Summer!

Right now I'm buried under all the editing that needs to be done, together with the orders that have to be processed and not to forget about the beautiful summer evening light to enjoy! I have so much to blog, but for now:

Baby girl.

Wow, it's been a very busy year so far! Even despite the weather... I have enjoyed meeting a lot of new lovely families and also I have spent too many in front ot the computer editing, ordering and replying all the enquieries I've been receiving. Which leaves me with not that much time for blogging if I want to get any sleep at all!
But it's about time I have shared session with this absolutely adorable little girl! She made my job so easy. Perfect age as she could already sit up but couldn't crawl away from me just yet. And oh she was so expressive and cute! And lets not forget about her mum and dad who are so obviously very much in love with her.

Simplicity...

It's been a few very busy weeks for me - lots of work despite the cold weather. This is from a session I'm editing right now. I like bright, vibrant and colourful, but nothing beats a nice and simple black and white image. A beautiful mum-to-be helps as well :)

Happy Mother's Day!

I try to write my feelings about motherhood for a Mother's Day post every year, but I fail every time. The only thing that I'm sure about and that never changes - I love being a mother and I consider it a great priveledge. That is exactly that makes it so so hard. Not even the tiredness (though it might be an issue for those who has an interrupted sleep!). It's the worrying - worrying if I'm doing it right, worrying if I'm doing my best every day. If there is enough crafts opportunities, enough time outdoors, enough rinning around, enough fruit and vegetables, enough reading, enough learning opportunities, enough sleep, enough playdatess. Worrying if I'm letting them make their own choices enough and at the same time if I'm encouraging them to do the things that I myself know to be good enough. Trying to find that impossible balance, as it changes as they grow and their own understanding of the world expands. I have to remind myself every day that "There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one", a beautiful quote by Jill Churchill.

Another amazing quote that sums up a lot of my feelings about motherhood: “Motherhood is a choice you make everyday, to put someone else's happiness and well-being ahead of your own, to teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing even when you're not sure what the right thing is...and to forgive yourself, over and over again, for doing everything wrong.” -  Donna Ball, "At home on Ladybug Farm".

Look at some of the amazing mums I have photographed in the past year- they all radiate light and make the world better! Happy Mother's Day!

The best gift for any mum...

I have been doing my very unscientific marketing reseach for the last year or so. Which was basically me talking to different mums I know about family photography sessions - how often they do it, why don't they do it, how would they choose a photographer once they have decided. At first surprising and then a sad trend is that most mums are waiting for something to happen before they book a session. To loose weight, to look better, to have more sleep, to feel happier about themselves....

I'm not an exception. I surely don't look like I did "pre children". Photos of me make me cringe and I usually delete 9 out of 10. But my girls like to ask me where was I when a certain photograph was taken. And I always say that I was taking the photo, of course! Which is a good reason, but always being behind a camera is not going to help them to remember me in their childhood.

I have been trying to change it and over the last few months I made sure we take photos using a timer, or handed the camera to my friends to take the photo for us. They are mostly of us during our adventures in muddy wellies, not looking very glamorous, running to the "spot" and looking at the camera and waiting for the timer. Nothing interesting, all of them are just snapshots, but to me these are priceless.

I am also planning a session with a professional photographer, I want to have what I give to my lovely clients as well. It's what becomes even more valuable as the time goes by, as the children grow! It's what I want to remember but I know I can't trust my memory because every time I see photographs even from a few months away I'm shocked how much they have changed and that I haven't noticed!

And with the Mother's Day just around the corner on the 10th of March - why not to give to a lovely mum you know, the mum of your children, your own mum, your sister a gift of a photography session? I have a limited amount of vouchers available, contact me if you are interested and if you have any questions!

P.S. Took me a couple of days after I wrote this blog post to actually press the "publish" button, but hopefully this will help some other mums to feel inspired to actually get in front of the camera!