family portraits in sydney
the beauty of motherhood

Last month, I tentatively pressed “publish” on this post to share this image

It was a personal post, one that I thought about for a while. I was worried that I was being too personal on my business page. But I pushed my fear aside, and hit “publish” (knowing that I could hit also hit “delete” at anytime)

I received many comments and likes for this image. But the one that filled my heart was from Julia of A Rock and a Soft Place Photography. She wrote:

“You inspired me to book a breastfeeding portrait of me and the youngest for next week. I had put it off for all the wrong reasons. Thanks for writing this, I needed reminding.”

Julia was one of the first to comment, so I left my image and blog post up. We just never know who we will inspire when we step outside our comfort zones. Being in front of the camera is never easy, but our family love us just the way we are. We may see the lines, the bags under our eyes, and the extra weight but they see their Mum. By hitting “delete”, we rob our children of images of their Mother.

Last week, Julia shared this image captured by  Martina of The Depth of Now. She wrote ” One of the most wonderful things that happened to me lately is that my dear friend Martina Octavia came round early one morning and photographed me feeding my daughter. I am reaching the end of a breastfeeding journey lasting seven years (through three children) and I am so very happy to have had the beauty of it documented.”

arockandasoftplace

I can honestly say that I had goosebumps. I am so glad that Julia pushed her fear aside, and has this beautiful image to treasure. Be inspired and step in front of the camera.

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October 6, 2014
Oh Cindy, this brought tears to my eyes. So beautifully written. What a story. And I still adore that photo of you. Julia-- you look breathtaking. ❤️
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    October 6, 2014
    Thank you Mary, I love it also. <3
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October 6, 2014
Such a hard thing to do but I'm glad you did and so did others! Beautiful images!
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    October 6, 2014
    Thank you, it is hard but so worth it.
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October 6, 2014
Thank you so much for sharing this Cindy. I love that this image will also always remind me of the connection I felt with your words that day. I am so filled with emotion to have this image, and grateful that I found a photographer who I felt so at ease with. I have found it so hard to be photographed the last couple of years. It's amazing that taking the leap after reading your post has given me an image in which I can see that my skin is tired, and my eyes a bit weary, but that those details are part of a glorious larger picture in which I am beautiful and nurturing and deeply connected to my daughter.
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October 7, 2014
Oh Cindy, you are such an inspiration. It's hard to trust someone to photograph you. We're having family portraits done this spring by a photographer friend of mine, and even though I trust her, and even though I know that we need to do it and that it will be easy (or as easy as it can be), I'm still nervous. Keep saying things like this because I, for one, need to hear them! xoxo
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