• Beautiful Frankie

    Such a sweetheart. She was super alert and wanted to take in all the world around her.... but she was relaxed and happy so fine by me! She closed her eyes a few times once she was all snugged up.... Read More

  • Who am I and what do I do?

    Who am I? I am a multi award winning photographer based in Wellington, New Zealand. I am also a member of NZIPP (NZ Institute of Professional Photography) which is New Zealand's only qualifying body for professional photographers. I am a fully qualified member and recently won 4 bronze awards and 2 silver awards at the 2013 NZIPP IRIS Awards which attract entries from NZ's best photographers. Read More

  • A wee road trip..

    Back in February I took the recently-turned-10 child to Taupo for a few days. Actually we weren't sure we were going to Taupo until we got there. We didn't have a reason to go anywhere, a place we needed to be, or any idea what fun we might strike along the way.Read More

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Ahh bless, this is one half of adorable twinnies I photographed last week.  Clearly they didn't remember me from 10 months ago like I remembered them, cos they were super suspicious!!

Got some smiles in the end, and they totally warmed up, but I just LOVE this shot that speaks of the safety and security of Mum, and her gentle but reassuring touch.  <3

www.photographybyjane.co.nz


Author Photography by Jane posted on 1:00 PM in , , , , ,
Gotta be honest - this is one of my favourite poses for this 6-9month age... i have fond memories of my own kids as babies kicking around playing with their feet!  So cute!!

www.photographybyjane.co.nz - wellington baby photographer


Thursday, August 20, 2015

A beautiful Mother.

I first met Becky and her gorgeous wee family when I photographed Ruby when she was around 6 weeks old.  I loved their session - and I loved even more that Becky straight away recognised the value of professional photos and ordered a really big canvas for her wall.  This is just one of the photos from Ruby's session that I love...


Anyway, fast forward a few months and Becky answered a model call I ran on my Facebook page  looking for some new mums to embrace their postpartum bodies and to help spread a message about positive body image and their experiences of having a "baby body"  (let it be said - baby body can be ANY kind of body following having a baby!!)



I jumped at the chance to photograph these two beauties again, and so we set a date.  I think Becky was slightly nervous, as were most mums who had agreed to take part in this project, thought Becky was one of the first.  After all, I was asking them to stand there almost naked in their underwear in front of my camera!  A MASSIVE ASK, lets just get that out there.

Actually lets just digress for a second... these women are my heroes.  To do this, to put yourself out there like this, it's no small gesture.  I mean to our babies and children, they are used to seeing us (near) naked!  We take them in the shower with us, we feed them in our beds, we try to shower and dress ourselves while trying to keep them alive, and I'm sure they think it's all one big entertaining act designed entirely for them!  So this makes me hopeful that as these babies grow up, they of course won't be embarrassed by these amazing photographs like all children possibly would be - instead I hope they'll be taken back (even if cognitively and subconsciously) to a place of love and nurture.  A place where only the two of them matter and nothing else even comes into that place of bond and love.

Anyway, on to the photos.  I wanted to capture Becky and Ruby primarily as "just" Mum and Daughter.  Nothing else in the way, just them and their little ways of going about their everyday love and affection.  I get that is kinda hard with a camera shoved in your face!  But I think we scratched at the surface of that during the time we had together in the studio.








I must admit, I had the odd panic moment following the shoot - what if Becky HATED the photos? What if she hated me for taking them!  We had talked about their being no use of photoshop (I had this idea that I wanted the photos to be REAL - not real as in defining real, but real as in it needed to represent the person exactly as they were in real life).  So my lighting was very simple and my "poses" were very natural.  But what if them being real and natural meant that she saw herself differently somehow?  Hands up if that's happened to you?  I know it has to me...!

I needn't have worried, Becky came back to me with "I like them!  And surprisingly, I don't want to delete any!"  Wow.  YAY!  I was stoked.  And she has said she is more than happy for me to share them on here.  Admittedly I have been COMPLETELY useless and the shoot was back in April.  I'm JUST getting around to sharing them now!!  I think I over thought writing this blog post quite a bit, but I really wanted there to be some context to the photos and to share my thoughts and reasons for doing them in the first place.

