Winners of the 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition - International Association of Professional Birth Photographers | birthphotographers.com

2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Winners Announced

The International Association of Professional Birth Photographers is proud to announce the winners of the 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition! Thank you to each and every IAPBP member who entered this year and, of course, the families who agreed to share their birth moments with us all!.

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The International Association of Professional Birth Photographers is proud to announce the winners of the 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition!

Despite hundreds of birth photographers worldwide having lost a majority of their work and income in 2020 due to the global pandemic, we are incredible thankful for and proud of the entrants of this year’s competition. In spite of the hardships we endured as a community, this competition represents the resilience birth photographers have shown to overcome unforeseen challenges. We are eager to present to you an incredible body of work full of talent and powerful moments.

It is important that we express gratitude for the hard work of our judges, as narrowing down this year’s winner was no easy task. We appreciate their time and efforts. Winners were scored individually and selected based on a point system. Each image was judged on technique, lighting, composition, emotional impact, creativity and storytelling. All images have been shared with the permission of the family and the photographer. Please respect their choice and copyright. Do not copy, print or save any of the images. Please share a link to this page!

Media:

If you would like to do a story on the competition please complete our Media Request Form before using or sharing any images. Images can only be shared once the form is complete. Proper credit and hyperlinks to the photographer / copyright owner are required. We will provide you with all the contact info, photographer links and watermarked / web ready images in one download. Requests for an interview or quote with our Director should be directed to media@birthphotographers.com.

 

Please note: While birth is beautiful, it is also messy and real. You should expect nudity when viewing the entries. Be sure to scroll down to view all of the gorgeous entries from this year.

 

Competition Judges

Dora Barens 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Dora Barens
Multi Awarded Birth Photographer
Website | Instagram
Lacey Barratt 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Lacey Barratt
Founder - Exposing Birth
Website | Instagram
Caroline Bologna
Reporter - Huffpost
Website
Jana Brasil - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Jana Brasil
Award Winning Photographer
Website | Instagram
Kristen Cook
Photographer / Mentor / Educator
Website | Instagram
Ash Davenport - MIKI STUDIOS - 2021 IEEE Review Panelist
Ash Davenport
Founder - MIKI Studios
Website | Instagram
Esther Edith - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Esther Edith
Photographer / Videographer / Doula
Website | Instagram
Samantha Evans - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition
Samantha Evans
Photographer / Past Winner 2019
Website | Instagram
Brittany Fisher - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Brittany Fisher
Editor - Birth OK, Photographer & Doula
Website | Instagram
Bree Garcia 2021 Image Competition Judge
Bree Garcia
Co-Founder - J&B Photography
Website | Instagram
Esther Hi’ilani Candari - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Esther Hi’ilani Candari
Founder - Hilani Fine Arts
Website | Instagram
Twyla Jones
Photographer / Educator / Mentor
Website | Instagram
Daniela Justus - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Daniela Justus
Daniela Justus
Website
Kimberly Kimble - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Kimberly Kimble
Photographer & Birthworker
Website | Instagram
Martha Lerner - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Martha Lerner
Founder- zenmamalove
Website | Instagram
Shea Long - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Shea Long
Photographer / Doula / Mentor
Website | Instagram
Tamara Milldove - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Tamara Milldove
Award Winning Photographer
Website | Instagram
Alexandria Mooney - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Alexandria Mooney
Award Winning Photographer
Website | Instagram
Leilani Rogers
Birth Photographer & Educator
Website | Instagram
Lyndsay Stradtner
Founder - IAPBP
Website | Instagram
Jerusha Sutton - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Jerusha Sutton
Birth Artist / Doula / Filmmaker
Website | Instagram
Kenda Sutton
Executive Director - Birth In Color
Website | Instagram
Marijke Theon - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Marijke Theon
Award Winning Photographer
Website | Instagram
Katie Torres - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Katie Torres
Award Winning Photographer
Website | Instagram
Renate Van Lith - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Renate Van Lith
Founder - De Geboortefotograaf
Website | Instagram
Belle Verdiglione - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Belle Verdiglione
Founder - Camera Queens
Website | Instagram
Jessica Vink - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Jessica Vink
2020 1st Place Winner
Website | Instagram
Kristy Visscher - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Kristy Visscher
Award Winning Photographer
Website | Instagram
Natalia Walth 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition
Natalia Walth
2016 IAPBP Winner / Photographer
Website | Instagram
Cindy Willems - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Cindy Willems
Award Winning Photographer
Website | Instagram
Dora Barens 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Dora Barens
Multi Awarded Birth Photographer

