I get asked this quite a bit, and honestly, I don't think I ever had a clear path of what I wanted to do.
At school, all I wanted to do was the arts-based subjects. Photography, media, creative design, visual communication... basically anything creative.
I took every opportunity I could to pick up a camera too. School events, concerts, anything I could photograph, I was there.
Even after high school I started taking photos at parties, engagements, christenings and whatever else came my way.
I loved photography, but at the time it just wasn't stable enough for me to see it as a career.
So I went down a completely different path and studied my Diploma in Early Childhood Education and worked in childcare centres for years.
And I absolutely loved it. I have always loved working with kids.
While I was working in childcare, I was lucky enough to start taking photos for some of the families there, and that's really where I was able to start getting into family photography.
After a few years of doing this, while also studying my Bachelor of Education, I started thinking... why am I trying to choose between the two things I love?
So I decided to withdraw from my degree and really give photography a go.
And somehow, here we are.
I think newborn photography ended up being the perfect combination of everything I love. I get to be creative, I get to work with babies and kids, and I get to create something that families can keep forever.
My childcare background has also been such a huge help. I know babies don't always sleep, toddlers don't always want to cooperate and sometimes kids have absolutely no interest in doing what we want them to do.
And that's completely fine. I've seen it all.
Looking back, I definitely didn't have this big plan for where I would end up. I just kept taking photos, saying yes to opportunities and eventually it all came together.
And I genuinely cannot thank the families who have been with me since the beginning enough.
The families who trusted me, trusted my growth, came back year after year and shared my name with their friends and family.
I wouldn't be here without you, and I really mean that.
So that's the very long answer to why photography, and why newborn photography. I somehow managed to combine two things I've always loved into one job, and I'm pretty lucky to call it my job.
