Episode 26: A Birth Photographer's Perspective- Kimberly Kimble
How have you been? I feel like I’ve hit a groove again after my life being turned upside down with this pandemic. I miss teaching my in person classes and in person doula work, but I’m so grateful to have found creative ways of connecting with my online community!
Have you switched to serving your community online? Let me tell you, it can be hard. It can feel like no one is listening after being so used to in person immediate feedback. I have been able to switch to offering my classes online, but it’s just not the same. I was feeling a bit discouraged when I got this email from one of my class participates.
“Hi Erin! I just finished the 4 week pelvic floor class and after the first one I wanted to write you and tell you how great it felt. I didn't get to it until now! Thank you for being yourself and making these classes. You let your personality shine through and made me laugh at times and it felt comfortable to do these classes with you in my living room. After each class I felt better in my body. Thanks for being real in what you share in your videos and Instagram. I've felt encouraged by your work. I just wanted to tell you thanks and I'm looking forward to taking more classes once I decide whether or not to redo the pelvic floor one or try another.”
So encouraging right? I am a total goober and make mistakes and tell not funny jokes during my classes. My highest goal is also that people feel fabulous in their body after these classes and am so glad it translates online as well as in person.
I wanted to take this moment to remind you that whatever you’re doing, even if people forget to reach out and tell you, matters. Whatever you can put on social media or however you can connect via Zoom or your Facebook groups. However you are encouraging your community, I’m stopping to pause and look you in the eye and tell you you’re doing great. It matters. Its encouraging and supportive and wonderful and please don’t give up. It’s so easy to get discouraged and feel like what you’re doing doesn’t matter but it does. Can I issue a small challenge? Can we each reach out to one of our colleagues and remind them how amazing they are this week. Someone you follow on social media or a colleague you normally work with, or you love working with even if you don’t cross paths all that often. Remind them how amazing we are. It’s so easy during stressful or uncertain times to go into a survival mode, which is completely understandable, but to pause for a moment and look outward and connect in that way is so powerful! Let’s cheer our fellow birth workers on this week!
This weeks episode I got the opportunity to connect with the amazing Kimberly Kimble. Kimberly is a wife, mother of 3, photographer and trained birth & postpartum doula in the greater Portland Metro area.
After many years taking any photo job available, she narrowed her focus to bumps, births and babies two years ago and her business took off. She's been internationally published and awarded for her work. As a trained doula, she has a deep respect for the birth space and the birthing process as a whole. She aims to authentically document your birth story as it unfolds.
Kimberly and I had a wonderful conversation from both a doula and birth photographers stand point. We chatted about how birth photographers fit into the birthing room, how to capture beautiful pictures without being obtrusive, we also dig into birth itself, informed consent, and what she wishes all her clients knew going into the birth and so much more! She is a fabulous human being and I know you’ll love hearing from her as much as I did!
In this episode we cover:
- How her doula training has impacted her work as a birth photographer
- How she navigates being both a doula and photographer
- Her favorite aspects of birth photography
- Informed consent and education
- What she wishes her clients knew going into the birthing experience
- The role of a birth photographer in the birthing room
- Ideas for other birth photographers
And more!
Wonderful right? All these conversations want me to keep having babies so I can hire ALL of them! If you’re wanting to see some beautiful photography, head on over to her website at rushesandwaves.com and be sure to follow her on social media.
If you’re looking for some extra support for your self, if you’re combating stress and overwhelm, I’d love to offer my online 4 week movement series all about supporting the immune system and combating stress. I just recorded two more classes all about engaging and releasing the neck and shoulder tension and I have to say, I’m feeling really good right now!
Thank you so much for listening. Let me remind you again, that you’re doing awesome, keep moving forward, keep breathing, keep being in your body in this moment. Cheering you on friend! I’ll connect with you again next week!