If this project (yes, I said project... that means there will be more!) does nothing except help one single woman feel better about her "baby body" then I will be happy.

I feel like I need to add - I have photographed all types of bodies with this project so far.  REAL means everything!  And yes, that includes Mums that have flat bellies and no stretchmarks 6 weeks after having a baby - that IS real for some people, whether it just happens naturally or if they worked hard for it.  Sure, they may be in the minority, but PLEASE don't think that these people don't need to receive positive messages about body image!  As women and mothers we ALL need to support each other, no matter if that is through high-fives for achieving goals, hugs for the bad days or just a word in their ear that it's ok, they're doing great.  As someone commented today (I'm sorry I can't find the comment to credit the person!)  "when a woman has a baby, her body will be first on her mind but often last on her list of priorities".   This isn't because she is lazy or unhealthy.  It's because SHE HAS A BABY!!!!

Please feel free to comment and share your experiences or a few words on the photos.   I didn't think we needed to mention things like PLEASE REMEMBER YOUR MANNERS, but apparently we do after some of the comments I've seen today on my other article  (http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/parenting/71113935/hutt-photographer-challenges-societys-views-on-naked-mums) so please keep them positive and remember that it takes a lot of strength to put yourself out there.

Jane x


Sunday, April 5, 2015

Elizabeth & Chris are honestly THE cutest couple.  I barely needed to pose them at all or tell them what to do - complete naturals and very affectionate which is really nice to see.

They've now had their baby - Elizabeth's waters broke the day after our session.  Good timing!!!

Enjoy the photos and congratulations guys - I know your bub is going to grow up surrounded by oodles of love and affection :) xx

 A little tribute to their beautiful baby..

 See what  mean --- so natural together!




 Love the expression on Libby's face when she looks at Chris..


 They even make a drain look good!!


Or you can watch the slideshow version here:




Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Author Photography by Jane posted on 4:52 PM in , , , ,
A couple of months ago I photographed this awesomely cute little dude.   He came to me as a newborn - less than a couple of weeks old.  This really is the best time to do newborn photos if you're wanting that really new, sleepy curled up look.  

I decided to give Mum a bit of a pop quiz about her photoshoot experience in the hope that it might help out some other Mums who are thinking about possibly having newborn photos done!


What made you want to get newborn photos done?
I wanted to capture a time in my sons life that we will never get back again, they grow so fast and I wanted to make sure we got some photos so we remember that moment.



What made you choose Jane?
There are so many photographers out there that its extremely hard to choose. I was walking through the maternity ward and came across the stunning photos on the walls, straight away I fell in love with them.


How did you feel during the photo session?
At the beginning I was a little nervous - I wasn’t to sure how Tyler would behave (how would he be if he woke up, what if he screamed etc) however Jane was extremely patient and was very soothing with Tyler- even showed us a fantastic app of white noises that we have continued to use after our session.



What did you like best when working with Jane (as your photographer)?
We found Jane really related well with our situation and the needs of having a newborn baby. She made a relaxing and comfortable environment where we could comfort and feed him when needed. She is a very skilled and knowledgeable photographer in her field of work and that came through when working with her.



Did you have any hesitations at first?  Did she overcome the doubts?
After seeing her work and sitting down for a consultation where she answered all my questions, I knew I had chosen the right photographer to capture the special time of my sons life.


                                       
What were your first reactions to the photos?
A little tearful, he looked soooooooooooooooo super cute. Absolutely loved the slideshow that Jane put together, the music was so beautiful that it actually brought tears to my eyes. And I loved the father/ son photos.





What is one suggestion you have for other new mums?
If you have any doubts, make sure you meet your photographer for a consultation and have a look at their work to make sure you both relate and they are able to deliver the style/look that you are after.




Awesome advice, don't you think?

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About Me

I'm an NZIPP qualified Wellington based Wedding & Portrait Photographer. I live with my husband, 2 kids, 3 cats and 2 dogs. And some fish. And a rat. I have a home studio, and a backyard that most people never want to leave. I'm fun, lighthearted and I love to chat... you'll be giggling and smiling before you know it. Even if it is at my dumb jokes! Need some new photos? Drop me a line and I'll hook you up (haha, there goes the first dumb joke!)