10 Years of First Hellos
Ten Years of Stories.
One Beautiful Book.
It started on a couch in Sydney.
Two friends, one glass of wine each, and a conversation that kept circling back to the same thing: What could we point our cameras at that would light our hearts on fire and elevate humanity?
Sipping and dreaming, always.
That night and the weeks that followed, we let our imaginations run. We didn’t know then that we were planting the seed for what would become The First Hello — a project that would span a decade, hundreds of births, a team of kindred spirits… and spark something we couldn’t ignore.
Scrubs on, cameras ready.
Covid glam.
Ten years of quiet early mornings
and even quieter midnight hours.
Of tears behind lenses.
Of cameras balanced on IV poles.
Of urgent calls and last-minute dashes.
Of hospital corridors and dimly lit birth suites.
Of the electric gasping energy before a baby’s first cry.
Of that sacred moment — the very first hello.
And now, we’re doing something we’ve never done before.
We’re putting it all into a book.
Not just any book — a decade in the making.
An offering.
A love letter.
A visual archive that honours everything The First Hello has stood for since day one.
It’s been an honour to tell our story to big rooms full of people.
The unglamorous BTS of running a business.
What began as a whispered idea between two friends has grown into something far bigger than we ever imagined. We wanted to show what birth really looked like. Felt like.
Not just for the baby, but for the women. The families. The spaces between.
In 2014, we pinned our hearts and minds onto a single story: let’s show the world the true wonder of birth. Not the polished version wrapped in bows — but the real, breathing, sweating, shaking glorious truth. And what we found on the other side of that lens was everything we’d hoped for and more.
Since then?
Hundreds of births.
Millions of images.
Countless quiet, holy, gritty, unforgettable moments.
We feel like we’ve seen it all — but we’ve never stopped being in awe.
This part never gets old.
We have undying gratitude for mediocre tea/coffee in birth suite kitchenettes.
We’ve stood beside women as they roared their babies into the world.
We’ve cried in operating rooms and knelt on bathroom floors.
We’ve watched fathers fall in love a second time.
We’ve documented silence. Power. Chaos. Grace.
And the world noticed.
Over the years, The First Hello has been featured in People Magazine, The Guardian, ABC, Mamamia, Daily Mail and countless others. But more than the media, it’s the messages that stay with us: the mother who felt seen. The couple battling infertility who found renewed hope. The midwife who said, “this reminded me why I do this.”
This is why we do it. That’s why we’re making this book.
Not for the glory, but to show the world the glory of these moments.
Our cameras have taken us far beyond city hospitals — to the red dirt of the Northern Territory with Brave Foundation, and to rural birthing centres in Uganda partnering with the Love Mercy Foundation. These moments, shared with midwives, mothers and communities often overlooked, reminded us of the deep universality of birth and motherhood — and the unique challenges many women face in these regions. It’s in these places, far from home, that we saw the heartbeat of our mission with even more clarity: to honour every story, wherever it’s told.
Bel on country in Larrakia (Northern Territory), bearing witness through the lens for Brave Foundation.
Riv rides beneath the Ugandan sun, camera at hand and off to shoot for Love Mercy Foundation."
Today, The First Hello is powered by a team of talented photographers and filmmakers who share our same heartbeat: to honour birth for what it truly is — gritty, powerful, otherworldly and deeply human.
Our team of storytellers — these are the faces behind the magic.
Together, we’ve captured moments most people never get to see. Like…
The mum who whipped her long pony tail at the peak of each of her contractions. An absolute icon.
The big sister who just could not stop giggling with joy meeting her new baby brother.
The OB who walked into delivery wearing gumboots.
The dad who fainted but still cut the cord.
The doula who whispered, “I’ll never forget this one,” with tears in her eyes.
Every single one, a first hello.
Every single one, unforgettable.
Behind every photo is a thousand decisions — and a few mad coffee-fuelled brainstorms.
Plotting beauty, one bold idea at a time.
So this year, as we mark 10 years, we’re filled with immense gratitude.
To every family who let us in — thank you for trusting us.
To every midwife who made space for us.
To our own families and friends (our beloved village!) for holding the fort while we disappeared for long days and nights.
And to you — our First Hello community — for being here, cheering us on and carrying us forward with your kindness.
This decade has been built on a love of humanity and the courage to show up.
And we’re not done yet.
In fact, we’re just getting started.
We’d love for you to join us on our first book making journey. We’re going to be giving you all the BTS on making this book, telling the stories that have become iconic for us and having some laughs along the way. Be the first to hear the updates here:
We couldn’t have done this without you. Truly. Thank you for a decade of first hellos.
With hearts wide open, cameras charged and many stories still to tell.
Much love,
