Happy birth day, baby Ben

This was probably the most amazing thing I’ve ever witnessed. Not just photographed, but seen. To be invited to baby Benjamin’s birth (okay, I kind of invited myself, but they were kind enough to say yes) was one of my biggest assignments ever. I packed my hospital bag and had it with me in the car at all times, and felt almost as excited and nervous and anxious as I did when I was having each of my own three kids.

The labor and delivery were so, so beautiful.

The parents were so relaxed that they were watching the “Bachelor Pad” all the way until 9 c.m. Thank the Lord for epidurals, am I right? And afterwards, when perfect baby Benjamin was resting on his mom’s chest, and her dark hair fell around her shoulders as she looked down at him, Dad said, “You look like one of those moms in the movies, where you watch it and say, ‘There’s no way people look like that after they just had a baby.'”

And I said to him, “Your wife does.”

And he smiled.

I can’t thank the parents enough for trusting me to be with them during one of the most intimate and extraordinary moments of their lives. I thought, every second I was there, how lucky I was to be invited into the fold of their little family for those few hours. I hope that they feel lucky to have these images to remember the day they met their Little Ben.