{birth stories}

Two days ago I celebrated 10 years of documenting births!! And honestly, never ever in a million years did I think that I would go on to be a birth photographer/videographer who is getting close to documenting 100 births! After all, 10 years ago I was just heading to India to continue documenting the relationship between wildlife and humans which I had been doing on my travels around the world (I am slowly working on getting those photos up here: Projects).
However, after our trip to India, I learned that we were going to have a baby. So naturally the whole experience of having a baby of my own opened up a whole new world to me with new passions. These passions led me down a path to the birth world where I knew women were in need of a voice, and support, and sometimes healing. So here I am, 10 years later still working hard to help normalize birth and heal wounds. With the help of these wonderful families who invite me in to their sacred spaces, who allow me to share their stories with you, I can assure you there has been change!
When I first started doing this, it was unheard of! Other than midwives being super supportive and excited about what I was doing, there was mostly confusion as to why anyone would want this experience documented, and a lot of concerned staff that were not that welcoming towards me as they were worried I was documenting them working. But after building relationships with hospital staff, and with some education from all sides, here we are 10 years later and now birth photography has become quite popular! I’m even welcomed in the O.R for c-sections most of the time!!
We still have a long way to go to make sure pregnant, birthing, and postpartum folks are respected and heard, so I don’t imagine I will be quitting this type of photography any time soon. But in celebration of this milestone, let me share with you, some gorgeous loving births to watch! Maybe check the flyers of your local stores for sales on boxes of tissue before you start pressing play, ha ha ha! Enjoy! And feel free to share this with all the expecting parents you know!

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I am not sure why, but summer seemed to fly by this year faster than usual! I actually can’t believe I am posting about Autumn sessions right now! But there’s no denying the leaves are starting to change and my Autumn calendar is booking up fast! I absolutely love this time of year! The beauty of this season is jaw dropping and doesn’t last long! Peak season for colourful leaves is from about mid October until the 2nd week of November, and in that time I have week days available but only a couple weekend spots left!

I will be sending out the Autumn and Winter newsletter next week and there will be a very special offer in there for all my subscribers and an extra special offer for my VIP’s (my past and present clients). Sign up to receive that newsletter by adding your name here: https://www.heatherbays.com/my-newsletter! Then scroll down to see some favourite photos from a few family sessions last year!