Cape Town Birth Photographer » blomerusphotography.com

Ben is no longer a baby, he’s on his way to being a big brother. Here’s his birth story if you missed it.

What I love about incorporating an older sibling in a maternity session is the perspective and layers it adds. It’s not just your bump. There’s the context of how old they were when this chapter of your family story was happening. A pregnancy with a toddler is a busy one, you are running after while growing another. All the nuances of that we can capture when we include them. Maternity sessions like these also capture the love and friendship between a couple as they await their baby. This couple exudes that kind of affection even through a tough pregnancy and raising a toddler who is a gentle soul.

She wanted something a bit different. I suggested this beach location that feels more like a desert with its white sands. I had never shot there at sunset, but I must admit I loved the yellows and pinks it as it was something magical. You would never guess this is Cape Town!

Enjoy their awaiting-to-be- four family maternity session and then when their daughter was born. It’s beautiful!

Mini Maternity sessions just like this one are available complimentary with all my birth packages. Maternity and newborn packages are available even if you don’t hire me for your birth. I focus on classic, clean, timeless images of all the relationships and dynamics of your family. All in colour AND black and white edits. Contact me here if you are interested in this for your journey to parenthood.

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When the Working Creatives approached me to answer some questions about what its like to side-hustle a photography business into the process of becoming a full-fledged small business, I was honored. And curious what they might ask! I’m all about community over competition and lending my experience to others as they pursue their dreams.

In this interview I talk about the jobs I had that weren’t my passion, what’s my favorite lens, and how I deal with self doubt.

I decided to be brutally honest and keep it real.

An excerpt:

If any, what kind of jobs did you have before your career took off?
Such a variety, and they all taught me skills that I carry into my current work. I used to be a janitor for a military training base, 100 urinals were mine for the cleaning at 4:30 am! That taught me how to sometimes you have to wake up early and hustle. I was a freelance typesetter for Spanish books for almost a decade. This wasn’t my passion but it helped fund things that were. It taught me to have an almost obnoxious attention to detail. I worked at a veterinary practice which was how I paid off debt really early in my life. That taught me one of the best life lessons: that debt stings, limits your options, and feels like cleaning up dog poo to get out of. So I never incurred a penny of it since. 

Read the full interview here.

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Grace’s pregnancy wasn’t easy as her mom was hospitalized several times with high-risk preeclampsia. When she went into early labour while I was overseas (no way to get back in time even though I built my trip around my on-call time) the fabulous Carla Nieuwoudt Photography stepped in as my back-up, there for over 16 hours, and I covered their newborn session once I was back in town. This was a collaborative effort of both our brands. The edits and final film production are mine, and the teamwork is ours. We both want to be sure no mom who has hired us as her birth photographer loses out on these once in a lifetime memories captured so we choose collaboration over competition.

You may remember this family! Grace’s big brother Sion’s birth is here and his christening. I just love binging out to birth stories, don’t you? My dearest thank you for this family for hiring me and trusting me with both their children’s arrivals in the world.

Enjoy Grace’s birth film.

She and her brother are living, breathing, walking miracles.

Shared with family permission and my special thanks to Dr. Jansen Van Vuuren & Mediclinic Durbanville for their professionalism.

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Elizabeth Stone once said, “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” This becomes multiplied when you decide to have two, three, four, or more pieces of your heart walking around.

The decision to have siblings changes a family dynamic in ways that aren’t known until history unfolds. I love capturing their DAY ONE of this unique and mysterious bond. This bond is one that is to share parents and be bound to a person in that love either by blood or adoption or blended families.

As a photographer, I have seen the variety of reactions. From disinterest to elation to tears to jealousy. Neither is right or wrong, they are just initial feelings. They are honest and that honesty translates into the photos.

If you would like me there for the day your baby meets your new baby, Meet The Family Sessions (when these normally happen) are available with my birth packages AND with my maternity/newborn packages. Inquire here for more information.

Enjoy 25 of my favorite images (that I can share) from my collection of documenting children on the day they meet their siblings.

1| YOU’RE A BIG GIRL NOW

She looks back at her mother as if to acknowledge she knows what this means.

Her status has upgraded to big sister.

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This birth was adrenaline pumping for me over and over again.

I was at a maternity shoot and I get a call from my husband that one of my clients is in labour. He says her name and I thought, “No, you heard wrong, she’s for much later on. You sure it isn’t ____ or ____?” He was sure. My heart sank, it seemed way too early.

I will let her fill you in on the details in a moment.

For me, that whole night and evening I was on high alert. I knew it could be hours, it could be weeks. I woke up and put my scrubs on. Intuition told me, this is happening today. When I got the call to come, I got lucky with no traffic. My first sight upon walking in the door, was of her son crowning! I got to work quietly and efficiently. Years of experience and muscle memory kick in. Most of all I hoped for her sake that she would have a few minutes with him before he was rushed to NICU. That can be so rare for an early baby.

Her story as a first-time mom is so incredible. She walked this out with grace and joy even though she had no idea what to expect. And was facing this after pregnancy loss. I know it will be a riveting read for you and a reminder that birth is so unpredictable. You will also see the beautiful day they finally took their son home after overcoming a long NICU stay. Thank you Justine for sharing your story with us!

 

The pregnancy and birth of my rainbow baby wasn’t as straightforward as I’d hoped. I struggled with anxiety throughout my pregnancy (having fallen pregnant just 2 months after my miscarriage), developed gestational diabetes, and had a fall at around 7 months. It was likely the result of this fall that found me, two weeks later at around 5PM at my mother-in-law’s home, simply standing up from the bed after a nap and feeling a whoosh as my water broke at 7.5 months. I had wondered before if I’d know when my water broke and while this was early, I knew this was it. In a panic I told hubby what had just happened. He was calm, helping me to get my things and call our midwife before heading to the hospital. After speaking to the midwife we started praying that the baby stayed put. This was NOT part of the birth plan (a midwife-led water birth), but going into premature labour I was classed as high risk and had to be handed over to my gynae. We also called Marysol from the car and promised to keep her updated.

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