The social norms around breastfeeding have been changing rapidly in recent years. More and more nursing parents have become comfortable with feeding their children out in the open, celebrating this very beautiful, natural act. They’ve also found another way to celebrate this physical bond with their babies and toddlers, through professional breastfeeding portraits.
SheKnows embarked on a search for the best breastfeeding photography, and the results did not disappoint. Some of the photographers we encountered specialize in newborn portraits, and breastfeeding just comes with the territory. Others are wedding photographers who occasionally branch out. Still others go much deeper with their relationships to parents, combining doula services, lactation consulting, and birth photography, often culminating with breastfeeding portraits as an end result of all their other work.
“Most of what we do in the days and weeks after birth are checking in on families and seeing how breastfeeding is going,” Jess Thomas of Pittsburgh Born Photography tells SheKnows. “Being a birth photographer and doula is an all-encompassing service.”
It’s not always easy or comfortable for the parent of a newborn or a toddler to sit for a photo shoot, so there’s more than one skill involved in taking these pics.
“For moms who have not utilized my support services [as a doula and lactation consultant], we typically spend the beginning of the session getting to know each other and chatting about their motherhood journey so far, their experiences, their challenges, and their dreams and goals,” Jaimie Laki of Little Bear Photography in New Jersey tells us. “By the time their baby is feeling fussy, they’re usually happy for me to document them doing what they do best: soothing their baby. I am a strong advocate for responsive and instinctive parenting, which is another reason documentary photography is so special — we’re rarely aiming for the ‘picture perfect’ moments. Instead, we’re embracing the real. In doing that, I’m able to capture genuine emotions, connections, and relationships.”
As with any other form of photography, there’s a variety of styles of breastfeeding photography. They might be posed against a beautiful backdrop, looking like the angelic subjects of a 19th century painting. Or they could go for a more documentary style.
“I like to think my images are powerful works of art, and when the mothers look back at their shoot, they can FEEL the moment,” Trina Cary, a photographer based in British Columbia, says. “I don’t focus on perfection or ask moms to wear outfits to hide their postpartum body. I encourage moms to get photos done right away before their bump goes away, before they are fit and ‘photo ready,’ because I think it is important to remember all the stages of your pregnancy and love and give gratitude to your body and the beauty that it is. For me rawness and vulnerability are what makes art.”
While the parents in these photos are eager to capture this too-fleeting moment in time with their children, there are still those in the world who object to breastfeeding photography.
“I do think the more popular these kind of images have become to share, the more I see people learning how to be supportive or keep their opinions to themselves,” Zaki says. “Of course, there is still much work to do in making these images normalized, and there is always someone who is still offended. But they are becoming the minority.”
Mother and Child
With this beautiful image, Austrian photographer Verena Panzitt hopes to help normalize extended breastfeeding. “Breastfeeding is not only food for the body, it also feeds soul,” she says. “Society makes breastfeeding in public difficult, especially a toddler. This picture should help to show how great, normal, and beautiful this special connection between a mother and the kid can look like, to make it normal again.”
Nobody Said It Would Be Easy
Photographer Annemarie of Annmarie Lea Geburtsfotografie highlighted this mom’s tandem nursing journey — and the fact that it isn’t always an easy or even pleasant experience, and that’s OK.
Figuring Things Out
This image of the first few precious moments of breastfeeding is from a “beautiful family-centered home birth,” photographer Charlotte Highfield of Little Rose Photography tells SheKnows.
Beautiful Chaos
An entry from the 2022 image competition of the International Association of Professional Birth Photographers (IAPBP), this shot by Carmen Bridgewater of Carmen Bridgewater Photography shows that breastfeeding can be a family affair.
Exhausted But Happy
Birth photographer Charlotte Highfield (Little Rose Photography) captured this blissful moment of post-birth nursing after a home water birth. The relief on this new mama’s face is palpable!
Learning to Latch
German birth photographer Meike Nagorny (Meike Nagorny m.o.m.e.n.t.s.) beautifully captured the valiant attempt to make that important first latch.
Fed is Best
“This woman is amazing,” says photographer Trina Cary. “She is always the first person to jump at an opportunity to empower herself and others. She wanted to do this shoot to show a different angle of feeding your baby, as she used all three methods with hers: breastfeeding, pumping, and formula. We wanted to show the world that you are not ‘lesser’ for having to use alternatives. You are a mother, and you are doing your best.”
Moms are Superheroes
This powerful image by Lyubov Chaykovskaya of Birth Moments is a perfect illustration of a mom doing superhero things. This mother is exhausted from labor and birth, but still managing to offer comfort to her older child. There’s always enough love to go around!
Under the Full Moon in Australia
“I dreamt up this session,” Trina Cary tells us. “It was when I was living in Australia, and I had no idea breastfeeding in public was still such a taboo thing there still. I dreamed of photographing a group of women feeding their babies at full moon with the waves rolling in. It went viral. Local news came and interviewed me, and this image broke down barriers for many mothers to come. It told the world you CAN feed your baby WHEREVER you please and kicked off a global trend for photographers to showcase groups of women feeding their babies. Such a beautiful and powerful movement.”
From a Tent City in India
“I went to India with a friend to shoot for her clothing company,” Trina Cary says. “As we were traveling around Pushkar, women approached us to buy them milk powder for their babies. One woman who seemed to be the leader and spoke decent English grabbed us and motioned the others away. She told us they lived on the outskirts of town in a tent city. I had seen these as we were driving, so I asked if we could come visit. Their shelters were made of discarded sari fabric, most with no tarps during their flood season. This image was of a 15-year-old girl breastfeeding her baby while she made us chai. I remember looking at how beautiful and young she was, recently married, with her first baby … thinking of how different her life was to mine.”
The Baby Who Feeds Anywhere
“I met this woman at a pottery class in Australia when I lived there,” Trina Cary says. “She was at another table, and I knew the second I met her we would create art together one day. Shortly after the class had come to an end, we set a date to shoot at her house. There are ENDLESS photos from this session. This bub could breastfeed anywhere in any position.”
Pure and Real
“I took this image when I was living in Switzerland,” Trina Cary says. “The most genuine woman messaged me wanting me to capture motherhood my way. I was shocked because I did not get a lot of Swiss mothers wanting me to photograph them raw like this. Later I found out it was because she was Greek! She paid for me to take a train to the French part of Switzerland, where I spent the day and night with her and her family documenting their love. It was beautiful and pure and real.”
Fleeting Moments
On Trina Cary’s blog, this mother named Azaria wrote about trying to relish the early days of her second child’s life: “In the in betweens of the early mornings filled with tired eyes, feeling already what seems to be fleeting moments of those tender sweet hours of snuggling my newborn and feeling every wave of emotion at the same time. My body still raw, still tired and that strange feeling of realizing my baby is no longer making its home in me and all that is left is this soft, warm, hormonally discoloured skin, where I can find traces from what was a wild ride the last 9 months.”
“This shoot was all about how fascinating the woman’s body is, and how incredibly beautiful Azaria’s skin was, after going ombre from her pregnancy,” Trina Cary says.
A Special Family Meal
This married couple share breastfeeding of their baby and 3-year-old, but they knew they wouldn’t be able to for much longer and wanted to capture this moment in time, Trina Cary explains. The resulting session actually got her permanently banned from Facebook.
“If I could go back and do this shoot again and again and again, these women, this family,” Cary says. “I am so incredibly honoured to have gotten to photograph them in New York. Their love was so gentle, so kind, so raw, and their story was just beautiful to see. It took guts for them to let me share their session, but their breastfeeding journey was coming to an end and they wanted to document it.”
