at taking high resolution photos at 3am in a dark, crowded room?

I know so many of my photos, if you follow me on Instagram or have looked through my website, are bright and airy, but many births are simply not like that, especially home births. So many home births, in fact, are very dark because my clients feel more cozy and focused in that environment.

I would estimate around 98% of my clients give birth between the evening hours of 9 or 10 PM and the early hours of 3 AM.

When you're photographing in a very dark space where the client wishes for minimal lighting, if you don't know how to work in such conditions, it will significantly affect the photos. The quality will come out either too dark or too grainy. You can't really practice this type of work in other settings because it truly takes many years and many births to master this skill.

Most photographers, such as newborn photographers, family photographers, and maternity photographers are most experienced in working in conditions with beautiful, bright light and plenty of space that they have meticulously chosen over the years due to their excellent lighting and space conditions for photo shoots.

But most birth spaces have very little light, or terrible artificial hospital lighting, and very little space for you to stand. You've got the doctor or midwife, the doula, the partner or spouse, and if it's a hospital birth, the labor and delivery nurse, the baby nurse and sometimes even the neonatologist. The hospital bed is often super crowded, there's no stool or chair for you to stand on to get a better vantage point, you've also got the hospital monitor and computer heartbeat monitor on one side, and on the other, the giant hanger with IVs. You are pressed up against a cabinet in most hospital rooms too! At home births you may come across tiny bathrooms you can’t even physically be inside of because there is only enough space for your client, her doula and midwife, or a birthing tub there is only one side of access to in their bedroom and the midwife is on that side along with your clients husband.

You've got to know what gear to have with you, and how to expertly use it in a dark, confined space. But you also need to know how to use it when the baby is crowning and comes out very quickly, so you don't end up with blurry, motion-filled photos. This is such a unique setting, perhaps equal to taking photos of your kids at night without the lights on, in a small room where they are running around you in circles. So many of my clients will tell you, don't leave this up to chance, don't just hire a photographer who's worked with beautiful studio lighting or natural lighting in the park their entire career. You want to work with a dedicated Birth Photographer who isn't practicing their craft with your birth because they’ve spent years perfecting their skill in the hardest of environments and the end result is stunning.

4. What does an entire birth photography gallery look like from your Birth Photographer?

Often you’ll see a photographer with one, two, or three really beautiful photos in their portfolio or on their socials, but what does an entire birth gallery actually look like?

Do they deliver 25, 100, or 1,500 photos? Are all the photos unique and high quality, or are they nearly identical shots taken seconds apart, almost like a camera feed upload? Do they have a lot of blurry photos in their birth gallery? Is the horizon in many of their photos lopsided, as if their camera was tilted?

Don't hesistate about asking key questions: How many years have they exclusively been a birth photographer? How many births have they photographed in total? If you're planning a specific kind of birth, such as a home birth, surrogacy story, have a history of many years of a fertility journey or are a single mom by choice, having a twin birth, VBAC, or c-section, definitely ask how many births they've attended just like yours. It's also good practice to ask how many births they've attended in your specific birthing facility, or with your particular doctor, midwife, or doula. This will give you a clear sense of how comfortable your birth team will be having this photographer working alongside them.

If you’re hiring someone just for one photo, or if you don’t have high expectations, it might be fine to settle on a photographer who is brand new (maybe they’ve photographed 1-5 births or maybe your birth is their very first) and trying to build their portfolio while simultaneously trying to improve their skills. The "portfolio building" stage typically describes a photographer who has never worked in the birth space before or has only captured a handful of births and needs to prove themselves to attract clients. If you’re one of their first clients, there's definitely a risk involved. You might get truly amazing photos if they have been a photographer for many years in other genres and when put in a difficult circumstance environmentally (poor lighting, fast delivery, lack of space) still handle the lighting and birth circumstances well. However, with their lack of specialized experience and unfamiliarity with their gear in such challenging spaces, you might also get the absolute opposite and feel your birth story was entirely lost.