Dora Barens is an award-winning birth photographer from The Netherlands. As one of the first birth photographers of the country, she’s been documenting birth stories since 2011 and it has become her mission to put this industry on the map in The Netherlands. Her work has been featured in countless national and international publications and she’s also a past winner of the IAPBP Image Competition.

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Dora loves to capture the emotional roller coaster of giving birth in a discreet yet powerful way. As Amsterdam’s leading birth photographer she enjoys working in the multicultural environment of the city and the quite unique Dutch midwifery care system makes her work even more interesting.

Dora is a native Hungarian but she’s living in The Netherlands with her Dutch husband and their two teenage children.

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Lacey Barratt 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Lacey Barratt
Founder - Exposing Birth

Lacey is an accredited member of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP), a part of Birth Photographers Australia, and Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project by Leilani Rogers #PBAP. More recently, she has started her own campaign #humansuncensored to help desexualise human bodies, men and women alike.

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Lacey has been recognised for the impact that her imagery has made on her community. She was nominated as a finalist for the “Fair Go” Pride of Australia Medal in 2014. She has also been interviewed by NT News, ABC Radio, Positive Birth Movement Melbourne, and has spoken to a group of women about the “love yourself” campaign- loving your body postpartum, through the Office of Woman’s Advancement NT. She is an avid lover of birth, breastfeeding, and babywearing.

In 2015 Lacey was awarded NT Documentary Photographer of the Year 2015.

AIPP VPPY 2016 Lacey submitted 8 entries with 6 of them being awarded. Lacey was awarded the EPSON AIPP VPPY Documentary Photographer of the Year 2016 making her a multi-award winning Professional Photographer.

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Caroline Bologna
Reporter - Huffpost

Caroline Bologna is a reporter at HuffPost, where she covers culture and parenting. A native of New Orleans, she graduated from Brown University and is currently based in New York. She is passionate about photography, world travel, and women’s issues.

Jana Brasil - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Jana Brasil
Award Winning Photographer

Jana was the only photographer in Latin America to win an award in our 2020 Birth Photography Image Competition with the photo of Bebe Noah Impelicated.

Her work has been recognized by one of the largest associations of family photographers, Inspiration Family, where she had some award-winning photos and was nominated the Family Revelation Photographer in 2018 by the Golden Lens, the Oscar of Photography in Brazil and in 2019 she was also nominated the best photographer of the year by the same association.

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In addition to the IAPBP, she is also a member of other very important photography associations, Inspiration Photographers, Outstanding Maternity, FineArt and FPJA

Jana has been a speaker at Café com Foto, an event aimed at ES photographers as well as at the LUME / WEDDING BRASIL Family Center, the largest photography congress in Latin America.

She photographed her first delivery in June 2015. One month later she was invited by obstetrician Dr Rafael Angelo Baggieri to be part of her team where she continues to work today.

Her passion is to capture unforgettable moments full of love!

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Kristen Cook
Photographer / Mentor / Educator

Kristen is a sought-after photographer from Australia who is proud to document love; new relationships built of love and tiny humans built of love. Her work is beautiful, messy, honest, brilliant and full of emotion. Her unique eye and appreciation for the tiny moments bring a treasured perspective to our line-up of judges this year.

