Book a birth photographer you trust. 
The trust allows you to let your guard down and be free to be yourself in the photographers presence. 
The trust allows you to focus on your thoughts and feelings without putting on a show for the camera. 
The trust allows magic like this to happen. Unscripted, unguided, guards down, just the connection of two beings as they bring their new life in to the world. 

This is the second birth I have had the honour of  capturing for Clair and Ben.  I feel like no words are enough to describe their story so happy viewing. 

This video is in HD, if it won't load for you please click this link to view a smaller file size. Please note the lower resolution is not a true representation of my work. 

Image credited to @documentingmotherhood for the couple of images that I am in during this video. 

If you are thinking about having your birth story captured, please hit the contact tab and get in touch. 2020 is booking fast with a couple of months already booked out. x

Let me tell you a little tale. 
I am going to be real. I am going to be vulnerable. 
This line right here, below my belly button and above my pubic bone is where my babies come from, all 5 of them and this is why I am so passionate about your birth story. 

I was young when I had my first, it is only now that I realise just how young. I was young and filled with fear. Fear of birth, fear of Motherhood, fear of the unknown and hey I'll admit it fearful I would poop in labour. 

I laboured in the tiny 'prep' room, a windowless room with a bed, bench, shower and toilet. Two mothers came in to the birthing suite across the hall, laboured and went to their rooms all while I was still fearfully trying to get my baby out. I remember looking to my now husband and saying "I can't do that" as I heard a Mother all to clearly bring her baby earthside. 

Hours passed. 10cm and I pushed. Pushed and pushed some more. Next thing I know I was being prepped for  surgery, spinal, forceps and force. It was a blur flashing before my eyes all while willing him to just come out. He wouldn't. Why? I still to this day do not have an answer but it set the tone for how the rest of my births went. 
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18 months later I waddled back in to that same hospital and back in to that all to familiar prep room. I was again filled with fear but this time it was a new fear, I would "fail' again. 1 minute contractions, one minute apart. I hadn't been educated on VBAC, I didn't trust my body and I didn't believe in myself. I was far from empowered. Off to theatre I go again. 

The next morning I was asked something that has clearly stuck with me today. " What happened? Did you chicken out?". Well yes I did. I actually did. 

By the time baby number 3 is on the way it was deemed a caesarian was the safest way for me to deliver. 

As time moves on I heal a little more, with each birth I witness I process a little deeper. Heck, Ive has 5 caesarians thats pretty bad ass and rule breakery. I do question and wonder how my story would have played out if I knew then what I know today. Like you are allergic to morphine don't wait until c-section number 5 realise that and recovery freakin sucks, take it slow and your body will thank you afterwards and c-setions is so far from the easy way out and use your voice even when it shakes to get the questions you need to know the answers to.

I have 5 healthy, loving, kind, hilarious, strong-willed, energetic children. I wear my scar with pride. 

And this is where you come in. 
When I photograph your birth I am more than just a fly on the wall. I am an energy filled being in your birth space, that sends as much love, support and positive vibes your way so that you have a better birth story than me. Please don't see this as caesarian shaming, it is me wishing my story was told a different way. 

I hold your hand when your partner needs a break, I get you a drink and I tell you you can do this. I am in your corner, I am on your team. I draw on my experience with my births to be the person I needed in the room the day I was most vulnerable. 

Being a birth photographer runs so much deeper than standing in the room and pressing the shutter. I give you my all when I am in the room with you because I believe in you the moments you forget. 

Once your birth is over, I go home to my babes and I beam with pride for you and your strength no matter how your story played out, I edit your images and deliver them to you. Then I watch you flood with empowerment and awe of what your body achieved. These images created a legacy for generations to come and I got to be a part of that. How incredible. You are incredible. 
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I took a huge risk booking this birth with only 14 days officially between our due dates but boy oh boy didn't things work out well. Evie become one of the 5% of babies born who show up on their due date making it actually 6 weeks to the day between our beautiful babies arrivals. 

Evie came fast. She wasn't here and one push later she was welcomed in to the world and straight in to arms of her mama, instantly wrapping her in love. There are so many feels that I have for this birth, the awe of her mama, the strength of their relationship, the instant love that exploded from their hearts. 

Thank you Evie for making my first birth back so easy, I didn't even miss a feed with my own babe at home.. And thank you to your wonderful parents for trusting me to come along on this journey with them to tell their birth story. With my next births not booked in until February, I'll be over here waiting for all the mamas in the area to realise how much they need these photos too, just like wedding photos, updating those family photos or a newborn session, this time matters too. . 

​Evie Fresh photos will follow in the coming days so check back in soon. 

This year has been so good to me, so I thought I would send it out with a bang. Let's call this the celebrating number 5 cracking deal. 
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This right here is my why. Why I choose birth photography and why I'm obsessed with the Fresh. 5 different babes, 5 different birth stories to tell, one blurring in to the next losing the details in between I have their birth stories documented so I can go back and put together the pieces of the puzzle from one child to the next. I have images that I can pass down to my children and the children after them. I have their first breathes, the cutting of their cords, and the moment I laid eyes on them for the first time.. When I see the images I feel empowered at the awe my body endured, I go through all the feels all over again and it is magical. 
This is my why, if you have thought about birth photography or Fresh but haven't been able to commit I ask you why not? What is stopping you? What is holding you back from having this life changing event, that once its gone you can't get it back, documented.? I would love to hear from you, hit the Contact tab and get in touch. 

The details:

Gift vouchers available.. Grab your mums group, your sister or your cousin come together and give that new mama to be the gift of all gifts.
Echuca and surrounding hospitals.
May be paid for now and used anytime within the next 12 months. 
Limited amount of each package available. 
Hit the "Contact" tab for further information.