Volunteer to be photographed feeding your baby or toddler
The volunteers are the people who really drive this breastfeeding photo archive project forward. If you would like to help please get in touch using one of the email links in Contacts.
Please read below about what to expect from the photo session and how the photos may be used. Feel free to ask any questions you have. You will be given a set of digital images from the session free of charge.
The Photo Session
A session is ideally just real life carrying on as normal with you and your baby. No need to do anything especially special or wear anything different form what you normally would day to day. The photography can be as long or as short as you like, but, to begin with, a short one (about an hour) in your home can help get things going and allow you to see how you might feel about doing other sessions, perhaps in public situations. If you plan an outing, for pleasure or just to go down the recycling centre, Paul can come with you for some of it if you like, to try to capture those more unusual breastfeeding moments out and about. Some volunteers have organised outings with three or four other breastfeeding mums, which often makes everyone feel more comfortable.
Even with the best planning babies are not always hungry during photo sessions, or they are just too distracted by the photography to concentrate. This isn't a problem. Paul will take a few photos of you and your family anyway, and will try to come back another day. There are no limits on how often you can invite Paul back.
Your Proofs and getting copies for yourself
After the photo session Paul edits and corrects the images and then provides low res proofs of the best ones that only the people in the photos can view and download. These are more than big enough for use online but if you want to make larger prints you can order high res versions of the files for no charge.
How the Photos will be used
The next stage is for Paul to edit your set of pictures down to those to be considered for wider publishing and educational purposes. You will be contacted again and shown the selection at this point, and you will be asked to sign a consent form allowing them to be put into Paul's online libraries, where he can license their use for editorial (not advertising) purposes. You can approve, some, all or none of them.
Suggestions for breastfeeding scenarios we would like to add to the Library
OUT AND ABOUT
Public transport - trains, buses, the tube, etc
In the car
Waiting rooms - doctors, stations etc
City parks and heritage gardens
Playground bench with older children on swings etc
Family events - weddings, picnics etc
Holidays - camping, hotels etc
Public buildings - Libraries, galleries, etc
Leisure facilities - gyms, swimming pools etc
Out for a walk in the forest or countryside
On the beach
With farm or zoo animals also feeding their young,
eg. children's farm, zoo etc
Parent and baby film screenings
Cafes, Restaurants, shops etc
Checkups at doctor or with midwife
AT HOME
At the dinner table
At a BBQ
Doing daily chores
On the phone
Quiet moments
With family and friends
The bedtime feed with baby in pyjamas/sleeping bag
and mum dozing
A night feed in bed with Dad asleep
With Mum asleep too!
Cup feeding
AT BIRTH
New born with first skin to skin contact
In a birthing pool
Home birth
With midwife helping
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Please email us your suggestions
Some of the general family photos taken on the sessions may be considered for the libraries too, but you will be shown which ones and given the opportunity to withdraw them from inclusion.
