About Babies in Bonnets™
Babies in Bonnets™ is a special photography project run by Heartstory – one of Australia’s most awarded and experienced family portrait photographers – for families with little ones aged 0-2 years old.
Please check our news and offers page to see if we’re currently running this project and find out more about Heartstory baby portrait photography.
We love bonnets because they’re timeless and adorable, and they make toddlers look like babies again. They emphasise facial features and they remove the judgement of whether our babies look like girls or boys, and how much hair they do or don’t have! You only have to look at the photos from last year’s Babies in Bonnets™ project to see how sweet and precious they all looked, even the ones that walked themselves into the studio wearing shorts and teeshirts!
This project is an amazing opportunity to celebrate the magic of babyhood with gorgeously styled studio portraits of your baby – and your experience can include your whole family if you wish.
Join us as we create a beautiful collection of beautiful, natural and whimsical baby portraits that will be turned into a stunning coffee table book, to be a beautiful heirloom for the families in the project, and also available to buy at the conclusion of the project.
This project will also be raising funds for one of Australia’s most important charities: PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia).
About PANDA
Perinatal Anxiety and Depression affects 1/5 mothers and 1/10 fathers, so out of the 60 families selected for this project, 10+ of them will have been touched by this condition. And this includes your photographer. Katie had her second baby at the ripe old age of 42, 11 years after her first. She found that the support amongst health professionals during her pregnancy and after August was born was very different to what it was like 11 years previously, in part due to the amazing work PANDA does in supporting and educating perinatal caregivers. She made sure she had an amazing network around her of health professionals specialising in perinatal care. But despite this, Katie discovered she had postnatal anxiety when August was 9 months old and found PANDA to be an incredible resource, especially their online mental health checklist, designed to help parents find out if what they’re going through might be a little more than the stress and exhaustion of caring for a new baby. PANDA saves lives and provides vital support, which is even more necessary now that we don’t have villages raising our children. And after living and working in Canberra for the past 23 years, Katie knows that it is in this city where so many people move to for work, away from their family and support networks, where services like these become even more important.
Sadly, there is still a stigma around mental illness and new mums feel intense pressure to put on a brave face and get on with it, no matter what might be beneath the surface. As photographers, we meet hundreds of new parents every year and this topic is always on our minds. That’s why we’ve chosen to support this cause via this project. We want to start a conversation, raise awareness and build community while celebrating our beautiful, precious babes.
About the photographer
Your photographer is Katie Kolenberg, two time winner of Australian Family Photographer of the Year in 2015 and 2017, and owner of Heartstory.
Katie is a mother of two boys: August (2) and Toby (13) and she loves babies, especially when they’re wearing bonnets. Katie has been a professional family photographer for 12 years and her favourite subject to photograph is babies with their mamas. She also has the patience of a saint with toddlers (although she admits she’s not as patient with her own children!).
She is also a big softie who wears her heart on her sleeve. You can find Katie’s personal story about postnatal anxiety on Heartstory’s instagram highlights (@heartstoryphotography).
How the project works
- We will photograph 60 portrait sessions and when we’re finished, we will design and publish a beautiful hard cover book called Babies in Bonnets™, featuring our favourite photo from each session we photograph, together with some meaningful words about motherhood.
- Families will have the opportunity as part of their participation to have a full portrait session in our studio, which can include sibling photos and family photos, and will be able to purchase prints and products just like any other family who comes through our studio.
- Participants will also have the option to do their own fundraising, to help raise further funds. Our total fundraising goal for Babies in Bonnets™ 2020 is $12,000.
How to apply for a spot
Jump over to the application page to find out all the important details and apply! Only 60 spots will be available!
