Birth photography

Birth photography in it’s most simple form is professional photography of the entire process of your labouring, active delivery and the moments after baby’s arrival.

Contrary to some preconceptions, birth photography is not graphic or crude and is much more often beautiful and poignant. Some women prefer that shots such as baby crowning and other action shots are captured, whereas others may prefer a less graphic style. My role is to capture whatever is happening, I am the documentarian to your beautiful birth and aim to capture it in the most authentic way. You may not realise what you want to see, until the moment has already passed. I give you this freedom to reflect.

I stay for sometime following you little ones arrival, photographing those sweet early moments of cutting the cord, first feeding, first bonding moments with parents, measurements and sweet first meetings with siblings, joyous grandparents and immediate family- these are captured where possible.

I am on-call from 37 weeks for you, and you will have access to the phone number for the ‘birth phone’, until the time baby decides to arrive. My birth phone is a dedicated birth mobile phone only available to birth clients, which is kept on me at all times. Calls to the birth phone mean I spring into action, postponing all other activities including shoots, meetings and personal activities to join you at hospital.

We have several photographers, all working in the same, quiet and calm manner to ensure if I can’t make it for any reason, we have a backup plan. We do not create separate galleries to show styles of each of our work, as we are a team, and our style is so similar, you wouldn’t know the difference between each staff.

Your birth photography package includes our extensive time being oncall for your birth, your birth photographs presented in a secure online gallery, be ready to love, cry and cherish your birth forever – downloadable high resolution gallery available 1 week after your birth. Your birth photography collection is $2800

Caesarean deliveries are often no go zones for birth photographers, but not always. It’s important to have open communication and great relationships, which I’ve built over my nearly decade of experience with birth photography. I have amazing relationships with so many of Melbourne’s obstetricians, midwives and hospital administrative staff that I have been blessed to join many of my clients in surgical theatres for deliveries as you can see from my birth gallery. This type of birth needs to be given the written ok from your hospital and obstetrician. Public hospitals generally do not allow an additional support person in the theatre, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Emergency ceasarean situations are different and it’s unlikely that birth photographers are permitted. In the occasions where this occurs after we can captured the labouring process, I will give your support person to be a crash course in my camera, switch everything over to automatic and pass along the camera to capture what they can. The key at this point is a healthy baby and supported Mum, so I focus on capturing the happy moments with a proud partner delivering skin-to-skin while Mum is in recovery, then the happy time after Mum returns and all the beautiful moments. Some of these chaotic birth stories are my favourite once everything is put together because of the mad scramble and the beautiful happy outcomes at the end and it shows in the emotion afterwards.

Through all the births I’ve been blessed to be a part of over 10 years, I have missed under 10 births and these were due to very eager babies who arrived within 30 minutes of my receieving the call on the birth phone, before I could get to the hospital. It’s rare, but it happens. One occurred 10 minutes after I received the first call, Mum didn’t feel like she was in labour.

Even in these circumstances, we captured beautiful photography with the shocked Mum and Dad and the bemused hospital staff, and focused on the amazing moments after arrival. With me arriving to the clients as soon as possible.

I too have small children, and with all the day to day photography we capture for families, I ask to be given notice of any changes in your body at all. Mucus plug, tightening of belly, any small changes. I try to move quickly once I know where you are at, but don’t leave letting me know until you are ready to go to hospital!