A birth story + first days at home with baby | Birth Photography in Kingston

Ready for some cute newborn photos? Good, so am I!

But it’s been so long since I’ve wanted to share this story with you that the sweet little baby in those photos is one years old! I’ve been slacking, folks.

So let’s dive in with these photographs from his birth - the only birth I photographed in 2020 - and, like I said, an incredibly special one: the birth of baby Theodore.

Theo is going to feature heavily in upcoming blogs, because his family is part of my “Year in the Life” Series. I’ve photographed his parents for years, so doing birth & newborn photos with him was obviously magical.

Theo came into this world in mid-winter and from the very beginning was full of happiness and spirit.

Below is a small reel of four photographs that I think perfectly capture this birth story.

The first photograph is literally baby Theo’s first breaths in the world. I love the energy of the emotions in both mother and baby in this photo. Theo - crying because of the shock of being outside in the world. Samantha - crying because she’s overjoyed.

The moments I captured during Samantha’s C-section remind us all how strong and resilient mothers are. Samantha’s expression at meeting her precious Theo in the first image says it all: the joy, the incredible emotion a mother feels at the birth of her first child.

The second photograph above is where we see the family adoring baby Theo for the first time after being bundled and wrapped and taken into the recovery room.

Following that, we get to see giant squishy details of Theo himself. For this third photo, I used a ‘macro’ lens to capture the beautiful details of his smooth baby skin and his little hand, resting on his mommy’s chest.

Finally in this series, I wanted a close-up detail shot of all three family members: mom, dad, and baby, all in the same frame. The big hand is daddy’s, holding the little one’s hand, while resting on mommy’s face. Adding to the softness was the beautiful light streaming in through those large hospital windows.

This was an intense session - lots of emotions, excitement, pain, activity to capture - and also the beautiful quiet that comes with a sleeping newborn infant baby you just can’t help but want to squish.

Some people are unsure if having a photographer in the room during a birth will disturb the process, but as you can see here, this family was able to bond and enjoy each other quite naturally without worrying about the camera.

Birth photography is not for everyone, though. If you’re unsure, you can inquire with me or another birth photographer to make sure that we can address any questions or hesitations you have.

A birth story is just the beginning of a new adventure. For that reason, I like to dip into that family’s life a few days or weeks after the birth of a baby. I usually visit their home to take photographs of how they’re getting on with baby, so that they can have a few photographic memories of this time.

Sure, they’re probably already taking many photographs of their new baby.

But how many photographs have the entire family in them, fawning over the little newborn? Both parents, with siblings, and fur babies in the shot?

When you become a new parent, all you want to do is take photos of your baby.

But you forget sometimes that when that baby is all grown up, they’re going to be just as curious to see *you*, their parents, in those photographs. Just think about the photos people share on their social media feeds when it’s time to say, “happy birthday mom!”

The other reason to visit the family at home is because births in Canada typically take place in a hospital setting, and that is a very unusual place for the family to be. It’s not exactly ‘ordinary’. (Well, neither is being born!)

But visiting families in their home is perfectly ordinary. It contains that ordinary magic I’m looking to preserve for my clients.

So I visited baby Theo at his home about a week after he was born. Below, I’ve selected my top four images from that session.

The first photograph I selected is little baby Theo, sleeping in his bassinet. When I arrived, this is how peacefully he was sleeping. I loved the curl of his tiny fingers, and his little itty bitty nose.

The second photograph shows Samantha and Steve laughing and enjoying their baby. I’m not sure if baby Theo had maybe just done a big loud poo or if something else made them laugh, but this moment of pure joy just had to be captured.

In the next photo, we see the whole family, including their fur baby Penelope. She’s an incredibly loving dog, and so in this frame, we see that the parents are actually doing double duty - while Samantha breastfeeds Theo, Steve shares some love with Penelope.

In the final shot I selected, we see Theo’s very cute baby toes in daddy’s hand. These kinds of frames are ones that we sometimes see in more traditional newborn shots, and they often take a whole lot of arranging. Luckily, during an in-home documentary newborn session, these things happen quite spontaneously. What parent doesn’t want to hold those cute baby toes?

So that’s it! My selection of adorable and joyful newborn photographs for you. Did you enjoy them? If you did, please leave me a comment below to tell me which photograph was your favourite (and why!)

If you’re pregnant and thinking of hiring a birth photographer - I say go for it! It’s natural for you to be apprehensive about having another person with you in the room, and so it’s important to meet your photographer ahead of time and make sure that you feel 100% comfortable with them. Did you know, in some places in Canada, birth photographers are considered essential birth support persons (just like doulas), and were even allowed in the hospital rooms during Covid? This is because you and your birth photographer are on the same team. They’ve got your back.

and if you haven’t done so already, follow me on instagram @viaramileva where you can see other newborn photos :)