Ash Davenport - MIKI STUDIOS - 2021 IEEE Review Panelist
Ash Davenport
Founder - MIKI Studios

Ash Davenport is a renowned wedding and birth photographer from London, UK. A natural-born artist and thrill seeker, Ash is constantly raising the bar with his life and photography.

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He approaches every shoot as an exciting new adventure to capture images that make you smile, cry, and laugh out loud. He is constantly observing what’s unique about the people in front of him and the love that the connects family and friends. When he is not behind his camera, he’s running marathons, swimming competitively with his Olympian brother, or trekking up Everest (for his honeymoon).

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Esther Edith - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Esther Edith
Photographer / Videographer / Doula

Esther is an Internationally published, award-winning birth photographer, videographer, and birth doula in Spokane, WA. Her work has been published on Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, Midwifery Today, National Geographic, The Today Show, and more. Esther received two First Place awards in previous IAPBP competitions (2018), as well as awards and placements in multiple BBH and Shoot and Share competitions (2017-2019). She received Editor’s choice with National Geographic’s Your Shot (2018), and most recently received an Honourable Mention in the ND Magazine & Awards Contest.

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Esther is the wife of a philosophy professor, and mother to three children, (with one on the way!). She is passionate about her Christian faith, and sees every birth as a miraculous gift of life. Having grown up in India, and having worked with victims of human trafficking, Esther has always had a passion for defending women’s rights; she stepped into the birth world to help women share their stories, and to know their options and rights in childbirth. Women have contacted Esther from around the world saying her birth images have empowered and inspired them in their own births; Esther believes that birth photography has the power to change the way a woman experiences birth.

Esther recently stepped back from on-call life, and her family opened Chai Garden Shop, (which includes some blends especially for Pregnancy & Postpartum). But she hopes to return to birth work early next summer, and meanwhile, continues to serve as a Maternity, Newborn, and Family Photographer at estheredith.com.

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Samantha Evans - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition
Samantha Evans
Photographer / Past Winner 2019

Samantha is a Motherhood photographer with a great interest in matrescense and honouring everything it means to become a Mother. She aims to capture the raw, beautiful details along with the emotions of maternity, birth, newborn and everyday family moments.

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Samantha is a past 2019 IAPBP winner of the Member’s Choice Best in Birth Details and Best in Birth Details in the Judge’s Competition. Most notably she has been published in Midwifery Today and Dear Photographer. Samantha is honoured to be one of the judges for the 2021 competition.

Samantha lives in beautiful Kamloops, BC Canada with her three young sons and two very large, very hairy Bernese Mountain dogs.

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Brittany Fisher - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Brittany Fisher
Editor - Birth OK, Photographer & Doula

Brittany is a wife, mother of three, doula and award-winning birth photographer with a passion for following Jesus, storytelling, serving mamas, and bubble tea. She is also the founder and editor of Birth OK magazine, a passion project geared to encourage, educate and empower mamas in pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Her ultimate goal is to enable moms to see themselves as she sees them through her lens: beautiful, powerful and completely captivating.  When she’s not at a birth, you can find her homeschooling her kiddos over a cup of tea, or planning her next trip off-call as a certified travel junkie. 

Bree Garcia 2021 Image Competition Judge
Bree Garcia
Co-Founder - J&B Photography

Bree Garcia is a published and award winning birth and newborn photographer based in Los Angeles, California. She specializes in documenting raw emotion, chemistry, and fine art posed newborn portraiture. She strives to capture all the details that make birth unique, in a beautiful, artistic, and empowering way. She has been photographing births since 2015 and has photographed over 80 births. Bree is half of J&B Photography which is co-owned with her other half Jessie. Together they have 4 little girls and a golden doodle.

Esther Hi’ilani Candari - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Esther Hi’ilani Candari
Founder - Hilani Fine Arts

Esther is a passionate fine artist, educator, and advocate who utilizes her unique multicultural background to draw connections and build bridges across issues of race, gender, and religious belief. Her work has been exhibited, purchased, and published in cities across the country including New York, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco.

