My Mum is no longer with us but I still think of her every Mother’s Day and remember what a brilliant mum she was.
My parents split up when I was 11 and Mum brought up four children on her own, which can’t have been easy. She had to get a job and learn to drive and keep everything going for us.
My Mum was so kind, always doing things for others, supportive, funny and clever. I was the odd one out in our house, not wanting to do A levels but go to art college instead and she supported me all the way.
When my Mum moved away from Lincoln to live nearer to me, we had to pop into Lincoln and we saw a woman selling The Big Issue. Mum went straight over to her and bought a copy and they had a chat and a big hug. It transpired that Mum had befriended this person and made a point of regularly chatting to her and checking she was ok. It was very touching to witness and the woman made a point of telling me that my Mum was a very special person.
This Mother’s Day I will also think about the other women in my life – my family and my friends, many of whom are also mums, grandmothers and step-mums. I am so lucky to be surrounded by these wonderful women who make my life so much fuller.
There is always a good reason to have portraits taken and capture moments with the special people in our lives. I’m glad that on a couple of rare occasions of our family getting together, we had portraits taken. If you would like to have portraits to celebrate your Mum or for any reason, please get in touch;
Call me at the studio on 0115 9252725
Text me on 07808 620436
Email me at info@doubleimagephotography.co.uk
Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram
Celebrating the Beauty of Every Woman this International Women’s Day
For a few years, I have wanted to create images which celebrate the true beauty of every woman and this year I am finally making this a reality.
Thinking about why I want to create images of real women has made me think about why, as women, we can be so self-critical and unhappy about how we look. I have been self-critical for most of my life and I know many of my female friends are too. As I’ve got older, I find myself closely examining new wrinkles, whiskers, dark spots and my ever decreasing left eyebrow! My shape has changed too and my roots are more grey than ever!
I have found these changes hard to accept, especially as I see so many ‘perfect’ women my age in the media. I know (and can see) that many of them have succumbed to being stretched, plumped, filled and operated on, or they have been digitally enhanced and tweaked for print in magazines and on social media. As hard as I have found it, I have decided to try to accept ageing and the changes I see in myself and embrace them as being signs of experience and wisdom. Instead of buying an eyebrow pencil to even up my brows, I am enjoying the fact that right and left are different and that is something unique about me.
To be photographing women of all ages and from different walks of life is really inspiring for me. Some of the people coming in have been photographed by me before and others I have never met. As a photographer, there is a nervous excitement for me not knowing the person who is going to walk through the door to be photographed – not knowing what they look like, what they will be wearing and how they are feeling about having their portrait taken. I love working with people who don’t like having their photograph taken and I believe everyone can look great in portraits.
For this creative process I am asking the people involved to think about when they feel their most beautiful and powerful. What makes them feel that way? For me, I love wearing black and I have a pair of long boots which I always feel great in (they’re comfy too, so that’s a bonus!). I love wearing lipstick and always have done since I acquired my Mum’s Max Factor red lipstick in a fancy blue case when I was a teenager!
I will be taking portraits throughout March and will be creating a collection of images to share on social media.
If you are over 18 and would like to be part of this celebration of women, please get in touch;
Call me at the studio on 0115 9252725
Text me on 07808 620436
Email me at info@doubleimagephotography.co.uk
Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram
