I'm a little bit go with the flow, a little bit obsessed with to-do lists and a lot about embracing what is.
I'll leave the perfectly posed, forced-smile photos to Glamor Shots and the Sears Catalog. I'm here for images that show birth, life, love, connection and reality, because when I look back at my family, that's exactly what I want to see.
Let's get real.
Over the years I've worked as a crime journalist, an advocate, and EMT, a firefighter and a deputy coroner. Motherhood toned all that down a bit, but I still love true crime.
I'm fascinated by the Macabre
I was a competitive swimmer for most of my early years. I LOVE water. But what I don't love is not being able to see what is in the water beneath me. If it's not clear, I'm out.
I'm terrified of unclear water
I'm rigorous about keeping my home tidy, but I love when my kids come in covered in dirt. Maybe it's nostalgia, but there's just something special about kids being kids.
Give me a clean house & dirty kids
Three things about me!
I can hear you thinking, "DUH, Lindsey! You have a new baby, of course your life will change." And yeah, that's totally true.
But it's also not what I mean.
Giving birth will change how you feel about yourself, how you see yourself as a human on Earth, how you relate to the people around you and how you cope with the trials of motherhood.
You deserve to be seen, heard and understood as you navigate pregnancy, birth and postpartum. You deserve to have authority over what happens to your body and your baby.
You deserve to walk away from your birth experience feeling like the most powerful woman on the planet, ready to take on all the unknowns of caring for the small human who now holds every bit of your heart in their scrunched up little hands.
So I'll get this out front: If you want to work with me, you'll have homework. You cannot be empowered in birth without knowledge. You cannot be bold and stand against the routine practices of any system unless you know how that system works. And you cannot trust your intuition or your decisions if you're still listening to messages whispering words of brokeness, incompetence, failure and fear.
P.S. YOU deliver you baby. Anyone else is just catching. So take the credit mama, you deserve it.
Giving birth will change your life.
Image by Lauren Manley, LM Documentaries
Well, first, my daughter's glasses aren't real (but they sure are cute).
I also love fly-fishing but not for the actual catching. I'm just as happy walking along the stream watching someone else. It's more about being outside than anything. Don't tell my dad, though.
All jokes aside, I don't have many secrets. When you do work like this, you have to come as you are, be who you are and set your own stuff aside in service of women who are in places more vulnerable than you.
There's nothing else I'd rather do than serve women in birth, but it's no small feat leaving my kids at all hours and not being able to tell them when I'll be back. Thankfully, they're getting the hang of it and our "Your Mommy is a Birth Photographer" book really helps! For me, I relish the birth space and its ability to help me separate from the real world and be fully present in the moment.
You kept reading! Yay!
My favorite place...
My average book-load is 15 per year, but I've been as high as 32. Reading is my perfect getaway, a chance to learn new things, to understand a different perspective and to experience a life that isn't mine for a few minutes before I fall asleep.
all-time Favorite:
Birth must-read:
Most-recent favorite:
"The Giver", Lois Lowry
"Birth Control: The Insidious Power of Men Over Motherhood", Allison Yarrow
"Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family", Robert Kokher
Lindsey is a photographer, birth advocate, doula and single mother of three. She began her career as an award-winning multi-media journalist covering crime and breaking news. Lindsey later shifted into advocacy for survivors of domestic and sexual violence while continuing to create imagery as a creative outlet.
After photographing the birth of her oldest daughter, Lindsey recognized the healing potential of birth imagery for mothers navigating the postpartum period. In 2018, she founded Wild Ember Birth to fully immerse herself in this medium. Lindsey later teamed up with her mentee, Lauren Manley, to establish The Montana Birth Collective. Their organization aims to expand birth options and foster a community-centered approach to birthwork. Lindsey and Lauren now train "Documenting Doulas," guiding them toward meaningful and enduring careers.
Lindsey's work as a birth photographer and educator, has garnered recognition and speaking engagements from prestigious organizations such as the International Association of Professional Birth Photographers and Birth Becomes You. She is the recipient of multiple international awards, including commendations as a finalist in the Documentary Family Awards and Birth Photographer of the Year. Lindsey's work has been published in Everyday Birth Magazine and featured on Today, Huffpost, Romper, What to Expect. & Buzzfeed.
While birth remains her primary focus, Lindsey continues to capture the essence of families, couples and women, utilizing connection and emotion to create timeless and artistic heirlooms.