Photograph by Echo Baby Photography, styling and posing by Kelly Brown

My husband is a massive Liverpool FC fan and Stevie Gerrard his ultimate hero. This week I met my own hero – the very talented and successful newborn photographer Kelly Brown and the only way I could describe my excitement to my husband was by comparing my two day workshop with how he would feel if he did an intensive 1-1 training session with Stevie G. With this comparison he totally got why I was so star struck! Kelly Brown is a highly celebrated baby photographer from Brisbane, Australia and her beautiful posing of newborns together with an organic style of props and editing has given her a distinct style and unique brand. Just watching her posing the 6 day old baby on our first day was mesmerising and hearing her talk about her own style and ethics was fascinating too. The way she has developed her company littlepiecesphotography was inspiring and I look forward to developing my own brand bearing her advice in mind.

Kelly Brown demonstrating wrapping techniques

Like me, Kelly Brown is committed to newborn safety and I know she met up with the founders of BANPAS (Babies And Newborns ASsociation) when she was in the UK. Being a pro member of BANPAS it was great to hear her talking about how important it is to prioritise safe working practices. The other pro baby photographers and I were keen to join forces and learn from one another- thank goodness I’m not the only one with an addiction to buying newborn props for photography sessions! Each of us was unique with our own background and experience and with so many babies born in the UK each day it’s fabulous to know that expectant parents have a choice of photographer to suit their style and budget. I’m excited about developing the sculptural nests that I offer and introducing some new products to compliment my style. Work/Life balance in baby photography was also a big topic for Kelly Brown and she supports her family financially whilst maintaining her role as a ‘mum’ on school runs, sports days and bed times. Hearing about how Kelly Brown and the other photographers balance their home lives whilst creating their own businesses reminded me of how delicate the balance really is and that those everyday moments with my own children like the school run are important milestones within my working day. So now, returning to the football language I’m going to limber up and get ready for a strong season!