People's Choice Winners of the Birth Becomes Her Image Review 2020

February 26, 2020 Norma Hess

The 2020 People’s Choice Winners and Honorable Mentions were announced!

NICU Photographer in McAllen, TX

The 2020 Birth Becomes Her Image Review is in progress and this week, the winners and honorable mentions of The People Choice were announced!

I am so humbled to have this incredibly moving image make the cut. This image is one of the first images that came to mind when I first considered entering this year’s review.

Let me tell you a little bit about this story from my perspective.

Originally, the plan had been to attend this birth to document the moment this sweet baby entered the world. Plans changed quickly when things didn’t go as planned. (Birth is unpredictable like that sometimes.) I didn’t take a single photo. Instead, I helped call an ambulance, flagged them down, and held adoptive mama in my arms as we waited for paramedics to transfer this baby to the hospital.

I was shattered for this family… both biological and adoptive. My heart was heavy and I went home wondering whether everyone was ok. Wondering if it was too soon to send a message with my love. Wondering if it was too soon to offer to come to the NICU to document this story.

4 days later, we met at the NICU. We talked, connected and waited to head in to see baby. This would be the first time everyone would be int he same room with baby and it was a very emotional moment. There was prayer, laughter, tears, hugs and so much hope. I’m honestly not sure how I managed to hold myself together as I witnessed all the tender moments between this family.

This amazing baby is a fighter. As I approached her mama about submitting this photo for the 2020 BBH Image Review, I remembered what a vulnerable time this was for everyone. I’m so proud of her for saying yes to sharing this intimate moment. I know it’s important for us to see birth in all of it’s variations… our stories help others navigate their own journeys. It connects us to many other mamas even if we aren’t always aware of it.

These days, I see how incredibly strong this baby is as she pushes through each milestone, smiles, basks in the sunshine at the park… y’all, she’s amazing. I hang on to hope again, for all families currently experiencing their own NICU story or any who will do so in the future.

My heart is with you all. It takes so much strength and I’m here to support you if you need a friend.

Let’s keep exploring the rest of these incredible images! Discover the artists behind the photos too!

Over 15,000 votes were submitted this year for The People’s Choice voting round at the Birth Becomes Her Image Review 2020. Wowza!

It’s incredible to see so many beautiful images together… bringing us one step closer to normalizing all the variations of normal when it comes to birth.

It wasn’t long ago when many birth photographers struggled to have their images accepted by the entire photography community. It’s hard y’all. Birth can is raw and we fight social media bans almost daily. Big changes have been made in the last 4-5 years and I’m so happy to see that birth photography is now more openly welcomed!

Today, we see that the world is watching, and accepting this raw, emotional, beautiful and sometimes hard niche.

If you’re not following the Birth Becomes Her Image Review 2020, you should. The judges are tallying up their votes and the winners will be announced soon!

Congratulations to all the winners and honorable mentions in The 2020 People’s Choice round! Yay!

Here’s the list of the talented photographers from this round:

(Top 5 ) Brittney Hogue | Inge Berken | Sarah Hill Photography | Julie Asdurian Fotografia | Hardie Photography