That's why it is so important to ask to see multiple FULL birth galleries. This provides proof that you like the quality of their work consistently across many births, not just a handful of curated images from their portfolio, social media page, or website.

5. Lastly, what does your Birth Photographer’s communication and contracting look like?

A professional birth photographer should have a very clear and detailed contract that protects you and your expectations, especially since every birth is incredibly unpredictable.

I’ve had so many clients with scheduled c-sections and scheduled inductions whose babies arrived anywhere from a few days to even a month before their scheduled birth.

You absolutely need to be protected as a client with airtight contract details that clearly define your birth photographer's commitments.

Plus, you should also see that your birth photographer values themselves as a professional by having terms that protect them as well, ensuring you're both clear on communication protocols for your birth.

Beyond the contract, their communication should be incredibly clear from the very start.

Your birth photographer should be organized, and you should not feel like you’re the one who’s constantly following up on emails, phone calls, or invoices. In fact, they should be the one checking in with you, proactively managing expectations based on what they laid out from the very beginning. If there’s any hesitation with their communication being unclear or their services being sketchy or no one in the birthing community knowing them (such as midwives, obgyns, doulas, hospitals not knowing them) that would be a red flag.

Your birth story is a powerful, transformative experience, and it deserves to be honored and remembered with clarity and artistry. If my approach resonates with you and you're ready to have a birth photographer on your birth team who genuinely understands the profound beauty of birth, let's connect!

Why You Should Opt for a Professional Wedding Photographer: Unveiling the Key Advantages

Photo via Adobe Stock

Weddings are a whirlwind of emotions, love, and unforgettable moments. It's easy to consider relying on friends and family for photography, given the rise of high-quality smartphone cameras. However, hiring a professional wedding photographer offers unique advantages that guarantee the preservation of your special day in the most exceptional way. Let's delve into the primary benefits of this choice with this blog post hosted by Paulina Splechta Photography .

Years of Experience and Mastery of Different Styles

The expertise that professional photographers bring is invaluable. They carry years of experience, which means they've seen and captured an array of weddings, each with its unique theme, lighting conditions, and challenges. With this wealth of experience, they can adapt to different styles effortlessly—be it candid, traditional, or documentary. The outcome is a series of photos that align perfectly with the mood and spirit of your wedding.

Unmatched Attention to Details

It’s the small things that count, especially when capturing the essence of your wedding. A professional photographer has a keen eye for capturing the tiniest details—from the intricate lace on the bride's gown to the emotions reflected in the eyes of the wedding attendees. These details weave together to form a rich tapestry that truly encapsulates the magic of your special day.

Reliability in Technical Issues

Cameras can malfunction. Batteries can die. Memory cards can corrupt. In these moments of crisis, a professional photographer is prepared. They come equipped with backup cameras, lenses, batteries, and memory cards. This ensures that no matter what challenges arise, the capturing of your magical moments goes on uninterrupted.

Efficiency in Time Management

Weddings run on tight schedules, from pre-wedding rituals to post-wedding receptions. Professionals are exceptional at managing time, capturing both posed and candid shots with efficiency. Their organizational skills ensure that all key moments are captured without causing delays or intruding on the celebrations.

Consistent Quality

When you hire a professional, you’re not just paying for a couple of good shots. You're investing in a consistently high-quality collection of images that tell the story of your day. They use top-notch equipment and sophisticated software to ensure every photograph is of excellent quality, enhancing the overall narrative of your wedding album.

Artistic Excellence

A skilled photographer brings more than a camera to your wedding; they bring an artistic vision. From the ideal use of lighting to the composition of each shot, a professional knows how to transform ordinary scenes into artistic memories, adding a level of sophistication and beauty to your collection.

Pre-Wedding Consultations

Most professionals offer pre-wedding consultations to discuss your vision for the big day. Whether you have specific poses in mind, or unique shots you want to include, these discussions ensure that you and the photographer are on the same page, setting the stage for a successful collaboration.

Leveraging Adobe Express for Sharing and Revisiting Memories

After you have your perfect wedding photos, the sharing doesn't have to stop at just a social media post or two. Adobe Express offers tools to create lasting keepsakes from your precious memories.

