No filter: Forget cute Instagram baby pics - this is what we all looked like seconds after birth.

And there’s not a cute hat or a bunny blanket in sight.

Far from the censored archives of rosy-cheeked Instagram bubs, one photographer has managed to capture the raw state of our first few moments on earth.

The images, taken by French photographer Christian Berthelot, were of newborns between three and 18 seconds after they entered the world via caesarian section. They are, quite simply, captivating.

The powerful series titled, ‘Cesar,’ was inspired by the Caesarean section birth of Berthelot’s first child. He states, “When I saw [my son] for the first time, he was bloodied and covered in this white substance called vernix. He was like a warrior who has just won his first battle, like an angel out of darkness. What a joy to hear him scream.”

Read more: The beautiful motherhood photos that were banned from social media.

Berthelot’s humbling subjects seem to raise their fists in triumph, revel in joy and experience deep pain, while others in the words of the artist, “do not yet appear to belong to the world of the living.”

So far, a remarkable 40 children have been captured in their first journey into life. Take a peek at these amazing performances of human life for yourself…

To gain access to the newborns featured in ‘Cesar,’ Berthelot worked with obstetrician Jean-Francois Morievnal, and the mothers of the newborns, to produce this beautiful exhibition. Stunning, right?

Christian Berthelot was born in 1976. He lives and works in Brittany. In 2002, he obtained a professional qualification in photography and he became a show photographer for various theater and dance companies. In 2012, through a meeting with an obstetrician, he discovered the world of the operating theater and of childbirth.

The CESAR series will be shown in France during the Festival Circulations’ Festival Circulation (s) Exhibition from January 24 to March 8, 2015 at CENTQUATRE – PARIS and 5 rue Curial in Paris (19th district)  FRANCE. Find out more here, or view more of Christian Berthelot’s work here.

Would you allow a photographer to capture your child’s first breaths?