Twyla Jones
Photographer / Educator / Mentor

An optimist, dreamer, and biologist turned photographer, Twyla has a unique talent of encouraging connection while simultaneously capturing emotive imagery. Her work is phenomenal and we are grateful for the unique perspective she brings to our judging panel this year.

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“I’m a biologist turned photographer turned educator. I have a deep love for capturing emotive images and love sharing my techniques with other photographers. Through mentoring others, I quickly found I have a talent for brainstorming unique marketing solutions for creatives and absolutely love sharing those lightbulb moments that can completely change the trajectory of your business!

I’m obsessed with organizing and rearranging my home that sits in it own tiny jungle, complete with a waterfall and tiny home treehouse, in the middle of town. I’d consider myself a boho, eclectic, maximalist which means lots of rich, vibrant colors and surrounding myself with eclectic pieces that bring me joy (I think I have at least one rainbow in every room of my house).

When I’m not decorating tree forts at home and propagating new plants that I find in my backyard, I’m at the beach with my husband and three sons, checking out our local farmers market, or hanging out at our family friendly cider brewery downtown listing to local musicians.

I’m an optimist, dreamer, procrastinator and believe you can manifest absolutely anything you want for you life!”

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Daniela Justus - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Daniela Justus
Daniela Justus

My name is Daniela Justus, I’m Brazilian and I’ve been working as a family photographer since 2006. I lived in London from 2007 – 2011 and during that time we enjoyed adventure, gaining knowledge and the birth of our first child. Since 2011 I have been shooting families, maternity, portraits and births in Rio de Janeiro. I have been lucky enough to cover more than 350 births so far and I’m absolutely passionate about my work.

Kimberly Kimble - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Kimberly Kimble
Photographer & Birthworker

Kimberly Kimble is an internationally published, award winning photographer and birthworker in Portland, OR. She is the face behind Rushes & Waves and a 2019 IAPBP competition winner. Self taught with 15 years of experience, she started her birth focused business in 2017 and has been photographing births ever since.

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Kimberly has also been recognized for her protest photography and is working on a creative body project called “bare”. Her work is raw and honest. She loves capturing real human emotion. When she’s not behind the lens, she is writing, adventuring, binge watching The Office and loving on her little family.

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Martha Lerner - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Martha Lerner
Founder- zenmamalove

Martha Lerner is the creator/founder/CEO of zenmamalove. She is an Internationally Acclaimed Birth & Motherhood Photographer, a Certified CAPPA Labor Doula, and a Midwive’s Assistant. She has recently become a published author in a Best-Selling collaborative book on VBACs, to help empower families on their journeys. She believes in the power of visual storytelling, and how it can be especially healing in birth and the postpartum period.

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She believes strongly that peace begins at birth and continues to help parents find their own inner peace & strength, to have a beautiful, peaceful, empowered birth experience, and uses photography as a tool to empower women and help them process their birth experience.

When she’s not knee-deep in birth, Martha can usually be found reading, in nature, drinking a latte at a café, listening to music, meditating, or photographing her family, or nature, or street photography. Martha is married to Jeffrey, and they a son, Felix, who is now 10 and is her greatest teacher, as well as a rescue pup named Georgia who is the apple of her eye.

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Shea Long - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Shea Long
Photographer / Doula / Mentor
Shea was completing her photography degree in 2013 when she documented her first birth story. The experience was one of the most moving and impactful moments of her life, and she decided that photographing births, and supporting families through their journey to parenthood was how she wanted to spend the rest of her life. She is now an international award winning photographer and doula at Coastal Lifestyles Photography located on beautiful Vancouver Island BC. Her work can be found in many publications such as  Elle Magazine and Today’s Parent, and featured on sites such as Huffington Post, Daily Mail, Positive Birth Movement and many more. 
 
