Meet Donne
Hi, I’m Donne. I am passionate about capturing your baby’s ever-changing details and personality as well as family interactions and bonds through my images. I see my role as an opportunity to create beautiful artwork for families to treasure forever. As a parent, I am acutely aware of how quickly babies and children change and I feel privileged to be able to capture them beautifully for you. I love my job and often have to pinch myself when I think of how lucky I am to be charged with capturing such precious moments. I just love getting a glimpse into the most magical moments of peoples lives. When you feel like all of your birthdays and Christmases have come at once each time you look at that tiny newborn bundle that you created. How tiny babies look in their daddy's hands, the look in mum’s eyes when she snuggles at that tiny person who she has felt move inside her for nine whole months. The curled up ear, hairy shoulder and that perfect little pout that you can’t believe you created. These moments are so fleeting yet the moments I capture are captured forever and became more and more precious as the years go by.
I love how different each session is. Some families like to really style their sessions with colour and accessories while others prefer more neutral tones or relaxed poses. I love both and thats why all clients are offered bespoke sessions to suit their tastes. I just love all things baby, the first year of my first baby’s life was the best year of my life. A whole new world opens up, a new routine, new clothes and baby items, new activities, new friends and a little person who needs you for everything. When you’re learning every day as your baby grows, following the milestones and experiencing elation and despair and everything in between all in the space of a day or sometimes an hour! You don’t feel like your old self and you have to learn to get to know your new self, it really is just such a whirlwind. I often find that the first time that parents gets to really relax and marvel at their tiny baby is during their newborn session, I love seeing the look in their eyes and sometimes the tears when they get a chance to take them all in. I make no secret of the fact that my favourite session type is a milestone session between 7-9 months. This is my personal favourite baby stage. they can sit, but not move… They are beautiful, their skin is porcelain, their eyes are big and inquisitive, they smile, they laugh, they haven’t reached the stage of ‘separation anxiety’ that kicks in around one. They have chubby little knuckles, want to eat their own feet, enjoy tummy time, let you change their clothes, are easily impressed and besotted by the camera and are just generally scrumptious. If you only do one baby session please chose this age! By one they need a little more entertainment/distraction. That is where the cake smash sessions come in. Anyone who has ever had a one year old and tried to sit them on the spot and walk away can testify to how important giving them something to do or something to play with is. Cake smash sessions capture a few family images and portraits of baby alone before the cake and bath are brought out. The changes keep your one year old entertained as well as allowing the capture of some of the very best expressions that they have to offer. To keep the cycle going I also love capturing maternity images which give mums to be a total treat, some images that are all about them and those final weeks before their lives change forever, we style them and make mums feel as glamorous and special as they can with their beautiful bumps, I love maternity sessions too. In fact I love all session types, I love the babies and I love my job.
On a personal level I am a mother of two and married to my childhood sweetheart. We live by the sea in a house that is undergoing extensive renovation and takes up most of our time outside work and family commitments. I started the business as a mum of a 1 and 3 year old looking for a creative outlet that would benefit others and some 'me time' when the children were at nursery, it has evolved to be more than I ever imagined and I am blown away by how far people often travel to have me photograph their families.
If you have any questions please check out the rest of the website or contact me via info@bellaandduck.com.
Thank you for taking the time to read a little about me, I look forward to meeting you.