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What is 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.

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).

Why 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.

Who is 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 (nearly 2) and Toby (12) 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).

Who can be in this project?

• Babies up to approximately the age of 2.5 (at the time of their session). As long as they can tolerate a bonnet (good thing about bonnets is they’re harder to pull off than a hat!).
• If you’re currently pregnant and due between February and June 2019, please apply, as we would love to have some newborns in the book!
• If you are a Supermama and have two children who both fit within the age range, please apply, as it would be fantastic to have some sibling photos in the book.

How will it work?

1. We plan on photographing 60 portrait sessions and when we’re finished, we will be designing and publishing 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.
2. 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.
3. We will also give you the means to do your own fundraising, if you wish to help us raise further funds. Our total fundraising goal for Babies in Bonnets 2020 is $12,000.

I’m in, what next?

When: Session times will be available on weekdays and selected weekends from February to June 2020, with the book to be published in September.

Where: Heartstory’s natural light studio, Suite 104, Loop Earth Building, 17 Market Street, Belconnen, ACT 2617.

Cost to participate: $100, which will be donated in full to PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia).

What’s included:  

• A Heartstory portrait session with your baby in our Belconnen studio. We encourage you to include your whole family, as it’s a perfect opportunity to update your family photos. We will spend around 30 minutes on your Babies in Bonnets portraits, and then move on to family/sibling photos. Total time needed is around an hour.
• A range of bonnets in many sizes, for boys and girls, just for this project!
• Cute toys, props and other accessories to make your photos look amazing!
• Your double page spread in the Babies in Bonnets book. One page will be the feature photo, and the other will have words on it.
• A personal appointment following your portrait session where you may purchase images from your session. We will have a special selection of Photographic Artwork Packages available for Babies in Bonnets participants, which will include a complimentary copy of the book. If you don’t wish to purchase a package, the book can be purchased separately. Most families invest $800 – $2500 on their portrait collection. See our pricing & products here. Babies in Bonnets Photographic Artwork Packages including the book will start at $1000.
• Please check out these featured Babies in Bonnets sessions from 2019 to get an idea of what to expect from your session.

What’s not included:

• Photos from the session. Prints and products can be purchased after your session at your personal purchasing appointment, as described above.
• The book itself. We are ‘self publishing’ this book, so we are selling copies for $75 each, which is the same price it costs us to produce it. If you purchase one of our Babies in Bonnets Photographic Artwork Packages, you will receive a complimentary copy of the book.

How to apply: Fill out the application form at the bottom of this page, and we will contact you to book your session. Only 60 spots will be available!

A few important things to note

1. Because this book will be published, you must be willing to give us permission to display your photographs in print and online, as part of your involvement in this project. This will include the use of first names in the book. Please discuss this with us if you have any concerns.
2. Heartstory makes no income through your participation in this project. We will photograph your baby/family and edit your photos, as well as run the project and design the book completely for free. The only way we can earn any income from this project is through your purchase of prints and products from your session. We hope that anyone applying for this project will understand that our business gives us an amazing platform for fundraising and we are 100% committed to the cause by donating so many hours of our time, but that the purpose of the project is not purely for charity, it is also for the provision of original, quality, award standard baby and family photography. Babies in Bonnets is completely unique to Heartstory and we are currently undergoing trademark application.