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When she isn’t photographing bumps, birth and babies, Shea can be found hiking and exploring the Pacific Northwest with her partner Greg and their two coonhounds or drinking an earl grey tea in the garden.

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Tamara Milldove - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Tamara Milldove
Award Winning Photographer

I love nothing more than getting behind the lens to capture beautiful moments. Ever since I got my very first camera in college I have been hooked. After the birth of my first son in 2013 I was inspired to capture beautiful moments for other families, I then created Milldove Photography to do exactly that and have been lucky enough to document thousands of special moments since.

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In addition to being recognized for her work as a member of IAPBP, Tamara has been awarded with the following titles:

New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography (NZIPP) Documentary Photographer Of The Year 2015
RISE International 1st place Birth Photographer of the Year 2018
IAPBP Members Choice Best In Category: Postpartum 2018
RISE International 2nd place Birth Photographer of the Year 2019
1st and 2nd place in the Documentary Family Awards, Birth category 2020

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Alexandria Mooney - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Alexandria Mooney
Award Winning Photographer

Alex has been a photographer for over seven years, and a full time birth/family photographer for the past two. Prior to moving her career to just capturing milestones, memories and once-in-a-lifetime moments for families, she was a middle and high school history and technology teacher for eleven years. She truly is living her dream job, capturing those moments for families that happen only once and providing them with memories that will forever be held and remembered.

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Alex is the mama to five kiddos — four here on earth (Patrick, Rosie, Annie and Teddy), one in heaven (Clark) — and a wife to a crime scene investigator in the city of St. Louis, MO. She is an advocate for families facing the same circumstances her family did in 2018 with the loss of their little boy Clark; in addition to being contracted with a local hospital for birth photography, she provides complimentary bereavement photography and birth story services to families facing the same prognosis as Clark did in the St. Louis area.

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Leilani Rogers
Birth Photographer & Educator

Leilani Rogers is an award-winning, veteran birth photographer with a lifetime of experience in the visual arts industry. As the Founder of The Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project and Birthbound Photographer, as well as being named Austin’s Best Birth Photographer for over 6 years, she brings an unparalleled perspective to our 2020 judge panel.

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Growing up in Houston, TX I was raised to appreciate and partake in the arts as much as possible. I spent most of my time in dance and art classes, play rehearsal, the orchestra or violin and viola lessons. In college I received a degree in Viola Performance and Pedagogy, and after years of performing, recording, and teaching, I decided to raise a family. I have 4 kids, ages 13-20 and a husband who encourages me to follow through on all my crazy ideas. These special people have inspired me to pay attention to the little things, find and preserve joy in the day-to-day, and keep on keeping on no matter what. When people ask me how I became a birth photographer, I tell them that it was simply meant to be. My life as a mother and an artist intersected in 2011 when my sister-in-law invited me to document her birth. I photographed a lot of families back then, but that all changed very quickly once I realized my true calling. My love for documenting birth has evolved into a love for teaching birth photography. And when I’m not immersed in that work, I love to entertain, I love plants, and I love goofing around (read: embarrassing) with my kids.

Achievements: Austin’s Best Birth Photographer 2013-2019, Featured on television and in print in The Huffington Post, Midwifery Today, Redbook Magazine, People, FStoppers, CLICK, SELF, Cosmopolitan, ABC News, TODAY, Woman’s Day, and Hello Giggles, Keynote speaker at Off-Call in 2015 and 2017, Instructor at The Baby Summit in 2016, Both finalist and winner in prior IAPBP Image Competitions (2014/2017), Finalist in Lensculture’s Portait of the Year Competition 2017, Exhibited with Lensculture throughout Europe in 2018, Finalist in ClickinMom’s VOICE Collection 2017, Editor’s choice with National Geographic Your Shot’s “The Gift of Life” assignment 2017, 6th place in Birth, Shoot&Share in 2018 Competition, Founder of the Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project Founder of Birthbound Photographer

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Lyndsay Stradtner
Founder - IAPBP

Lyndsay is the Founder of IAPBP as well as the owner and creator at Life in Motion Photography. Her award winning work has been featured in many publications and has brought numerous opportunities to mentor other photographers from around the world. She founded the International Association of Professional Birth Photographers in 2010.

