by Silvia Rae

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We would recommend anyone to book in here, hands down the best photographer in Christchurch

"Silvia was so gentle and patient while taking photos of our baby girl, she was very professional and knows all the perfect angles to get the best photos!! She also has so many beautiful props and outfits to dress your baby in. I cannot thank her enough for our daughters first photos which we will forever have they are amazing, Silvia is amazing! We Would recommend anyone to book in here, hands down the best photographer in Christchurch, will definitely be back for more as she grows thank you so much again for capturing these precious moments ❤️❤️❤️❤️" Britney

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After seeing them all my husband said to me "Everyone should do this". So we don't forget.

"I initially sought Silvia's services as a photographer being quite unsure about having a photographer at our birthing. I really wanted some photos of us pregnant, and of our newborn. My husband was even less sure about the wisdom of having a birth photographer. After meeting Silvia a few times and enjoying her gentle way, I decided to trust her to photograph our experience - we could always use the delete button later, right?

During the birth Silvia was completely unobtrusive - I didn't give her presence a second thought - although I was rather busy. Our birthing was more medicalised than we had hoped, but throughout all of this Silvia's presence was a positive - being an extra pair of hands for gear when needed and somehow fading into the background again. My husband told me later that she was a great support when immediately after birth our son needed medical input. Rather than just recording our experiences Silvia enhanced it with her quiet, gentle way and real caring.

When we looked through your photos of our birth experience we were really moved. It reminded us - even though we didn't think we had forgotten. After seeing them all my husband said to me "Everyone should do this". So we don't forget. The good and the difficult bits. It got us talking about it again, and remembering the different parts of the birth from our 2 different perspectives.

The photographs treated our birthing very sensitively. Silvia has an eye for the beauty in a situation, and is able to capture that. She delivered to us photographs that showed us, not the interventionalist 'stuff' in the room. Although these photographs are private, and only a few I would show many people, they have such value to us. I am so pleased that we engaged Silvia and have this incredibly special time so artfully captured." S&W

 

We have photos of moments that were really special that otherwise wouldn’t have been photographed

“When we were expecting our third (and last) baby, I wanted to have a birth photographer there to capture the moment. I had previously really enjoyed giving birth and was sad that this would be my last time. Plus the photos my partner took after the birth of our older children could be better!Having said that, even in the early stages of labour I was debating whether I should go through with it or not. Then decided that if I didn’t like them, I didn’t have to look at them but I could never re-do the moment. And I’m so glad I did. I’m only sorry that Silvia wasn’t there for my older daughters as well.During the birth, I noticed the odd click of the camera but really all I was focussed on was me, my partner and the midwife. Silvia was part of the background which is exactly how I wanted it – she was really unobtrusive and discreet. She’s obviously passionate about what she does but was very keen to make sure she fitted in with how I wanted things.

She took a photo of me holding up our daughter straight after the birth, before she’d even taken a breath – the raw emotion on my face, my partner’s face and the baby is amazing. Shortly after the birth, we introduced our older children to their new little sister – these will be some of my most treasured pictures of all 5 of us together

Most birth photos are of mum and new baby or dad and new baby. With Silvia there, we have photos of moments that were really special that otherwise wouldn’t have been photographed. She took a photo of me holding up our daughter straight after the birth, before she’d even taken a breath – the raw emotion on my face, my partner’s face and the baby is amazing. Shortly after the birth, we introduced our older children to their new little sister – these will be some of my most treasured pictures of all 5 of us together.Although a home water birth, the birth was more difficult than my previous births, and there were several moments where I was overwhelmed. Seeing the photos afterwards was really empowering – it gave me the chance to ‘see’ the birth with a bit more perspective which I hadn’t expected. Silvia has also edited the photos beautifully. She’s obviously spent a lot of time carefully selecting and cropping the best of them. I really couldn’t be more pleased – both with the decision to have a birth photographer, Silvia’s discreetness at the birth and the actual photos.” Kathryn

 

The props, backdrops, colour schemes and shoot set up options Silvia has is endless. This made us feel we were able to have photos that reflected our tastes and personalities and they were not generic. The quality of everything is beautiful and soft and compliments the delicateness of a newborn so perfectly.

