Renee Diaz Photography
Maternity ~ Birth ~ Newborn ~ Beyond
Those who have followed my page for a while will know that photographing a birth was something I have always wanted to do. Unfortunately living in Victoria with out family meant that the practicalities of dropping everything when a expectant mum was in labour was not possible. I am very lucky this year to be back in the Adelaide Hills and have wonderful friends and family who wont mind (wont mind and have no choice – same thing!) 3 am calls to baby sit my two kids!
There are so many reasons why I wanted to and still want to photograph births. Its something completely different to photographing a maternity or newborn session. I have no control of what sort of lighting there would be- if any- (this is why I own and know how to use my camera which is made for low light situations as I chose not to use a flash and disturb a labouring mum) I don’t get to pose anyone, and its not in my warm studio at 9.30 on a Monday ! So different and so awesome.
Late August I meet up with Amanda. We had a chat about what sort of birth she was hoping for, how her first birth went, how she was not to yell at me during labour and make me cry, how I might need a cup of tea made for me by her (labour or not!) if bubs was coming in the early hours!! Jokes aside it was a quick little meeting so when everything was happening I wasn’t meeting her for the first time at the hospital!
During the next couple of weeks I got weekly updates of how everything was going- it was exciting!!
Finally on the Friday 11th Sept I got the message saying Amanda’s waters had broke and it was all about to start! After a lot of messages -and hours!- back and forth I headed in to the hospital Saturday night at about 9pm.
The next couple of hours were AMAZING! I feel so privileged to be able to do what I do. To be a fly on the wall. To be a part of peoples intimate moments , creating lasting memories for them. I got to have a few cuddles with little Zoe while she was only minutes old, and I’m not bragging -but I did guess her exact weight- it could be a hidden skill I have 🙂
I headed home at about 2 am. Not sure I slept as I was wide awake in awe. Amanda was amazing. Michael kept us all amused with his dad jokes. Sadly I laughed at few :p
The next morning I headed back in for a mini session- We wanted to get a few of big sister Sophia meeting her new baby sister. Such a perfect little family!
Only a handful of the photos I took are in the little video below.
Thanks so much for choosing me to be your birth photographer Amanda , its something I will never forget !
Renee x