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Since then, she has since worked tirelessly with representatives worldwide to pioneer the beauty of birth photography in the media. She calls Austin, TX home but she currently travels around the U.S. in an RV full-time with her husband, children and dogs.

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Jerusha Sutton - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Jerusha Sutton
Birth Artist / Doula / Filmmaker

Jerusha Sutton is an award winning birth photographer, videographer, doula and filmmaker from Sydney Australia. She first began supporting women in birth as a doula in 2006, and added photography into her offerings in 2012. Jerusha has spent the past 4.5 years co-creating the feature film Birth Time: the documentary, with midwife Jo Hunter and actor Zoe Naylor, due for Australian release in February 2021, with the rest of the world release to follow closely behind.

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The film takes a detailed look at our current maternity system, endeavouring to ask the question, what would it take for women to emerge from their births physically well and emotionally safe?

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Kenda Sutton
Executive Director - Birth In Color

Kenda Sutton-EL is a Birth Justice and Maternal Health Advocate and has over 10 years of experience as a passionate activist. She is the Co-Founder of Birth In Color RVA, a birth collective focused on providing culturally-centered support to pregnant persons, families and the birthing community.

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Kenda also holds the tiles of Holistic Nutritionist, Student Midwife, Certified Lactation Counselor, Perinatal Maternal Mental Health Counselor and Doula. She graduated from Old Dominion University with a BS and is currently attending National College of Midwifery. Kenda has spent more than ten years advocating  in the areas of healthy foods, maternal mortality, reproductive justice, alternative medicine, and nutrition education.  She believes the maternal health care system is systematically broken and Black Women and infants are the most effected. Kenda believes the change starts with us and will continue to create that change by sharing the stories of the women she serves.

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Katie Torres - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Katie Torres
Award Winning Photographer

Katie Torres is a Documentary Family Photographer that has won multiple international awards for her work. She believes in capturing the messy, beautiful and raw truth that makes up a family. Katie is based out of Denver, CO and is a wife and mother to 3 creative, spunky children. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Art and Design at the University of Northern Colorado and her Masters Degree in Family Counseling. Her background in family systems has aided in her success as a photographer by providing knowledge in communicating with families and giving space for emotions and personalities to be documented honestly.

Renate Van Lith - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Renate Van Lith
Founder - De Geboortefotograaf

Renate van Lith is the founder of the Birth & Beyond Photography Awards. She is also a multi-awardwinning birthphotographer from the Amsterdam-area in The Netherlands. Renate won the title of “International Birthphotographer of the Year” at the 2020 Birth Photographer International Image Competition. Her work has appeared and published in many international media, such as The Huffington Post, Metro and the Daily Mail.

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She has started a Dutch online platform for birthphotographers ‘De Geboortefotograaf’ (The Birth Photographer), where Dutch-speaking birth photographers can meet and learn from eachother. She is also on the board of a quality mark for Dutch and Belgian birth photographers. She is very proud of the fact that the first hospitals have started working together with this certification for birth photographers.

In recent years she has trained many birth photographers in the Netherlands and Belgium. Her birth photography workshops are usually fully booked.

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Belle Verdiglione - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Belle Verdiglione
Founder - Camera Queens

Belle Verdiglione is an Australian based creative, founder of the Camera Queens and pioneer in embodied Potent Identity™ Photography. Using her leadership and legacy as the example, Belle personifies what’s possible when we let our most vulnerable edges conceive new levels of creativity that truly change how we see ourselves.

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After 9 years as an award-winning birth photographer, deep personal growth paved a new path in Belle’s professional career, to elevate the power, purpose and potential of creative entrepreneurs and visionaries that bring radical rawness and authenticity to the forefront of our world.