Sunset Feeding
“We had gone out to do a promotion for our annual breastfeeding event and were about to go home when the sun started to go down and everything turned beautiful,” Jess Thomas told us of this photo of her partner at Pittsburgh Born Photography, Kate Lyons. “Kate has always had no fears breastfeeding in public and has never been uncomfortable taking all the photos I have of her breastfeeding.”
Baby Takes the Lead
“We always let our families know that it’s important to have the baby take the lead in any session,” Jess Thomas says. “We try our best to keep moments candid and genuine. Sometimes we get babies that are not interested at all in feeding, and that’s OK. We have to be patient and take our time. If parent is relaxed, baby will often follow and eventually latch, even if it is for a short time.”
Giving Birth & Giving Comfort at Once
“This laboring mother was so close to having her baby,” Jess Thomas recalls. “She was probably 7-9 cm dilated at this point. As she became more vocal and needed to focus on herself, her little one asked for her comfort. Instead of pushing her away and telling someone to take her away, she let her first-born climb up to the bed and nurse for a bit. She had the baby less than an hour after this moment. This is one of my favorite moments in birth ever.”
Moms of Pittsburgh
“This was our annual breastfeeding group photo in downtown Pittsburgh,” Jess Thomas explains. “We had such an amazing response from the previous year that we had to do it again. All the families who participated had different stories. In our intake forms to register, we always ask for families to tell us their breastfeeding journey stories. They are often so inspiring and we love reading them. It makes the photo we do every year even more special to us and that what we are doing matters. We couldn’t do a photo for 2020, and it broke our hearts.”
Aerial Shot
“This was a former birth client of ours who had been disappointed she could never make it out to our big breastfeeding events any year,” Jess Thomas recalls. “I asked her if she wanted to do a private session and she said yes. She had a wonderful breastfeeding experience with her first and is currently on the second go around with her newest addition.”
A Bridge to Everywhere
“My partner and I had big dreams doing this photo and it lived up to what we hoped it would be,” Jess Thomas says. “The day of the session there was a big downpour, Pittsburgh style. I was literally walking to the spot in heavy rain and my umbrella trying to fly away from me. Then the clouds parted, and the beautiful blue sky peaked through. It got a lot of response in our community, and we loved doing this photo shoot. It is one of my favorite days as a photographer.”
Giving Tandem a Try
“This mother had barely given birth and was newly figuring out tandem breastfeeding. It’s always so fun to capture tiny babies and their older siblings feeding together.” — Jess Thomas
A Tandem Pro
“This parent was super confident and experienced in her tandem feeding,” Jess Thomas says. “We knew her from our birth community as a doula. We are always so happy when our fellow colleagues want to participate or hire us for any of our photography. I don’t think we would often see tandem nursing years ago when I had my firstborn nine years ago. I think with the internet and groups, a lot of families can connect with one another now.”
The First Latch
“Most of what my partner and I do is birth. We are always there assisting with that first latch. Sometimes parents and babies need a lot of help and assisting. Sometimes babies latch on right away with very little maneuvering.” — Jess Thomas
A Latch of Joy
“I love capturing a good latch, and especially a latch the parent is also thrilled about!” Jess Thomas says. “These two moms were so happy their new baby latched with ease and that our bodies can do the most incredible things. There is so much joy in these kinds of moments.”
The Public Breastfeeding Warrior
“In 2019, Olivia was publicly shamed for nursing her baby in a pizza restaurant in Gettysburg, PA,” Jaimie Zaki of Little Bear Photography tells us. “When she went public with her story, she became the target of many people who do not believe mothers should always nurse out of sight and therefore decided to organize a public nurse-in. Unfortunately the restaurant was closed, so instead, a group of mothers gathered to protest on the street. I went to high school with Olivia, so as a friend and fellow mother, I chose to gift her a breastfeeding photo shoot to celebrate her bravery and strong stance to speak up, so other mothers can feel empowered to just nurse their babies anywhere they have the legal right without being attacked.”
