Two of Australia’s top photographers are demonstrating through their work how every new baby’s life is a precious gift.
Selena Rollason, of Brisbane, and Victoria Berekmeri, of Adelaide, are the winner and runner-up of
the Australian Professional Photography Awards for birth photography in 2016, according to The Daily Mail. Through their photography, the two artists and mothers work to capture families’ most special moments on film.
Rollason knows the power that a photograph can have. She said the birth of her third child was traumatic and emotional, and she struggled with negative thoughts about the experience; but now when she looks at photos from that day, she is reminded of the good things instead.
“When you have photos of those experiences, it helps women who had a traumatic birth process what’s happened and look on it in a positive way rather than a negative way,” Rollason said. “It not only shows women how strong they are, it helps society understand that birth is beautiful and shouldn’t be feared.
“I would love to see a reversal in that societal preconception that childbirth is an awful experience. At the end of the day, my images show it’s not,” she added.
The Brisbane photographer said she loves capturing the journey of parenthood on film – “from pregnancy bump, to birth, to newborn baby.”
Berekmeri said she enjoys watching fathers as they witness the birth of their child.
“Men can get quite emotional when they see birth photography and see themselves in birth photography,’ she told the news outlet. “It’s such a mind-shifting experience for them the first time they become a dad.”
Berekmeri said her own experiences taking photos of newborns have been life-changing.
“It makes you value what’s important in life,” she said.
The work of these two photographers is an amazing example of how every human life should be celebrated.