Her work mirror’s her own fierce stand for women’s empowerment, with an importance in celebrating the identity of all women, irrespective of size, culture and age. By emulating what her previous work created for the birthing world, Belle hopes to attract widespread exposure to Potent Identity™ Photography through her role as a speaker and photography coach, to revolutionise how all humans around the world are seen in their intimate stories.

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Jessica Vink - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Jessica Vink
2020 1st Place Winner

Hi, I am Jessica, 36 years old, married, mom of a twelve year old boy and 3 cats. ????  I have been fascinated about birth for all my life. I started my own business in 2013 and birthphotography is what I love to do the most. I live for documentary photography and the first reaction from the parents on my pictures is the fuel that I live on. I am all about making deep connections and sharing my passion. I am really excited to see all of your submissions! Love, Jess

Kristy Visscher - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Kristy Visscher
Award Winning Photographer

Kristy is an award winning photographer based in Victoria, Australia. She thrives on making images / art that portray authentic connections and emotions between people in love – Tousled art for the madly in love. She was a past winner of the postpartum category in the IAPBP Birth Image Competition and continues to shoot many beautiful births, families and weddings.

Natalia Walth 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition
Natalia Walth
2016 IAPBP Winner / Photographer

Natalia has been a birth photographer & videographer for seven years. Prior to starting her business, she was an Air Force Reservist in her “spare time” while simultaneously working for a busy law firm in Los Angeles, CA.

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She is a mother of three girls (one in heaven) and a wife to her God-fearing husband who supplies her caffeine addiction and adds to her laugh lines. Their dream is to travel the U.S. in an Airstream, but she quickly remembers that they have a 100 pound German Shepherd who whines too much.

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Cindy Willems - 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Judge
Cindy Willems
Award Winning Photographer

I think photography is all about the stories we tell, which is why I love birth and documentary photography. I like my job so much that I spend too much time too often at my computer, which my family isn’t always happy about, but luckily they forgive me because they love me. 🙂 I enjoy good conversations, I’m a fan of traveling, I like reading inspirational books, I enjoy dinner with friends and, of course, I love births and babies. And sleep, I really like to sleep. Although, you can certainly wake me up for a birth, then I’ll jump out of my bed immediately!

Judge’s 2021 Competition Winners

Daddy's Girls. 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Winner by Ashley Marston Birth Photography
FIRST PLACE
"Daddy's Girls"
Canada
The Origin Of Life 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Winner by Charlene Foerster
Best In Birth Details
Charlene Förster of Charlene Förster Fotografie
“The Origin Of Life”
Germany
The Greatest Love In The World 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Winner by Anne Lucy Fotografia
Best In Delivery
Anne Lucy Silva Barbosa of Anne Lucy Fotografia
“The Greatest Love In The World”
Brazil
Nourish. 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Winner by Jami Edgar Touch of Hart Photography
Best In Fresh 48
Jami Edgar of  Touch of Hart Photography
“Nourish”
United States
Reach Down. He's Almost Here. 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Winner by Dana Jacobs Photography
Best In Labor
Dana Jacobs of Dana Jacobs Photography
“Reach Down. He's Almost Here.”
United States
My Body, My Birth 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Winner IAPBP Birth Photography Image Competition 2021 Hanna Hill
Best In Postpartum
Hanna Hill of Hanna Hill Photography
"My Body, My Birth"
United States

