Vuefinder Photography

I can’t say enough good things about Catie and her amazing talent! We hired her for the birth of our second baby, this time a planned home birth. I knew Catie was the perfect fit from the first time we chatted. She is such a warm, kind soul and I was so excited to have her on my «birth team.»
Catie and I kept in touch throughout my pregnancy, and with my history of fast labor I promised to keep her updated on every detail leading up to my delivery. At 38 weeks, I was having some signs of labor, and passed that info on to Catie even though I was in denial myself. Catie’s intuition told her that I was probably in labor, and she made preparations to come to our house. All of a sudden, my husband and I found ourselves alone and the baby was coming. With no midwife there yet, I was panicked, but then Catie arrived and came in my room. She immediately began shooting (I had requested photos of the pushing stage) but also offered such calm reassurance to me as my baby was being born. I was SO GLAD she was there, as everything happened so fast it was so nice to have a «mother figure» there cheering me on and reassuring me that everything would be ok. Thankfully my midwife arrived in time to catch the baby and everything went very smoothly, meanwhile Catie captured the whole journey for us! She stayed hours after the birth and photographed our new daughter, the birth team, our first moments as a family, etc. She felt like part of our family by the time she left!
I got a sneak peek of some images just days after the birth, and a beautiful DVD slideshow and the rest of the edited images a week later. Catie drove up to our house and watched them with us, which was such a neat experience. We were thrilled with the images and beyond relieved that she arrived in the nick of time to capture the birth!
Thank you, Catie for your beautiful photos, and your big heart! I’ll never forget having you there when I needed support the most!

I am so glad we had Catie be there for the birth of our second son. You can tell that she really does love what she does and you can totally see it in her beautiful work. I’m sad that i didnt get to have her with us on the birth of our first son, but for sure I will be calling her when we decide to have baby #3! Thank you Catie for your passion, dedication and love for your work. The G. fam couldn’t be happier. :)
oh yes and she is a hugger which is awesome since I’m one too :):)

From the Father:
I was skeptical at first. I didn’t want anyone extra in the room and I thought I could take plenty of great photos, wrong! I was super busy! I couldn’t have done in a 10 births what Catie did for us. Her experience brought forth an amazing slideshow that incorporated short videos sewn in seamlessly.
Catie should be very proud of what she does, but she remains humble and unobtrusive.
If you planned on just taping it all with a phone, or video camera? Think again, its way too long and the critical times to set it up, are when the mother to be needs you most.
Boy are we happy with the result. We shattered the previous time record with 28 hours of Catie in or around the event. Friday night to Sunday morning. Talk about dedication. But it was worth it. The first look… mom’s blissful smile… my stoic demeanor broken down by emotion.
Thank you Catie, words are not enough.
ps. she smells really good.

Catie is just the best. As a photographer myself, I knew I wanted pictures during my labor and delivery. I thought about having my mom or husband snap a few with my camera but ultimately decided that it would be adding a little too much stress to the situation and it would take away from everyone’s ability to be present in the moment. I wasn’t in love with the idea of a «stranger”/photographer in the delivery room with me, especially as a first time mom who didn’t even really know what was involved in giving birth. But, my gut told me to give Catie a call and I’m so glad I did. After we chatted on the phone, she came over to my home for a consultation we chatted some more. I knew in the first few moments that it was going to be a great fit. Catie is just about the sweetest, warmest person on the planet. I went to the hospital a little after midnight and Catie met us there shortly after. She takes being on call for your birth VERY seriously. The baby didn’t arrive until 3pm the next day, but Catie stayed and documented the entire labor and delivery. She was also an invaluable resource for me to be able to ask questions throughout the process. She’s extremely knowledgable about all things birth related. Best of all, she captured some gorgeous memories for us that we will cherish of our little one joining the world. Watching the slideshow she created for us was awesome as the whole labor and delivery time was quite a blur. We love our images and couldn’t imagine not having Catie as our birth photographer. Thank you, Catie!

Catie is more than just an amazing photographer; she’s an amazing human being. I was so excited and nervous about having an in-​home lifestyle session. I ran through the laundry list of insecurities I had about our home, about our kids, about my body, about everyone’s ability to not act like wild animals in front of everyone. I finally decided to just embrace the way we are, since that’s what I really wanted. When the day of our session rolled around, Catie came over and did exactly the same. She just embraced us. She cherished my kids, engaged my daughter in conversation, was gentle and easy to approach and just be around. My husband, who hates being photographed, even said our session was «totally painless.» Thats huge. HUGE. When it was time to wrap things up, my daughter asked whether Catie could come back for a sleepover. I probably don’t even have to tell you that the photos were spectacular, but they really, really were. I love having this time in our lives, when the kids are little, when we’re still figuring out what it means to be a family of four, to have it trapped in amber to revisit as we change and grow. The images Catie made for us will be a treasure to our family for generations. Thank you again for this incredible gift.

I am a Doula and have seen Catie in action as well as known several moms whose births she has photographed. Her photographic skill and timing are excellent. I always look forward to being at a birth that Catie is the photographer, and would definetly recommend her!

Catie is not only amazing at what she does, but she’s got a huge heart and has turned into a great friend after she shot my daughter’s birth in November of 2011. I was very particular about what I was looking for, and she went above and beyond what I expected. Catie is the ONLY person I would trust to photograph my birth. She gets every moment without being intrusive, and ensures you never forget the special moments of one of the most important days of your life.
I can honestly say I would hire her again in a heartbeat, and I can’t imagine anyone NOT having Catie at their birth. She’s outstanding!

I met Catie while I was pregnant with my surrogate baby in 2012 at a San Diego Birth Network open house. We immediately clicked and kept seeing each other at birth events, as I am a doula in the community as well. When she found out I was a surrogate, she nearly jumped for joy thinking about what the birth experience would be like. After seeing some of her previous work, I knew I had to ask my intended parents (IP’s) if it was something they would be interested in. We agreed they would meet her first, and see how comfortable they were with the idea. Once they saw her work, they knew there was no way we could NOT have her! She was fantastic with keeping everyone as comfortable as possible through out the whole pre-​birth process, as this was not your typical birthing experience.
Speaking as the laboring woman, I could not have been more comfortable with Catie through the entire birthing process. She knows exactly how to get the shot in the hospital while not disturbing mom, birth partner, nurses or doctor/​midwife. THAT is worth her weight in gold!
I am a year postpartum, and I still go back to look at my pictures all the time. I was too busy in laborland that I missed a lot of what was going on around me. To be able to go back and see all the amazing support and love that surrounded me while I was giving birth is absolutely priceless. Catie will forever be a special person in my heart and will photograph all the rest of the babies I have!
HIRE CATIE, you will not regret it!