By Carol Mowdy Bond
Contributing Writer
Before COVID-19, birth photography was booming in Oklahoma and across the globe. The desire and demand are still there. However, most hospitals have restricted moms to only one support person during the pandemic. But this changed about a month ago, when hospitals began allowing two support people in the rooms with moms.
Mustang resident Tavia Redburn is the 30-something owner of Tavia Redburn Photography, 501 S. Mustang Road in Yukon. Redburn photographs new motherhood including birth and newborn. She’s well known for her superior photography. And she has an additional photographer on her team who shoots births, maternity, and outdoor sessions.
Redburn said, “Before the pandemic, lots and lots of moms were finding out about birth photography for the first time, and choosing to hire a birth photographer. For us personally, we are still booking our normal number of births, with a contingency plan for the client if we’re not allowed in the hospital room. Anything could change at any time, but our clients still want to have a birth photographer if possible. We have had to miss several births this year, and two in just the last ten days because we weren’t allowed in the hospital rooms. That’s really devastating for moms, because you don’t get a second chance to have your birth professionally photographed.”
“Our portrait business is as strong as ever! The pandemic has had no effect on it,” said Redburn.
Serving around 80 to 100 families annually through birth and portraits, Redburn said, “We offer a customized experience for each of our clients. In birth photography, there is nothing like photographing a mom or dad or grandparent’s face the first time they see that baby. That little person they’ve been waiting nine plus months to meet. We always say, the day your baby is born is a lot like your wedding day! You plan and plan and then POOF it’s over! And most people don’t think to have their birth photographed. But every family we’ve served is SO thankful after the fact that we were there to take professional photos.”
Born in Oklahoma City, Redburn, who became interested in photography in 2009, first got a studio space in Oklahoma City’s Plaza District in 2015. “We stayed there until we moved to our current space in Yukon in January 2019,” Redburn said. “2016 was the first year I was fully booked with birth photography clients. I developed a marketing system that, when repeated, would get me all the clients I needed and wanted. I photographed 28 births that year.”
Experiencing a meteoric financial rise to success, Redburn said, “In June 2018, my photography studio was earning enough income to support my family of five, and my husband Philip was able to quit his 9 to 5 corporate job to pursue acting and film-making. Also, in 2018, I opened my online business, The Beauty in Birth, to help other birth photographers learn my marketing system, so they could get more clients and get fully booked. I have a team to help with my online community and customer service. We have now served over 100 birth photographers all over the world, and opened enrollment again this year on January 21 to welcome another 125 students. And we help literally thousands of birth photographers all over the world grow their businesses through our YouTube channel youtube.com/c/thebeautyinbirthbytaviaredburn.”
Connect with Tavia on the web at taviaredburnphotography.com or on Facebook at Tavia Redburn Photography.