• Use Adobe Express's custom thank you card maker to design unique cards incorporating your favorite moments. These cards offer a personalized touch, showing your gratitude to your guests.

• With Adobe Express's photo collage maker, you can merge your favorite images into a single, beautiful narrative. This is a great way to present your photos in a unified yet diverse way.

• Why limit the joy to just one day? Adobe Express’s photo calendar maker allows you to create custom calendars featuring your wedding photos, keeping the memories alive all year long.

• Adobe Express's Instagram post maker can help you pick and post your best shots, ensuring each post aligns with your overall social media aesthetic.

Hiring a professional photographer for your wedding is an investment in quality, reliability, and artistic vision. From capturing every detail to ensuring a consistently beautiful album, professionals offer benefits that far outweigh their cost. Moreover, tools like Adobe Express provide an excellent avenue to share and revisit those beautiful memories. Your wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event; make sure it's captured in a manner befitting its importance.

As you plan for a wedding photographer, consider how the story continues—capture the powerful moment of welcoming a new life with a birth photographer like Paulina Splechta. Her expertise preserves the raw beauty of birth, creating timeless images of your family’s next chapter.

Birth Photographer of the Year Awards - Representing Florida | Boca Raton in the Top 20 in 2024

Exposing Birth just hosted another year of

Birth Photographer of the Year - 📸 BPOTY 2024

It’s been a moment since I felt so excited to enter an image competition, the last four years have been an interesting and challenging time to be a birth photographer in South Florida, to say the least. But I always see a strong benefit to enter at least one image, if not the max allowable submissions, to birth photographer image competition because the opportunity to learn from yourself and your growth is really there if you give yourself permission to see it!

After reviewing the 2024 rules with the Birth Photographer of the Year Awards, I was even more excited to submit my work!

What did it for me, and really sealed the deal knowing I wanted to enter the BPOTY image competition all boiled down to this one particular contest rule:

“Entries must be from original exposures made within the last 5 years of the closing date.”

Seeing that the 2024 BPOTY awards were permitting you to submit images from the last 5 years that I have been attending births in South Florida as a birth photographer was huge for me. I’ve been focusing on birth photography for 10 years now, so 5 years worth of home births, birth center births, and hospital births (including c-sections) means literally half of the 200+ families births I’ve captured in my career! EEEEK!

The reason this specific regulation excited me so much is because I knew I wanted to enter images from births from 2 and 3 years ago, but often image competitions are strict and specific - I have found that a majority of image competitions only want to see your latest work from the current year, maybe the year before if you’re lucky. But I had certain images from specific births I had attended in 2021 and 2022 - from home births with some of my favorite home birth midwives and doulas I love working alongside of in Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Margate and Lake Worth that were incredible stories that I just knew I deeply wanted to share in image competitions.

This was the opportunity I was waiting for!

Before I share with you the five images I submitted into this years Birth Photographer of the Year Awards image competition, I’d love to share with you what set this birth photography image competition apart from other birth photography image competitions.

Birth Photographers and Countries in the Top 20

First of all, 401 images were entered into this year’s image competition, which almost became a record breaking year! Back in 2022 there were 411 entries. This is one of the largest, best recognized image competitions for Birth Photography recognized globally!

As a fan girl of the judges panel and their process, I love that none of the images are compared to one another. The judging is hosted LIVE at 24 hours per day, until all images have been reviewed by the judges panel. But it’s not a stagnant judges panel. Numerous qualified and well trained judges rotate so that fresh eyes are on each image, giving every entrant the opportunity to be judged by an excited and motivated judge (not a burned out one! Bravo BPOTY!)

Every time a new image came up for the judges, they immediately began observing, reviewing and gauging it from a technical standpoint, entirely unrelated to the quality and craftsmanship to the image before it. This process has allowed each entering artist to be rated against themselves, allowing for maximum growth and knowledge. Watching the judges panel analyze my image of my client Dani and discuss why it would qualify for a higher silver award was one of the most informative experiences for me to learn how to bump my work up to the next level.