Members’ Choice 2021 Winner Overall

Members' Choice Awards 2021 Winners

The greatest love in the world | 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Members Choice Winner
Best Overall
Anne Lucy Silva Barbosa of Anne Lucy Fotografia
"The Greatest Love In The World"
Brazil
The origin of life | 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Members Choice Birth Details Winner
Best In Birth Details
Charlene Förster of Charlene Förster Fotografie
“The Origin Of Life"
Germany
Grace | 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Members' Choice Delivery Winner
Best In Delivery
“Grace”
Germany
Nursing A Newborn | 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Members' Choice Fresh 48 Winner
Best In Fresh 48
Carey Lippert of Carey Lauren Photos & Film
"Nursing A Newborn"
United States
Primal Shapes of Birth | 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Members' Choice Labor Winner
Best In Labor
Laura Brink of Rewild Her
"Primal Shapes of Birth"
Australia
Daddy's Girls | 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition Members' Choice Postpartum Winner
Best In Postpartum
Ashley Marston of Ashley Marston Photography
“Daddy's Girls”
Canada

Honorable Mentions

Honorable Mention
Lisa Phillips of Lisa Phillips Photography
"The Strength Within You Is Greater Than Any Storm"
United States
Honorable Mention
Nora Dalmasso of Nora Dalmasso Fotografia
"The Miracle of Life In Your Hands"
Argentina
Honorable Mention
Brittany Knapik of The Birth Story Collective
"You And You And Me"
United States
Honorable Mention
Jessica Henderson of Jessica Henderson Photography
"A Dose of Mother Nature"
Australia
Honorable Mention
Ashley Marston of Ashley Marston Photography
"Home Birth in a Pandemic"
Canada
Honorable Mention
Cat Fancote of Capturing Birth
"A Mother's Guidance"
Australia
Honorable Mention
Lisa Phillips of Lisa Phillips Photography
"Examining Every Detail"
United States
Honorable Mention
"Birthing Queen"
Australia
Honorable Mention
Kate Kennedy of Kate Kennedy Birth Photography
"Welcome Little Woman"
Australia
Honorable Mention
Ashley Marston of Ashley Marston Photography
"When Time Stands Still"
Canada
Honorable Mention
Dana Jacobs of Dana Jacobs Photography
"Of All Our Travels, This Journey Will Be Our Greatest"
United States
Honorable Mention
Rianna Cross of Birthspoke
"Reborn"
Australia
Honorable Mention
Paulina Splechta of Paulina Splechta Photography
"The Journey Traveled For You"
United States
Honorable Mention
Dania Watson of Lauren and Douglas
"Underwater"
Australia
Honorable Mention
Kandyce Wagar of Songbird and Oak Photography
"This Moment 2020"
Canada
Honorable Mention
Laura Brink of Rewild Her
"Erupting into Being"
Australia
Honorable Mention
Rianna Cross of Birthspoke
"Silent Night"
Australia
Giving Back

We are proud to support Black Mamas Matter Alliance with a portion of the proceeds from our 2021 Annual Birth Photography Image Competition.

Black Mamas Matter Alliance 2021 Beneficiary of IAPBP

Black Mamas Matter Alliance is a Black women-led cross-sectoral alliance. We center Black mamas to advocate, drive research, build power, and shift culture for Black maternal health, rights, and justice. We envision a world where Black mamas have the rights, respect, and resources to thrive before, during, and after pregnancy.

Each entry to our 2021 competition will:

“Help deepen the national conversation about Black maternal health in the US; amplify community-driven policy, research, activism, and care solutions; center the voices of Black Mamas, women, families, and stakeholders; and provide a national platform for Black-led entities and efforts on maternal health, birth and reproductive justice.”

Looking for a Birth Photographer or Videographer?

If you would like to find a birth photographer or videographer in your area, please visit our Artist Directory. If you are a birth photographer or videographer and would like to become a member of the IAPBP, you can find out more information on some of our membership benefits and packages on this page.

Artist Directory   Become a Member

Would you like to learn more about Birth Photography or stay in-the-know about our Annual Image Competition?

Please join our email list, we would love to stay in touch!



Thank You to Our Sponsors

Past Competitions

2020 / 2019 / 2018 / 2017 / 2016 / 2015 / 2014 / 2013 / 2012

All 2021 Competition Entries

 

Design Braizen
Development Alchemy + Aim