Hello Friends!
If you are interested in attending one of my birth photography workshops, please head over here: http://birthphotographyworkshops.com/
This week was a big “WIN” for getting the celebration behind the genre of birth photography out into the public, with this news feature which aired on Channel 9 News here in Adelaide.
There are so many important people who helped make this news story happen.
My first acknowledgement goes out to my birth clients, the families who hire me to capture their baby’s birth days. All of my experiences and the honour I have of doing this job continues to culminate into wonderful things, not only for me personally, but for women and families all over who cherish their stories.
I must specifically thank Tania and Steve for being so open to share their deeply personal experience with the news crew, and the public. I will always be so grateful to them for being such passionate advocates for not only joyfully intuitive birth but also birth photography! And of course my deepest thanks to little Ronen who really was the star of the show.
My clients and models for the workshop, Sashini and George were so accommodating with not only the news crew but also me muddling away with running the workshop practical and getting paparazzied by my attendees. They were so generous and relaxed throughout the session and it was such a lovely experience working with them and having the opportunity to get to know them even more in the lead up to the arrival of their own special day.
My midwife for the session, Kristy Cook – mother, midwife and hypnobirthing practitioner (Instinctual Birthing) was wonderfully kind and presented beautifully for the hospital birth simulation and news crew. Kristy has always been an advocate for birth photography and it was a blessing that she could take the time out to assist me.
All of the women who attended my birth photography workshop – to all of these talented photographers who share this passion, trusted in me and helped shine a light on why birth photography is not only a precious gift, but also a challenging genre worth extending their skills for. Although perhaps a bit difficult to balance practical learning with camera interviews, it was so humbling to see everyone get onboard with the situation of filming and share in the comradery to help spread the story out to the wider community. Special thanks to Belle Verdiglione (Belle Verdiglione Photography) and Selena Rollason (Brisbane Birth Photography) for being super brave and submitting for an interview with the crew!
I’d love to thank Brad Gustafson, the Senior Producer at Channel 9, Adelaide for contacting me out of the blue. His interest in the workshop and my work as a photographer were evident from the beginning and I was instantly put at ease by his motivation to hear the reasoning behind my work. The feedback from my clients Tania and Steve was that Kate Collins conducted herself so wonderfully during their interview and her genuine, kind nature was so freely evident when watching this story. I loved talking to Catherine Kennedy at the skills lab during my interview and her questions really had me getting emotionally connected, which I think came across in the story. The Channel 9 team really did justice to the story we had to share, and this was an opportunity like no other to promote awareness which I’m so very grateful for.
The photographs displayed in the story were taken by attendee’s Selena Rollason (Brisbane Birth Photography) and Caroline Kaeser (Labour of Love Photography).
The Birth Photographers who attended my workshop and played an important part in their own right deserve credit for their support and talent: NSW: Anna Todd – https://www.facebook.com/AnnaToddPhotography1?fref=ts WA: Belle Verdiglione – https://www.facebook.com/BelleVerdiglionePhotography SA: Billie Wallace-Yarrow – https://www.facebook.com/billiebuttonphotography?fref=ts VIC: Cazz Kaeser – https://www.facebook.com/LabourOfLoveBirthPhotography QLD: Karen Day – https://www.facebook.com/karendayphotog?fref=ts QLD: Renae Lorraway – watch this space! SA: Samantha Cranwell – https://www.facebook.com/LilCranny.Photography.Handmade?fref=ts VIC: Sarah Murnane – https://www.facebook.com/SarahAnneBirthPhotography QLD: Selena Rollason – https://www.facebook.com/BrisbaneBirthPhotography?fref=ts QLD: Valerie Orreal – https://www.facebook.com/myfamilyrocksphotos
I’m very much hoping this approach to “exposing” (pun intended!) birth photography to wider audiences will be a benefit to all of us in the industry but more importantly will benefit all women who feel the deep-seated sense of ceremony and celebration surrounding birth. Through sharing our stories in a positive way, we will begin to shift the unreal perception of labour and birth, with better outcomes for both mother and child. That’s my dream!
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