The postpartum Experience Project
“We don’t have to do all of it alone. We were never meant to”
― BRENE BROWN
For the last year I have been working on an international postpartum photography project. The primary goal was to both educate, inspire, and encourage new mothers through the first months/year of motherhood. Through my own personal experiences, and over a decade of being a birth photographer, one of the most challenging and soul stretching periods of motherhood are the months immediately following the birth of your child. Often times pregnant mothers are doted on, tummies are rubbed, doors are opened for you, baby showers are held. Then suddenly the baby’s here and you’re tired, you’re bleeding, you’re leaking from places you didn’t know possible, and yet even with amazing families and support systems you can still feel surprisingly alone. That was the primary focus this last year of working on this project, then… insert 2020 and a global pandemic. The isolation and loneliness new mothers are feeling has only been exacerbated. Their support systems often completely upended. Grandparents staying away for fear of their health, spouses out of the home to keep their jobs. Partners and grandparents sometimes not even present for the birth. We’re all doing the best we can, taking it in stride and praying all these decisions are ultimately the right ones. Since March, I’ve had to turn away birth clients. I’ve listened to countless stories of heartbreak about their birth experience looking so foreign to anything their heart’s hoped for. And then the heartbreak continued on into postpartum.
Here’s where my conviction, and heart changed to tell a different narrative. What does postpartum during a pandemic looked like? Postpartum is hard any given year, but this year has made it exceptionally rough. I want to tell your stories. I want to give your experiences a platform, a voice, and a visual narrative. I want to celebrate your slices of normal and your simple victories. I want to hear how you’re navigating this. I want you to feel heard. I want to encourage you. I want to give you a safe place to share and encourage other mothers going through the same exact thing. One thing us women know with certainty: We feel so much less alone when we hear the voices of so many singing the words to the same song. A song we thought no one else knew the words to.
This is different than a regular session. You will be participating in a project, one which has an objective and a vision. I hope you can see this vision and join the conversation. I’m looking for ALL KINDS OF MOTHERS. Postpartum looks different for all of us: Single moms, Older moms, nuclear families, blended families, black and brown families, LBGTQ+ families, infant loss families, working moms, stay at home moms, and families from all different socioeconomic backgrounds. There will be families that need to participate but may not be able to afford the cost of the session, their fee will be covered through the act of donations and paid clients.
Portions of the proceeds from this project will go to covering the fees of mother’s who can’t afford to participate, as well as the charity, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies.
Postpartum Experience Project
First 10 participants are offered a reduced introductory price of $300 for one hour of shooting, or $500 for a 2 hour session. Photos are individually hand edited and delivered digitally via online galleries for download.
Participants must have at least one baby currently in their first year of life.
A simple questionnaire will be provided to help me better understand what aspects of your postpartum experience you want to celebrate as well as those you wish to shine the light on and educate others. I’ll be sending out more detailed information to those that are interested!
Appropriate safety measures will be followed closely to keep all parties as safe as possible. A safety recommendation sheet will be sent out prior to scheduling our shoot.
And again portions of the proceeds from this project will go to covering the fees of mother’s who can’t afford to participate, as well as the charity, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies.