As a artist who is passionate about always learning how to do better, feedback on my work is a critical part of my growth and learning process. I started doing photography in 2007, 17 years ago. And to this day, I want to learn how to improve my work and try new approaches and techniques every year. That’s what makes a solid artist. Someone who is never 100% content with their work but instead has a powerful drive to excel!

I remember when I first joined the International Association of Professional Birth Photographers and entered my images into their annual image competition years ago, my main goal in participating in the image competition was to book more local clients. 

I believed that winning an award in a global image competition would spread my brand awareness far and wide, having an uptick in inquiries and new birth photography client bookings just from entering an image competition.

Not only did I believe this would be the fruit of entering the image competition, but I also saw it as my main purpose.

Fast-forward 10 years and 200+ births photographed and I have a very different outlook on what I hope entering an image competition will do for my business and what I seek to gain from it.

When I was a new Birth Photographer in South Florida 10 years ago, I picked one of my top photos that received the most engagement on social media, usually a photo that I was very proud of, and simply made sure it fit the dimension, sizing and file name requirements of the image competition, uploaded it named it after agonizing over the title for hours, paid the submission fee and submitted.

I don’t regret the way I used to view image competitions, because realizing that you have grown after looking back at the last 10 years is part of the journey.

In the beginning of your career as a Birth Photographer, sometimes you need to do things impulsively, and it makes sense that when you look back, you realize: wow! your intentions are so different now… and that is all part of a normal growth process as an artist and photographer.

Now in 2024, the 5 images that I submitted to the BPOTY Birth Photography image competition were not ones that I had the highest engagement on social media with.

I remember seeing the five-year entry rules and excitedly going through all of my births from the last five years.

I hooked up my external hard drive and went through every image from births I attended at Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital with certified nurse midwives and OB/GYNs, I went through C-sections, inductions and epidural free natural births with birth doulas and moms laboring unmedicated using hypnobirthing, birth tubs, showers, twinkly lights, hip compressions and essential oils. I looked at my water births and vbacs I’ve had with the teams from Hollywood Birth Center and Natural BirthWorks Birth Center, I looked at birth I’ve had in West Palm Beach as well as home births in Stuart and Delray Beach.

Basically - everything from my last five years!

As I went through each client and their files of birth photos carefully, I reminisced on how special and meaningful every single one of my clients babies “birth” days were.

It’s crazy how well I remember so many babies names!

And the moment I see a photo or hear a clients name, it’s almost like I can see flashes of their birth story in my mind.

That’s something that a lot of photographers don’t talk about, when you’re going through your work from past years, a lot of photographers don’t talk about how it feels to go through past birth stories after all this time has gone by and reminisce on how much that birth story healed your heart as an artist, and how that particular birth story impacted your career, how being at that birth affected your personal life that week/month, how that particular client or her labor impacted your decisions as a business owner, how your client’s birth story impacted your spirit as a birth worker.

Going through your birth photos from past years, especially from the last five years, will take you on an emotional and spiritual journey that far surpasses the statement “submit an image to a competition”.

Photographers don’t talk about it, and sometimes maybe we are moving altogether too quickly when we are searching for photos worthy of competition submissions, but going through photos from 24 births a year for 5 years (like a dork I did the math, that’s roughly 20,000 photos) that process is just soul-impacting.

Some of us going through rough seas may absolutely dread the process. Others going through calm seas may too. But I find if you just drop your guard and allow yourself to surrender to the process, you can find a life lesson in there for yourself, that has nothing to do with the rest of the world, and becomes a meaningful ritual you do for the betterment of yourself alone.

This year’s Birth Photographer of the Year Award had106 silver winners - 26% of entries, 27 silver distinctions - 6% of entries, 8 gold winners, and that’s a mere 2% of images entered, 2 gold distinctions at a 0.5% of entries.

Those are some stunning numbers!

I am in awe of the entrants!

