Everyone thinks babies are cute...

I was watching a video on facebook, of a mum getting to hold her 8 day old baby for the first time.

I cried.  It was bittersweet. The baby was tiny, unwell and had pumps and tubes and bandages holding IV needles, humicribs and beeping machines around this tiny preemie baby, but mum was so overwhelmed with love and joy at holding her little baby, skin-to-skin for her first cuddle.  

It made me sad for the mum - eight days old - she still hasn't held her newborn baby. Can you imagine not holding your baby for over a week after giving birth?  (sniff..) Yet, the soul-filling, heartwarming moment that mum feels her baby on her chest - my eyes start leaking just thinking about what that moment would have felt like for her! 

Several months ago I was working through some training modules about business from a workshop by @Julia Kelleher, and the module was discussing my 'Why'.

Why do I do what I do?  Why do I love photography? Why do I want to photograph babies and children specifically? 

So, I was working through this module and began asking myself these questions.

Ok, I thought, well babies are cute!  Everyone thinks babies are cute, right?! Well yes, but not everyone is making a business from photographing babies ....  there's more to it than that.  Plus, babies and children are challenging to photograph, so why do I keep doing it?

As a teenager in Yr 10, I knew I wanted to run a business. No idea what type of business, but I did choose subjects that would be beneficial. Accounting, Business Principles.  And, I've always been a creative person - I chose Art, Dance, and pursued studies in the Interior Design field after graduating.  These things are simply 'me' and my personality, but not my 'why.'

After becoming a mum, the realm of photographic art became a focus, yet I could have chosen any subject to photograph - of course it was natural to start with my own child.

Ethan | 9 days old

I dug a little deeper.  Why is it so important for me to photograph babies?  

Being 5 years into my business now, and three children + two miscarriages later - mixed in with post natal depression after all 5 pregnancies, and serious struggles around coping with my family being a work at home parent having children at home full-time - I discovered my deep-down-rock-bottom-intricately-sewn-into-my-soul reason why I couldn't do anything else ...

And here it is:

I want your portraits to be a breath of fresh air in your world - life is a roller coaster of crazy!  I want for you to be able to see your family, your baby, your children for the amazing beings they are.  Your portraits will be a pause.  A moment. They will pull you out of the chaos of everyday life and allow you to SEE and FEEL the love, warmth and beauty you have in your world.

I want you to look at your portraits and feel that moment in your heart, feel the connection to your new baby in your soul.  I want your portraits to take you off the daily roller coaster and let you see your family from a different viewpoint - an outside view - to be able to spend some time noticing how amazing they are - how tiny and sweet they are - and how incredible you are.  

It's taken me eight years to really understand and appreciate how amazing my family is, and how beautiful my children really are.  I am blessed!  And that's exactly what I what you to experience!

How often do you stop and really take notice of how incredibly lucky you are?  Truly .. your baby is such a blessing, and I don't want that moment to ever be forgotten.

By having this season in your life captured with elegant, beautiful portraits showcasing your baby, you can go back to those beautiful moments any time you like, and transport yourself back to those first weeks of holding you baby so snugly in your arms, and that overwhelming feeling of first love will never be lost.

For all questions, comments, enquiries and bookings
please contact me on jade@jadereadphotography.com.au or via the Enquiry Form.