Meeting your baby for the first time is something that only ever happens once in your lifetime. And it stays with you, living on in your memory as one of the most anticipated moments of your life. Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could capture that moment somehow? Well, you can! Sydney photographers River and Bel got together and joined forces, creating The First Hello Project, documenting those very first few tender moments between mother and child. We spoke to them to find out how it all began and share some of their beautiful photos.
What’s the project? Who is behind it? What are your stories?
RIVER: The friendship between Bel and I has developed over a shared love of the Arts, and in particular, all things Photography. Bel is a freelance photographer and runs her own business called Trigger Happy Images. I am a freelance photographer and writer with my own website called The Wolfpack.mrs – a site for mamas with messy hair and thirsty hearts.
The First Hello Project grew out of a crazy conversation Bel and I had one day. We had been sharing some fun stories over our bucket list moments that we as photographers had the opportunity to be a part of. I told Bel how I would love to shoot a birth one day and she told me she had captured her friend and sister’s birth and how insane it was.
It wasn’t long after our conversation that I was approached by a couple to capture their birth journey on film. Of course I said yes! And immediately after I left the hospital delivery room, I rang Bel on a high. We kept saying how incredible it was to document that birth moment for a couple. We loved how it released the husband to be present for his wife during the birth process, and not have to be caught up in taking photos himself. We talked about how incredible it was to capture that once-in-alifetime opportunity when a parent meets their child for the first time.
So one night over a glass of wine on my couch we started talking about the possibility of starting a business in birth photography. We took a few days to find a name and finally it dropped “The First Hello Project – The first breath. The first touch. The first cry. The first hello.”
And so, together Bel and I have had the privilege of documenting some of the most incredible moments of raw emotion in birthing suites and homes around the world. We love what we get to do and more than anything we love that we get to celebrate life.