And this goes to show, an image competition does NOT need to have 1 Gold Winner, 1 Silver Winner and 1 Bronze Winner to show the world you are good at your craft. The max images you could submit to the competition were 5, and with 106 Silver Winners, that tells me, even if all 106 Silvers went to artists who won 5 silvers (which I know isn’t the case, as I was awarded 3 silvers only) this at the bare minimum would mean there are at least 21 outstanding artists world wide making a meanginful and profound impact on their communities! This does not even weigh in all the phenomenal images that ranked in the professional birth photography category.

But with 401 total entries, there are some 300 images that belong to at least 60 talented birth photographers and that’s really saying something about what birth photography in the world means in 2024!

Beyond medals and individual awards, this image competition also acknowledged the Top 20 Highest Scoring Portfolios of 2024. The judges took the scores from all 5 images each entrant who chose to submit all 5, and ranked the top 20 (in this case we had a tie, so top 21) ranking portfolios.

The Top 20 Portfolios belonged to entrants from 7 countries and 8 states

And I am so proud to represent my home state of Florida on a global platform, having been awarded among the top 20 portfolios!

Below, you’ll find the names and links to every artist from the top 20, and I encourage you to give their websites a visit, especially if they are local to you:

Rhia Mathlin-Cook from Victoria, Australia

Autumn Hutton from New Orleans, Louisiana

Ania Wibig from Poland

Madison Swann from Colorado

Bo De Saedelaere from The Netherlands

Leah Holscher from Melbourne, Australia

Megan Van Zyl from South Africa

Katie Lacer from Kentucky

Dunja Visser from The Netherlands

Jacinta Lagos from Wisconsin

Paulina Splechta from Florida

Sarah Steffen from Wisconsin

Alexa Santaularia from Colorado

Magdalena Jones from Germany

Erin Loughlin from Wisconsin

Natalie Broders from Oregon

Joyhannah Torres from Texas

Anne Lucy Silva Barbosa from Brazil

Colleen Murtha from Ohio

Marjolein Roossien from The Netherlands

Beth Lindsay from New South Wales, Australia

Is Your Baby Thriving? Expert Insights on Infant Weight Gain & Feeding in South Florida

The rapid growth and development of your newborn baby is a joyous, yet sometimes anxiety-inducing, part of parenthood. It's natural to wonder if your little one is gaining enough weight and eating enough. Let's explore insights from trusted baby experts in South Florida to help you navigate this crucial aspect of your baby's early months.

Decoding Baby Weight Gain: What's Normal?

It's important to understand that most babies lose a bit of weight in the first few days after birth. But how quickly should they regain it, and what's a healthy weight gain pattern?

According to Dr. Leigh Serra, a pediatrician, "By two weeks, I expect a baby to return to birth weight. The average baby then gains about one ounce per day for the first month, and about one or two pounds a month until month six."  

Key Takeaways:

• Early Weight Loss is Normal: Don't be alarmed if your baby loses a bit of weight initially.

• Steady Gains are Key: Aim for consistent weight gain in the first few months.

• Individuality Matters: Remember that these are averages, and healthy babies can vary.

• Seek Guidance if Concerned: Consult your pediatrician if you have any concerns about your baby's weight gain or feeding patterns.

The Power of a Supportive Community:

Navigating parenthood can be overwhelming, but you don't have to do it alone. South Florida boasts a wealth of dedicated professionals specializing in infant and maternal care.

As my friend Kat Vigo, a Doctor of Physical Therapy, beautifully puts it: "I am convinced that I am in the best field. Each of these women specialize in different areas to help moms survive these first few years. And we are all local!"

Boca Raton Birth Photographer: Documenting Your Journey

As a birth and family photographer, I'm honored to capture these precious early moments. I believe in creating a supportive and empowering environment for new parents, connecting them with valuable resources and documenting their unique journey with love and artistry.

Serving South Florida: Your Trusted Photographer

Whether you're in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, or anywhere in between, I'm here to capture your family's story. My approach is natural and unobtrusive, allowing you to focus on bonding with your baby while I create timeless images you'll cherish forever.

Contact Me Today: Let's Celebrate Your Growing Family!

Let's create a visual legacy that captures the beauty and joy of your parenthood journey.