What it Means to be a Black Birth Photographer in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas

Carmen Bridgewater, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital, Fort Worth 2021

Right before I received my birth photography certification, I was asked to complete an artists statement. What is an artist statement? How do I put into words something that rests so heavy on my heart?

I thought about why I considered birth photography in the first place, after being a wedding and portrait photographer for 8+ years. Why birth? Why now?

There is a great migration happening right now of Black women back to Black birthing spaces. You can read about why here if you’d like. Black birthing people need safe spaces. Spaces where nobody will violate our trust, our bodies, or our wishes. Spaces that feel like warmth and safety. In a room full of Black women, we have nothing to prove.

I sat with these truths for a while, debating on whether to put my thoughts to paper or say something that I know would feel safe to my peers. Would I be labeling myself as “the controversial black girl?” Would I be putting myself in a box? I still don’t know the answers to those questions so I wrote the first thing that came to mind.

Tiffany Dickerson and Dallas doula Eve Akins, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital

My artist statement reads:

I am a queer Black woman and birth photographer from the Midwest creating provocative art below the Mason-Dixon line. My work begs to highlight the truth that Black women do have magical birthing experiences in light of the harrowing statistics that face us. I often photograph Black women with an all-Black birth team and supportive partners. Documenting these intimate events shows how cultural sensitivity alters these profound birthing experiences for the good.

I am inspired by Black women and how we interact with the world around us; how we both challenge societal views of us as well as reclaim negative stereotypes as our own.

I have no ulterior motive when photographing these families which leads to an unaltered theme throughout my work. My art is boldly political and beautifully subversive.

So, what does it mean to be a black birth photographer? Time magazine puts it best when writing “African Americans were among the first photographers in the United States. Some white photographers created sympathetic portraits of black people, however, black photographers shared a personal stake in portraying black subjects respectfully, and in affirming the worth not only of each person, but of the entire race.”

I am honored to wholly affirm the worth of the people I serve.