MOTHERING.
Mothering and motherhood is so centric to all I do. I am a mother, first and foremost, and I have found highs and lows in the journey of it that I could have barely comprehended before. Mothers are also, arguably, my main clientele. So often, it is the mother of the family that finds her way into my enquiry box. I smile at each message, at the tentative confessions: 'We haven't had our photos taken before...' or 'This is incredibly out of our comfort zone...'. As if some kind of apology should preface wanting to record your greatest achievement.
When you are defined by your motherhood, you should celebrate it. When you are aware you are in the Good Old Days right now, of course you should record it. When you know your mothering exists - yes, of course, in memories and stories - but also mostly in selfies, in child-framed stolen phone images, in tired crevices of the day - you want to romanticise it. You not only made these children and this family, but you nurture them through every cold, every first day, every meal, bath time, nappy change. You mother them daily. And that role deserves to be recorded beautifully. It deserves to be celebrated, to be seen.
As a woman, you deserve to feel beautiful. And in the role of mother, you deserve to feel beautiful, too. For one hour, or two, and then every time you revisit those images later, you get to see the beauty of the work you put in silently, consistently.
A SUMMER OF MOTHERS
As a motherhood photographer in Oxfordshire, I have had the privilege of capturing many mothers this summer, sparkling in the joy of their children, in their growing families. The delight in the messages I receive after is honestly incomparable!
To see all that hard work fly out in the field before you! To receive images that capture your little person as their absolute most authentic current self. To know you will revisit these photos for years to come, and you'll say to your partner - 'Do you remember her curls?' 'Do you remember that jumper he loved?' 'Do you remember that laugh?'
You will be transported in an instant to that summer field of 2025.
SUMMER'S PASS
Motherhood photography captures a snapshot; it's all it can ever do. It cannot predict the future - how tall they will be next year, how his voice will have dropped, how her love of animals will be less. But it gives us that snapshot to look back on, to capture that sacred moment for what it was. As time marches forth, that moment becomes more and more irreplaceable, as intangible as fog on the glass.
Summer now, has come to an end. We are experiencing thirty different seasons in a day, and more rainbows than I have ever seen! I, personally, have no clue how to dress, and the back of my car looks like a Mountain Warehouse with all the gear I have to keep stored 'just in case'. We are moving rapidly towards autumn forests, fallen leaves and pumpkin fields. And beyond that, the big C looms.
Thank you to all the mothers that trusted me this summer, that let me capture their golden light. I hope you hold your images in your palm one day and marvel at the woman you once were. I hope you laugh at the frozen shape of their laughter. I hope you know that you did such a remarkable job.
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE
It isn't too late to capture you as we move softly into the next season. Yes, the weather is more unpredictable and we may need to rearrange due to a storm or two, but nothing is impossible.
Because you see, we are mothers.
If you were thinking of gifting yourself the treasure of memory, there is still time to book an Oxfordshire motherhood photography session. We enjoyed our own family photoshoot recently, and it is an investment that is worth every penny. As mothers, we so often put ourselves last. I still regularly wear nursing bras from 5 years ago (the shame!) and haven't bought myself a new item of clothing in - well, I can't even remember! Whereas my children are regularly thrown new clothes or toys or Vinted treasures that they didn't even ask for. Booking our family photoshoot felt like an indulgence. Almost something to cringe or feel shame over. 'Do you all mind? Doing this for me? Please? It matters.'
My family all blinked and shrugged and went along with it, not really getting why it mattered. We spent an hour playing, without phones or chores or to-do lists, while our lovely photographer snapped away. I had space to look at them all running around me, marvelling in them. They did it purely because it mattered to me.
And as mothers, is that not what we deserve, sometimes, too?
Moments framed in time
Let's document your MOTHERHOOD