Courtney - My first mother muse for my new project NEW MOON MOTHERHOOD under a December moon.
“I cried when I saw them. These are indescribably special. You never know what motherhood looks like (just what it feels like - so full of love, exhausting, tiring, overwhelming, so sweet), but I can see it all in these photos (how it looks and feels together). I really don’t have words. Thank you. “
Elyse and Leah are sisters who had their first children, Thomas and Coco, within weeks of each other. It was so incredible to photograph not only them and their new babies, but also how their own relationship to each other has grown and shifted as they are diving into motherhood at the same time.
Life has a way of being cyclical, taking stories I thought you learned everything from and bringing it back around to teach something more. I know Elyse and Leah because we grew up together. Our mothers had found a friendship as they jumped into a shared experience of motherhood. During this session, I couldn't help but feel like for the first time, I was getting a glimpse of the relationship shared by our own mothers. That once upon a time we would of been the babies rolling and wiggling around as our young moms, wide eyed and full of love, grew into their new identities.
With every fiber in my bones I feel the truth in these images. I already picture them 30 years old, with faded yellowed edges. I imagine their adult children holding them in their hands, memories from a day they can't remember, and all of a sudden recognizing their mothers in new ways.
I am forever grateful for Elyse and Leah let me capture who they are, and the love radiating from their hearts, so honestly and up close.
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We take a million snaps of our growing children, but how often do we stop to look at our own change? I loved using this session as a chance to create images of Jen as a mother and document the relationship she shares with her first child. Images that I am sure will be looked back on by her daughter, Sage, as a way to see the beautiful, young, strong woman jumping into motherhood.