When Your Photographer Is a Lactation Consultant
“Shelby hired me to document a ‘Fresh 48’ session the day after her baby was born,” Jaimie Zaki says. “Many mothers love these sessions because you get to capture the cute little whisps of newborn hair and that squished up face. During the session, Shelby was having a hard time getting the hang of nursing (like most new mothers), and I asked if I could offer a few tips. I donned my lactation consultant hat in the middle of our session and guided her through latching in the football hold. This photo was shortly after getting her first easy, comfortable latch, and she was so excited!”
The Gift of Easy Labor
“I was Deevy’s doula and birth photographer, but I missed her birth by about 15 minutes,” Jaimie Zaki says. “Deevy had what we call ‘precipitous labor.’ She was experiencing signs of early labor when she called me to start heading in her direction, shortly after the call, her water broke. Her husband got her to the car and she began pushing on the short drive to the hospital. When she arrived to her room, her baby was already crowning before she got into the bed. The most amazing part? She was SO thrilled with that birth experience because she got everything she wanted: support from her family, low/no intervention, and a short labor. Her attitude leading up to birth was one of pure confidence, and witnessing her joy immediately afterward as she bonded with her baby was an honor like no other.”
Baby Brother’s Homecoming
“This image was from the first mother I worked with after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Jaimie Zaki says. “She planned an out-of-hospital birth … [but] as COVID restrictions began occurring in hospitals, she found out she would have to transfer care to the hospital for health concerns, and I would not be allowed in to support her as her doula or photographer. Worse? It would be days before she’d be able to introduce her new baby (surprise gender) to these three big sisters. She kept the secret for the few days at the hospital, and then I documented her ‘coming home’ story, where she introduced a baby BROTHER to his sisters. I love this image because as newborns do, he quickly wanted to nurse and there was no hesitation from the sisters to continue admiring him, asking questions about nursing, and loving on their brother. This image is not just powerful because of the story behind it, but because of what it is for the future: This is normalizing breastfeeding for future generations.”
Marking a Milestone of Breastfeeding
“Typically the breastfeeding photos just happen as part of a birth or newborn lifestyle session,” Jaimie Zaki says. “But this Mama Bear reached out to me to document her achieving her goal of one year of breastfeeding — something that, a year prior when I met her, felt so unreachable to her. Being able to work with a mom and see the transformation from uncertain new mother to confident fierce Mama Bear is one of the most special parts of the work I do. This image to me speaks of the peace, comfort, and love experienced during these moments with her baby, where there used to be feelings stress and worry.”
Empowered Mama, Empowered Child
Photographer Molly Grunewald took this photo as part of her Women’s Empowerment Boudoir shoot in Detroit in 2020. In the accompanying blog post, subject Marisa doesn’t mention breastfeeding but instead of how she came to embrace her alopecia after a life of fighting it: “I needed to figure out how to love myself regardless of how much hair I had. So here I am at 27 years old, working every single day on not only my own self-love, but whoever else needs just a little bit more too. I want my son to see his mama live her most authentic life and feel safe to live his also, whatever that may look like.”
Mama’s Perspective
Anna Ginda of Ginda Photography in Chicago is typically a wedding photographer, but she branched out into breastfeeding portraits to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week in 2016.
The Golden Hour
German photographer Miriam Allermann of Kids in Frames captured this heartwarming after-birth shot of Baby’s furry “sibling” sweetly supervising the first breastfeeding moments.
A Crowning Moment
“I just love documenting breastfeeding journeys. They are very special to me and I also think that it deserves to be shown more in our society.” — Anna Ginda
Making Tandem Look Easy
Not only can she feed two babies at once, but this mom also braves doing so without diaper protection!
Dressing Up for Dinner
“Breastfeeding has a face. It’s personal. And these women are proud to show it.” — Anna Ginda
A Pastoral Scene
Anna Ginda wanted to take these photos “to support breastfeeding which improves the health, wellbeing and survival of women and children around the world.”
All Gowns Should Have Breastfeeding Access
Who says nursing parents can’t do it in style?
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