“Woman. Let me remind you of a truth you already know.”

In this piece, Geelong newborn and family photographer Michelle McKay speaks to the deepest and mostly unspoken fears held by women and mothers at the thought of being photographed.

‘Picture this. You’ve just brought home your brand new baby - maybe this week, maybe last, or maybe almost more than a month back now (um, where did THAT month go..?). Maybe you little one is a late night party-pants, and you’re up from the small hours and into the early morning. Perhaps your babe is still growing used to feeding, and possibly burping takes longer than you’d possibly hoped to plan…’

In this piece, Geelong Photographer Michelle McKay explores the benefits of in-home photography for families bringing home a brand new infant.

‘If you're wondering today if you are enough, I am here to tell you, you are enough. If you're fretting you're not doing a good enough job, please hear me - you are doing *such* a good job. If you're overworked and overtired and overthinking everything, let me ease your mind. You're doing SO great, mama.’

In this piece, Geelong photographer Michelle McKay delivers a message to mothers they rarely get to hear.

‘When it came to making a record of your pregnancy, you found yourself hoping for something a little more understated, a little more relaxed, a little more authentic. Something that went a little closer to catching a little of what life is like for you right now, in these quiet days and weeks of anticipation before your already adored darling arrives, and shakes everything up. You may not quite know exactly what you’re exactly envisioning. You just know you’d like something that’s a little more... you.’

In this piece, Geelong photographer Michelle McKay speaks about the importance of maternity photography and announces a gift for pregnant mamas in Geelong.

‘You arrived when the yellow leaves were falling. Tiny beams of yellow light floated softly from tired branches, carpeting the path your parents would walk to bring you gently home. It’s a quiet time, when the leaves fall. A reflective, and a still. And now it will be known as the time they met you - their own happy little star. Fallen from the skies like a tiny yawn, Landing safely in their arms.’

In this piece, Geelong photographer Michelle McKay shares a short poem, pertaining to the beauty of an autumn born baby.

‘Fresh 48 Story - A session documenting those first few hours of a newborn's life in the world. Freshie sessions takes place within the first 24-48 hours of your baby's life, and are a perfect way to ensure you remember that first day forever.’

In this piece, Geelong photographer Michelle McKay showcases a Fresh 48 Story Session, captured at St John of God Geelong Hospital.

‘Whether it be baby one or number three, the long standing tradition of gathering with well wishes, wisdom and an assortment of miscellaneous baby goods is a beautiful way to arm new mamas on their journey into motherhood. When the gorgeous day of kindred connection and pastel patterned bunting comes to a close, pregnant women the country over are left with a belly full of cake and a gift table piled high with lotions, onesies, cloth nappies and an assortment of either brightly coloured or wooden infant paraphernalia (depending where you sit on the scale of one to Montessori).’

In this piece, Geelong photographer Michelle McKay introduces the idea of gifting expectant mothers a photo session, rather than baby goods.

'My preoccupation and profound regard for motherhood runs deep. It’s one of the things I am most drawn to in my photography of families - the acutely familiar, almost magical connection shared between a child and his mother.'

In this piece, Geelong photographer Michelle McKay explores why it's so crucial for mothers to have photographs with their children.

'On the day I met my daughter, the axis of my entire world shifted. Here was this tiny baby - this completely perfect, breathlessly beautiful little girl. And for a little while, she was mine to keep.'

In this piece, Geelong photographer Michelle McKay describes the way having photographs taken of the milestone that is welcoming new life is just one more way to show your new addition just how valuable and important they truly are.

'In the name of documenting a significant and life changing piece of your family's story, let’s catch those memories as soon as possible! : ) Whether this is your first or final babe (or perhaps one in between!), those first few days of bring home baby will be exciting, formative and incomparable, as well as amongst the most fleeting of eras in your long life.'

In this piece, Geelong photographer Michelle McKay explains the importance and beauty of catching the memories of the first week home with a new baby.

'As in life, birth is an unpredictable business - you’re not always dealt what you were expecting, that for which you may have planned. Yet when this mama learned she was best to birth in hospital and forego her delivery at The Geelong Birth House, she breathed through it. '

In this piece, Geelong Photographer Michelle McKay shares the courageous and endlessly beautiful birth of a sweet baby girl.

'Nothing before or after compares to those first few hours after bringing a baby into the world.'

In this piece, Geelong Photographer Michelle McKay talks about the beauty and importance of having that first 48 hours with a new baby documented.