Today we’d like to introduce you to Bethany McGough.
Hi Bethany, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I guess I would say there are a couple main things that got me to my niche today. To start, I was blessed to have grown up homeschooled on a dairy goat farm. My siblings and I would always be running around with a cheap digital camera, taking pictures and making home movies. It was just silly stuff, but little did we know we were actually getting a lot of practice in a now very relevant trade. I was probably 16 or so when I invested in my first ‘nice’ DSLR camera. My main subjects at first would be the farm animals, with an occasional photoshoot friends would hire me for.
Which leads me to the goats- this is where my intrigue in birth started. I just loved watching, and helping deliver ‘kids’ over the years. The long nights in wait never seemed to bother me- it was well worth it when the “kid” finally arrived.
Fast forward to when I turned 18. I was debating what to do with my life. I had animal experience and an interest in doing something medical, which made me consider going down a veterinarian path. However, I really wanted to work with humans. Birth is what really interested me, so I enrolled in school to become a midwife. Funny enough, midwifery (for humans) was not very familiar to me. I knew of a couple midwives, and had a friend who was born at home, but that was about the extent of it.
The first 2 years of schooling was all academics, book work, and I had yet to actually see a baby be born. I continued slowly picking up more photography gigs on the side, ranging from family shoots to weddings & events. By the 3rd year I finally started my midwifery apprenticeship at a birth center and got to start actually attend births. Wow, and I thought just the goat births were amazing. Watching an actual human-being be born was another level of awe- truly a miracle!
While most of the births I attended were in the role of assisting as a student midwife, there were others where I was able to be just the photographer. Some paid, and some just for experience. Finally this is where my two interests merged. I can not only attend the most beautifully moving moment of birth, but capture this moment in time through photos and video. While most of the time I prefer doing photos over video, this is one area where I can’t wait to get home with the footage and create a keepsake video to send back to the new parents. To remember the labor, the birth, and the love in that day.
Almost 5yrs in, towards the end of my training, I chose not to pursue certification in midwifery further for a combination of reasons. However, that experience was invaluable and has taught me to be a better photographer when showing up for a pregnancy, birth, or even newborn photoshoots. While I still do other types of shoots as well, birth is by far my favorite and most fulfilling. Over the years I’ve had the honor of attending (in one role or another) approximately 140+ births in hospitals, birth centers, and at homes. One of the more recent births being my very own! God graciously blessed me and my husband with our very own precious baby girl In July 2025, born at home.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Yes and no. Photography in general has been pretty straightforward- there’s been some investing time and resources into the trade since I was a teenager. Hours upon hours of learning from books and free online classes. Nothing too out of the ordinary for a photographer.
When it comes to birth photography specifically- you could say I took the long route to get there since I initially went in to the “birth-world” to become a midwife, not to get into birth photography. However it also gave me opportunities and connections that I wouldn’t have had otherwise which I’m grateful for. The thing you need to remember with births is that you are on call 24/7 from 37 weeks pregnant until the baby is born, which can be up to 42 weeks! Mentally knowing you could get called at any moment can be stressful at times. Additionally, most births occur at night, so It’s easy to burn-out doing multiple births a month all year round like when I was in school. Some births would be quick, and some would take 24+ hours. You may or may not have had a chance to grab some food before leaving the house, so you may be running on coffee until you leave the birth. In moderation not a big deal. However, too much really started affecting my health, flaring my autoimmune disease (RA) pretty badly. On the plus side, I got on the fast-track learning the birth space, and got to witness so many amazing mom’s bring their babes into the world.
These days are more my speed. I might do a couple births a year, and various other types of shoots all throughout. Though I wouldn’t mind doing a handful more births a year, I really don’t want to live my life on call 24/7 at all times. Especially being a new mom, moderation is key! That’s what’s nice about photography – you get diversity in types of shoots. I like to say, I can be your photographer throughout all your life stages: Engagement, marriage, maternity, birth, newborn, and everything after that!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about HamilTwin Media?
HamilTwin Media is a photography business run by myself, Bethany (Hamilton) McGough. HamilTwin Media covers everything from family, seniors, weddings, events, and even birth. Birth photography is definitely the most niche aspect of the trade, and something I love to do. The birth space is not like walking into any other shoot. You aren’t giving instructions and posing people. You instead do a lot of waiting & reading the room. You often have very little light to work with, and have to be mindful not to disrupt the laboring mom with a bright flash every few seconds. The knowledge and experience to shoot in that type of environment is what an experienced birth photographer brings to the table. With over 140 birth under my belt, attending in various roles, my goal is to provide the best quality images and videos with as little distraction as possible.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Fort Worth seems to just have everything you need! Dislikes? Hmm construction. Seems like there’s always construction going on.
Contact Info:
- Website: Hamiltwinmedia.mypixieset.com
