Your story and your love are worthy of being remembered! - Brisbane Photographer

As a Brisbane family photographer and a mum of two, I am committed to ensuring that motherhood is seen by capturing the authentic emotion that comes with becoming a mother. Before having children, we spend a lifetime building our sense of self to reach a point where we know exactly who we are and where our place in life is. It is sometimes surprising how quickly we must re-evaluate who we are following the birth of our beautiful children.

Nothing can really prepare you for what truly happens when you have children. It is the unspoken side of motherhood that doesn’t rally the troops! One day you are an individual and the next you are forever known as ‘Mum’. Even though we lovingly embrace this new role as best we can, our feelings of uncertainty around how we look can leave us feeling insecure.

Photo credit First Echo Photography

Our concern about our new self-image and how we are perceived by the world, comes at a very busy time in our lives. Our once familiar wardrobe now consists of maternity jeans, oversized dresses, and durable clothing that can withstand the test of sandy playgrounds and little fingers covered in blueberries and pumpkin puree.

For many, the challenges of motherhood have an effect on the way we see ourselves.  I recently published a post on social media about the importance as to why mums need to be included in their family photos. It was heartbreaking to receive many messages from new mothers telling me that they intentionally excluded themselves from family photographs. The recurring theme in these messages was that their inner critic demanded that their bodies were perfect before stepping in front of a camera. 

I’ve been in the depths of motherhood for 11 wonderful, hectic years now and completely understand the rollercoaster that comes with changing identities and losing your self-confidence in the process. Our history of viewing motherhood through rose-coloured lenses has left many blind spots for women. So often we are misled by social media or glossy magazines that instill an ideal of what the perfect mum and perfect family is.

However, the journey of becoming a mother and raising a daughter of my very own has led me to confront a few things about my own sense of self. This journey compelled me to quit the oversized demands of perfection and shrug off any thoughts about conforming to society’s expectations.

Life seems to get caught up in a whirlwind of laughter, tears, and clumsily grazed elbows and knees. It is the precious moments between mother and child that need to be captured. 

Photo credit First Echo Photography

Taking beautiful photos will capture the way we felt in these precious moments. As time passes and memories fade, how you cuddled your children, or the funny things they did will bring back all of those nostalgic moments for you and your family.

My intention with photography is to give motherhood a visual representation that leaves a legacy of what it really means to be a mum.  To create deeply honest, beautiful images that capture the many stories to be told through family photographs. To create portraits rich in meaning and preserving the most beautiful memories of one’s life. 

My work results in a collection of images of women as they experience all the changes that come with being a mother. These mums, who would have hid their beautiful faces due to their fears of being judged on the false and preconceived ideas of exactly how a mother should look!

The process of sharing these stories is not only cathartic for mothers but also holds ancestral power, which, however extraordinary and mysterious, ultimately belongs to us all! 

Motherly love is the most wonderful of all feelings, pure and unconditional, so when your children look back on your photos in many years to come, they are not going to see your tiredness or your rounded bellies, but rather see the mother who tickled, laughed and played with them, and guided them through life, showing them how wonderful it was to be loved. The imperfections, the dirt, the ugly and the beautiful -  motherhood means so much more than a perfect vision doesn't it? It is the visibility of the mother that molded their lives that matters to them the most. The visibility of a woman who defeated her own hardships to place her children front and center of her universe, teaching them what being a fiercely committed and loving parent really looks like.

Let’s face it, being a mother is probably the most important role that you will ever play and your story, and your love, are worthy of being remembered! 

If you are in Brisbane and surrounding areas and are looking for a session that will help celebrate what motherhood means to you? Feel free to CONTACT ME today! I’d love to hear from you!