"We first met Silvia during our antenatal class. We fell in love with her photos straight away feeling they captured the emotions of pregnancy and the beauty of newborn babies perfectly, and knew we would book her in.
From the initial emails and consultation right through to the two photo shoots and delivery of images, Silvia was amazing to work with. She has a gentle and caring personality and automatically made us feel at ease. She was amazing with our newborn and we trusted her whole heartedly with handling of the baby and decisions during photos.
Being able to have our photo shoots in our home made all the difference for us. It meant my husband and I felt relaxed during photos and it made clothing changes easier for us and allowed us the much needed privacy. The newborn photo proved more valuable as the baby could be attended to where possible in the comfort of our own home which was essential in that first week.
The props, backdrops, colour schemes and shoot set up options Silvia has is endless. This made us feel we were able to have photos that reflected our tastes and personalities and they were not generic. The quality of everything is beautiful and soft and compliments the delicateness of a newborn so perfectly. Silvia has great suggestions and we valued her input and knowledge of what would be best for us.
We are so pleased with the images Silvia has taken of us during my pregnancy and of our beautiful newborn. They are beautiful photos and have perfectly captured memories we will treasure for the rest of our lives. We can’t wait to book Silvia in for the next additions to our family.” Gem

 

Silvia was able to capture so many gorgeous shots of our wee boy which we will be able to treasure forever, I can’t recommend her highly enough!

From the initial meeting where Silvia showed us examples of her beautiful work and talked us through the process, to the helpful newborn session preparation guide she provided and her calm and patient manner on the day of the shoot, we found Silvia to be extremely professional and a pleasure to deal with.

Having Silvia come to our home to take the photos meant we didn’t have to get organised to go out to an appointment (which is nearly impossible to make on time with a newborn!) and I feel the familiar environment made both us and baby more relaxed, which translated into the photos.

Silvia was able to capture so many gorgeous shots of our wee boy which we will be able to treasure forever, I can’t recommend her highly enough! Rebecca

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The photos are everything we wished for and more!

We had our newborn shoot with Silvia last week and are so very pleased with the photos we have received. Not only was Silvia professional she was also so gentle and very patient with our wee man. The photos are everything we wished for and more! I would highly recommend Silvia to anyone wanting to doo a newborn shoot, she is by far the best in Nelson. Meagan 

 

The photos were just so beautiful and brought tears to my eyes when I saw them. Each photograph was captured to perfection

“Right from our first meeting I knew we had made the right decision to have a birth photographer to capture the special and once in a lifetime moments. Silvia was very friendly, professional and put me at ease straight away, carefully  explaining what she would be doing on the day and answered all of our questions easily leaving us very reassured. She has a lovely, caring nature and it was obvious immediately to us  that she was passionate about the joy of birth and what she does.

When the big day arrived (at 3 am in the morning) she started to capture the birth right from that moment until our wee girl was born late that night. Initially, we planned a homebirth but ended up in the hospital. Silvia was there every step of the way and nothing was a problem for her. Throughout the birth she was  very discrete but still managed to shoot each special moment as they happened and as we wanted. It was a privilege to have her there and I felt so happy knowing that I would have the birth photographed and memories to cherish.

The photos were just so beautiful and brought tears to my eyes when I saw them. Each photograph was captured to perfection.
I can’t thank her enough for the memories we now have for a lifetime and recommend anybody considering to have a birth photographer to go with her.

Since the birth of our daughter, we had Silvia to photograph the first couple of days of our wee girl’s life and once again the photos are just fantastic and so special! Can’t wait for our next addition to the family and for Silvia to be there.” Andrea

 

"Silvia is a true professional and has a good knack with babies.

She has good patience  and soothes the most unsettled baby. She has a great artistic eye and produces amazing images to capture a very precious time." Alana

 

 A true family keepsake that will be cherished forever

“From the initial heavy contractions, until a proud but teary-eyed dad cutting the umbilical chord and first embrace, Silvia captured it all perfectly. Although a recent event, we have already looked back at the photos several times and reminisced fondly. Family and friends have enjoyed the photos immensely and we are eager to show our daughter in the not so distant future. Basically, a true family keepsake that will be cherished forever. 

Silvia was totally respectful and managed to discreetly capture each special moment from the background.

During the birth I was too preoccupied and busy supporting my partner to even consider taking photos. This is where Silvia came into her own and our decision to utilise Silvia’s expertise was the right one. Actually, come to think of it now, we hardly knew Silvia was there, but somehow she managed to discretely capture each special moment from the background. Silvia was totally respectful and was very passionate about childbirth as a mum of two herself. I’d certainly recommend Hello Baby!”  Eddie

 

The results were fantastic. Definitely our first choice for a photgrapher in the future

“Silvia took some photos for us and we were very impressed with her ability to spot good angles and tones and the results were fantastic. She would definitely be our first choice for a photographer in the future.”  Ian

 

Absolutely stunning photos of my son captured by Silvia

“Absolutely stunning photos of my son captured by Silvia. She is such a great lady to have over and so friendly, she worked so well with my son who wasn’t exactly on his best behaviour and did a brilliant job. So pleased with the results of this photoshoot!”  Zoe