Capture the emotions of childbirth and life’s first moments

In a stunning collection of photos, photographers from all over the world have captured the beautiful, wondrous birth moment in all its unadulterated and unflappable magnificence. The winners of this year’s Birth Photographer of the Year Award are frequently strong and strikingly close, depicting the joy and pain of childbirth in great detail.

Award-winning photographer Lacey Barratt established the international competition in collaboration with Atkins Lab in order to further legitimize the skill of beautiful and complex birth photography.

As one of fourteen seasoned judges who chose the award winners, Lacey, 34, a birth photographer with 11 years of expertise from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, was one of the birth photography award nominees. Rhianna Cross, also from Queensland, Australia, took second place, followed by Colby Tulachan from New York in third place. Laura Brink, from Queensland, Australia, took first place.

Mother-of-five Lacey believes it’s necessary to present the winning images of the competition despite the 356 entries submitted by birth photographers from countries such as Brazil, Portugal, France, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand.

“There are a lot of amazing competitions throughout the world, but they aren’t just for photographers of newborns,” she added, so it’s vital to host one. “We are frequently grouped with the documentary, photojournalist, and wedding documentary genres as a result. Wedding images and birth photos are basically two completely different extremes when evaluating and contrasting them. The authenticity of such a prestigious award depends heavily on the jury’s particular training in birth photography.”

This is the contest’s second year, and Lacey added that she is excited to continue the organization for many years to come. She said, “We are looking for images that exceed the standards of what will be given to a newborn customer. The images we were looking for were beyond visual communication, beyond the standard of storytelling we would expect any professional to be able to deliver. The energy around the competition is very electric. I’m honored to be hosting an incredible event that this niche market so desperately wants.”

Hannah Hill from the United States submitted her photograph ‘My Body, My Birth’, showing a mother and her newborn sitting on a bed following childbirth.

The emotion of childbirth was clear to see in Rhianna Cross’ competition entry, taken in Australia, with a father and child embracing the mother after she has given birth.

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