So people have been asking lately why I chose to specialise in capturing images and memories from maternity to cake smash and why our new "Watch me Grow" package is so important to me.
Well to answer that question you may need to indulge me for a moment and go back to when I first started a photography business in Darwin in 2011. Life was good, my husband and I had just got married, I had regular work photographing weddings and families but never really considered newborn photography.
Then my husband and I decided to start trying to have a baby of our own.
Be patient, it will happen. These things take time, dont worry.
But it didn't. And there was no-one in the NT who could help us figure out why, so we made the decision to move to the sunshine state and start all over again in Brisbane. After trying to fall pregnant for a very long time (IVF mumma's out there will understand) the clomid (that didnt work), the injections (that sent me loopy), egg harvesting, becoming a human pin cushion and oh so much time waiting just waiting!
TMI warning: I once joked to my husband that so many people have seen my vagina that I should have been in porn, not photography!
Then finally it happened the two lines on the stick, the positive blood test result phone call. I have never been so elated and so utterly terrified in my entire life. I started chronically our journey so our family (all in the UK) could share in these moments when it was "safe". But then my much adored Nanna got sick, we knew it was coming but we were so far away and I was so newly pregnant (and still on progesterone) that we couldnt be there and so decided to share our news at just 7 weeks pregnant. My Nanna passed away a week later but elated that there was a great grand baby coming.
After that my pregnancy was hell! I was constantly sick, I bled, everyday I thought I was going to lose him. It was traumatic to say the least. I stayed on progesterone to 14 weeks and was afraid to come off it, I got gestational diabetes at 8 weeks. Needless to say maternity photographs were the LAST thing on my mind and I never got them done.
Do I regret it?
Damn right I do!! I look back now and I have snap shots taken of me in my delightful Target maternity clothes, in terrible angles, by my husband without my knowledge! You bet I regret it
At 24 weeks it was decided that I would need a c-section and new from there that dreams of taking my own newborn images would be virtually impossible for me so I started the search for a photographer.
Now call me paranoid but when I have been through so much to bring this life into the world I was not just handing my baby over to anyone! I searched for photographers that were vaccinated, blue carded, advertised that they knew CPR but it just didnt seem like enough! I wanted to know when props were last sterilised, do wraps and backdrops get cleaned after every session and if so, what in? Who is your insurance? I know I might seem neurotic but I have come to understand that these are all normal questions and things people have every right to ask and be answered by their photographer. Thankfully I did find someone to fit the bill and could answer all of my questions.
Were the "cheap"?
No they weren't
Were they worth it?
You bet your life they were
When I recovered from surgery and my little boy got a little bit older I decided that I wanted to be just like that photographer!
I wanted people to feel safe in the knowledge that I was trained, vaccinated, hygienic, criminal history checked, insured. That people can trust that when they book me as a photographer they are safe in the knowledge that I wont pose their baby in a way that might injure them. I wont use props that a baby might fall from. I understand newborn reflexes and movements that might put them in danger. I understand traumatic pregnancy/ birth and needs of new parents. I understand that everyone's story is unique to them and them alone but also that every story deserves to be told.
Thats where I come in! Let me help to capture your story. Maternity, birth, fresh 48. newborn, sitter, cake smash and beyond.
Back then, for me, there was no
https://academyofnewbornphotography.com/questions-to-ask but thankfully now there is! And I am proud to be a fully accredited member.
Carla
@candyflossqld
