Gather Interviews Dannielle Hale, a Birth Photographer in SWLA and Central Louisiana
We first got to know Dannielle, a tattoed free-birthing mom to four kids who would prefer to spend most of her time barefoot, through the Birth Becomes Her facebook group for birth photographers, and we love following her on Instagram. The tones in her photographs are always gorgeous, and seeing her sweet kiddos and all her plants in her stories makes us feel like we’ve already met her, though we’re still waiting for that day to come! She’s a birth photographer and postpartum doula who serves SWLA and Central Louisiana, and we’re so glad we got to chat with her!
photo by Dannielle Hale
Tell us about your journey as a birth photographer. How did you get started? I started off as a doula back in 2013 right before I had my second son. I loved it but took a break for a while because of having babies and my spouse’s work schedule. In 2015 I had our 3rd baby and had a birth photographer attend it. Having those photos was the best thing ever. In 2017 I bought my first camera and started learning a lot about photography. I had my first birth inquiry but because it was a c-section it had to be more of a fresh 48. I did a few fresh 48s after that and felt happy to be back around babies but knew I’d eventually like to attend births again. Then, my good friend and fellow birth photographer found out she was pregnant and not long after I found out I was as well with our 4th. We were both planning homebirths and decided to document each other’s births! Her homebirth was my first actual birth and it just took off from there. I dove back into learning everything I could about birth that I didn’t already know, dove further into learning about birth photography and took the Birth Becomes Her Essence of Birth course and from there it just took off. I can’t really imagine doing anything else now other than documenting births and supporting birthing people during and after their births.
What are some of the roadblocks you faced prior to getting to this point in your career? Probably the military hospitals. It hasn’t always been easy with them and being allowed in the OR is still something you have to really fight for in the military hospitals, I guess really in any hospital though even. Other roadblocks have just been how often we move and having to start over so much, as well as my spouse’s work schedule and having to have an on-call baby sitter for the kids.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to get started as a birth photographer, but doesn't know where to begin? Wow, I could probably write a lot here but I’ll try to keep it short lol. Definitely don’t dive into birth before knowing your camera. Find a course like I did with Birth Becomes Her to guide you through everything surrounding birth photography if you can afford it. I highly encourage new birth photographers to take a birth course or doula course even, something to learn more about birth and the birth space. It’s so important to go into these people’s birth spaces with an understanding of how everything works and how to hold space while being there documenting this time for them.
What's something you're most proud of professionally? I’m honestly just really proud of how far I’ve come with my work in such a short time.
What's something about this work that shocked you the most, that you wish you'd known before you got started? The on-call life is crazy, ha. People told me it was but man I was not prepared for just how crazy and exhausting it really is.
What are your thoughts on life-work balance as a birth worker? Is it achievable? It’s achievable but you’ve got to be strict. I used to answer client’s calls and texts whenever they wanted to talk. I had to really set boundaries and real business hours, as much as possible with this life, so that I could balance life more. You’ve also got to make hard calls sometimes about making it to a birth or sending a back up so that you don’t miss something for your kids.
What are your top five tips for someone who wants to have a positive and empowered birth experience? Education. Honestly, I think that’s it. Being educated and informed is going to be the most important thing you can do. I guess also I’d say “shop around” for your birth team. Interview them and really get to know them so you can make sure they are listening to your wants and needs, make sure you mesh with them. It’s important to have people in your birth space that respect you.
What are three things you can't live without lately? Like anything? Not business-related? My camera, plants, and unfortunately my phone, lol.
What's next for you? I’m hoping to take a birth keeper course here soon to increase my knowledge of birth even more. Ideally...one day...I’d love to be a non-traditional midwife and support birthing people even more.
Thank you so much, Dannielle! We loved learning a bit more about you, and we are so excited to see what comes next!
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photo by Dannielle Hale