For those of you that haven't read about my project so far (Part 1), I just thought I would recap... A rainbow baby is a baby that comes after a loss. I was absolutely over the moon when I discovered that we were expecting our rainbow baby and I decided to start this Rainbow Pregnancy Project soon after. To be perfectly honest, it gave me something to look forward to and hold onto in a time of uncertainty. Of course, I wanted to do an announcement photo that was still linked in with the project but slightly different as I'd already done the first two photoshoots by the time we announced that we were expecting. By the time we got around to green, my husband was much better trained!! He no longer moved around while the picture was being taken, meaning there was less motion blur. As my little boy was getting older and starting to run around a lot more, it became a lot more difficult to keep him entertained and reasonably still to get a photograph out of him. Lots of singing about tractors was required to achieve this image! I took these two images when the boys had decided they had had enough of modelling - which was about five minutes after I started shooting! This blue shoot was much more relaxed, as my son was napping for a while and there was no pressure to get the photos done as quickly as possible! Our son was finally catching on to the fact that there was a baby in there and loved to kiss and point at the belly to tell me! He also learnt that the baby had 'head, shoulders, knees and toes' from the song. Every so often he'd give me a cheeky grin and joke that the baby had a 'hat' or a 'coat'. He found it hilarious. As I got further along, the items that she supposedly had became more and more extravagant and he was eagerly awaiting to see the slide and the motorbike that were clearly hiding inside mama's belly! We were very lucky to get this last shoot in. It was the morning I went into labour and it had actually been a while since the last shoot as we kept putting it off because we didn't have time! Our son lasted a grand total of two minutes before he decided he was too overtired and needed a nap. We literally managed one photo with him. I took the picture of me while my husband carried him off to bed. As much of a challenge as this project has been, I am extremely glad I did it. Progressing through each colour made me feel more confident in the pregnancy and gave me a better connection with my baby. At the start of the project I found myself creating moments that i wanted to capture, and by the end of the project, I was enjoying moments that were worth capturing. Not only has this changed the way I view photography, but also the way I value each moment. There was a long wait between going into labour and actually taking Jessica home. I will go into more detail about that journey at some point, but for now, I hope you enjoy the photographs I managed to take when we arrived home.
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Clare ShapcottPhotographer Archives
December 2021
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