If only everything in our lives were as sublimely styled as the idealizations we scroll through on social media. Life perfected, art perfected — no matter how unrealistic a goal. We see an iteration of that quest for the perfect in gorgeous newborn portraiture. Can you blame us? After all, the miracle of a just-born infant is just about as close to genuine perfection as it gets.
But the truth of pregnancy, birth and infanthood is that few of its soul-staggering, heart-wrenching, utterly human moments look, sound or feel like a fairy tale. A baby’s first days and a new mom or dad’s early experiences in parenthood are mostly chaotic, uncertain, earthy and perfectly imperfect — gloriously so. And that is the very essence of the human experience.
“We’re longing to connect with what makes us human, and there’s nothing more human than birthing. Or beautiful,” says birth and newborn photographer Neely Ker-Fox in this issue’s feature, “Origin Story,” in which we explore the artistic journey of authentically capturing birth, infancy and new parenthood.
What an honor it is to help weary, punch-drunk parents look back on those early days. What a privilege to capture the moment a family becomes a family. Each new child’s story is for her family the greatest story ever told, no matter how many times it’s reiterated. And because each story is beautifully un-perfect on its own, we as photographers can embrace a completely realistic goal: to celebrate and document unfiltered beauty wherever we find it.
IN THIS ISSUE:
- 116 pages, full color, perfect bound
- 50 Best Cameras, Lenses & Gear
- Crazy Love: How to document birth, infancy and the dawning of parenthood
- How to do good with your camera by Kellie Bieser
- The Power of Photographic Noticing
- Studying other genres made me a better portrait photographer
- Q&A with Color Guru Brittany Wright
- Mastering Macro with Tiffany Kelly
- Gwen Coyne leverages light and shadows
- Kara Mercer’s keys to fulfillment
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