Novel twist to baby pictures

She looks down at her phone with a frantic look on her face. It's ringing; she jumps with excitement. Will it be her? Is she going into labour?

She's on call. "I have a lady who was due last Friday, she is having a home birth and I am waiting for my phone to go off. Every time I get a text I am, like, oh I hope it's her!"

Cassie Emmett is a birth photographer.

She originally came up with the idea when she was browsing online.

She wanted to become a midwife but, as a mum to three young kids, she thought the timing wasn't right.

Cassie studied a Diploma in Digital Photography and thought, why not combine that with birth?

She says there are so many people doing photography and they all seem to be the same. Newborns, families, and cake smashes.

"I like to find a little gap in the market. That's why I specialise in birth photography. It is unique and different," Cassie says.

She completed her first birth photo-shoot in November.

"I was so nervous on my first shoot but the family was so laid back and I'd met them prior. We got on really well, so it made it a little easier because I didn't feel out of place," she says.

After the initial foray, the response she got was overwhelming.

"I am booked out for the rest of the year. I have bookings for January, so people are only just pregnant and are booking me because I can only take 3-4 people a month. I need to ensure I am available and have time to go, I might be at a birth for two to four hours, or could be there for six to 10, or more," Cassie says.

She will be trying a different kind of birth photography next month - a Caesarean section.

She is hoping to get into the operating room so she is able to capture the birth story.

"If I can't get in there, there is still the before and after photos that can be captured and I can give a camera to the father, or the support person in the operating room, and they can just go nuts and see what they can capture," Emmett says.

The phone rings again. Cassie jumps with excitement.

"I should probably turn my phone on silent but I get so excited - any minute now I could get a call from her, saying she's in labour.

"There was this one birth I missed because the baby was born in the car on Tramway Rd. Poor old dad had to leap out and deliver his baby and then leap back in the car and drive to the hospital. I got to the hospital and was met by this white-faced dad and I asked what's wrong? He said: Ah! I delivered the baby, in the car, on Tramway Rd - and then he nearly passed out. The mum was sitting in the car with the baby, placenta and all."

Cassie has worked closely with River Ridge East Birth Centre. "They are extremely supportive of my work and display some of my photos around the centre."

"It means everything to me that the families share this with me first and foremost, but I get to also see little babies being born - it's the best feeling in the world.

"I see these mothers and it never ceases to amaze me how strong these women are. It is a dream job," Cassie says.