Behind the Lens & Between the Feedings: Dispatch №1
On becoming a photographer-mom and figuring out what that even means.
I've spent the last few years documenting other people's most important moments. Proposals, weddings, the quiet in-between of an engagement session on a slow Sunday morning. I show up, I observe, I capture. That part comes naturally to me.
What doesn't come as naturally? Turning the lens on myself.
But here I am. Pregnant, a little overwhelmed, and, for the first time, genuinely compelled to share something personal on this little corner of the internet.
This is new territory for me
I've kept this blog and my social media pretty professional with tips for couples and emotional wedding photos. By day I work in marketing at a tech company which means I spend a lot of time telling other people's stories.
That's changing… a little. Because becoming a mom while running a photography business in New York City feels like something worth documenting honestly. Not just the beautiful parts, but the logistical chaos, the identity questions, the strange and specific experience of being a photographer who captures memories for a living while navigating one of the biggest chapters of her own life.
What this series is going to be
I don't have it all figured out. I haven't given birth yet. I don't know what my schedule looks like on the other side of this, or how editing a wedding gallery feels at 3 am between feedings, or whether I'll cry the first time I pick up my camera again after the baby arrives.
I genuinely don't know. And I think that's the point.
I'm lucky enough to have maternity leave from my full time job, which means for the first time in a long time, I have something I almost never give myself — actual space to slow down, be present, and see what comes.
Behind the Lens & Between the Feedings is going to be my attempt to document that honestly — as it happens. The balancing act of being a creative and a mother. The things nobody really talks about when they say "you can do both."
I'll be sharing here on the blog and over on Instagram at @kieraewood. If you're a photographer navigating motherhood, a mom who loves following along, or just someone who appreciates a little realness mixed in with the engagement and wedding galleries — I'm glad you're here.
More soon from the other side. 📸