Candid Conversations: An Inside Look at Newborn & Maternity Photography

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to a special behind-the-lens interview with Anne Willingham. I’m Zoe Arnesen, the owner and heart of Zoe Arnesen Photography. I am delighted to be interviewing my friend and photography colleague right here on her blog.

As photographers, we are so fortunate to be able to capture sweet memories for our clients. We love highlighting your family’s beauty. But today, we’re turning the spotlight onto Anne!

It has been so fun getting to know Anne this year and hearing about her photographic journey. So sit back and join me in our coffee talk!

How did you begin your photographic journey?

My education and early career were all in the arts.  I hold a Bachelor of Interior Design from Auburn University’s School of Architecture and a Master of Fine Arts in Theatrical Design from the University of Alabama.  If you need something designed, I am your girl!  After college, I moved to Nashville to be near family, and it turned out to be a terrific career move as well.  There is a LOT of theatre going on in Nashville, and I was able to jump right in.  While my initial work was as a set designer, pretty quickly I shifted into lighting design.  Lighting is magic and being able to work behind the scenes to create a beautiful story on stage is so much fun!  Over the years, I have created lighting for everything from parties to opera, plays to dance.  I’ve done a little bit of everything!

When my siblings started having babies, I picked up my camera again.  I had done some film work in school, but didn’t have darkroom access in Nashville, so I had stepped away.  My nieces were (and are) THE CUTEST, so I had ready models to practice on.  Moving from lighting to photography was a very logical, horizontal move.  Photography is the act of capturing moments - moments of light, moments of a story.  It is exactly what I do on stage.  We are just able to save those moments forever instead of them being gone when the show is over. 

About seven years ago, I decided to make it official and Brown Bunny Photography was born.  I still do theatrical lighting around town.  It’s fun to be able to do both.

Can you share a little about your journey into newborn and maternity photography? What drew you to this in the first place?

Like many photographers, I started out doing a little bit of everything.  More and more, I gravitated towards photographing children.  I coached and taught swim lessons for over 30 years. Teaching 3-5 year olds how to swim is my happy place.  Photographing them is just as fun.  

Gradually, I started looking into newborn photography and took both virtual and online training courses.  Newborn photography is such a special focus.  You get to create art with these tiny, brand new, little humans.  It’s so amazing.  I am always deeply honored to be one of the first people to capture images of a new life. Having a baby completely changes the trajectory of a family’s life.  Saving those memories is magical.

Plus, in a lot of ways, a newborn session is like a play.  The parents and I collaborate on the front end about who they are as a family and what vision they have for their child.  We then pick colors and backdrops together and create art that represents their story.  Each child is unique, and I like making each photo shoot unique to represent that.

Maternity grew out of newborn photography.  It is an extension of that child’s story.  I LOVE creating strong, dramatic images of mamas.  Growing a person is hard work!  I want our images to represent how fierce and gorgeous these mothers are.  

I like being able to build relationships with families and being able to follow them on this exciting journey.  Maternity and newborn sessions are just the beginning of this friendship.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time when you’re not photographing newborns and families?

I am a yarn nerd.  I like to knit and crochet.  During the COVID quarantines, I learned how to dye my own yarns and how to weave.  If it is squishy and colorful, I will want to play with it.

I use a lot of knitted pieces in my newborn photography.  I love the coziness of baby snuggled down in lots of layers.  I make the majority of my own soft props, so that design training definitely comes back into play.  Often, each child gets something created just for their session.  I recently gained the ability to print my own backdrops, so now I really can control 100% of the final image and can really coordinate all of the visual elements.

I recently learned how to make baby socks, so I have begun incorporating those into some of my images.  I’ve also leveled up, and I am working on several knitted sitter and 1st birthday outfits.  My goal is to have a custom closet with lots of variety for every size.

What is a unique service that you offer?

Moms these days are so busy.  I honestly don’t know how they do it. My goal is always to make our process as easy as possible.  If I can take it off of mom’s plate, I will.  I consider Brown Bunny Photography to be a full service, luxury, boutique solution for working mothers.

We start by going to our clients instead of making them always come to us.  The initial consultation and planning session, as well as the follow up meetings can all be done in my clients’ homes or at a local coffee shop.  We try to be super flexible.  The actual photo session is done in a large dance studio so that we have space to set everything up before parents show up.

We will even bring clothes for both mom and baby.  I have a closet full of flattering maternity dresses that fit just about everyone.  We bring everything baby will need to our newborn sessions, from clothes to swaddles to diapers.  We only ask that mom bring the baby and something for baby to eat.  We actually even bring snacks for mom and dad so that they can just sit and relax during baby’s session.  Once the session is done, I help parents with their image and product selections and then bring everything back to your home once it arrives from the lab.  I even have a guy that will come hang your pictures for you. Easy-peasy!

Life flies by far too fast.  It’s hard to see while you are in the middle of it. I want to make the process of capturing those memories painless and easy.

Lastly, we'd love to know about any upcoming projects or exciting plans you have in your photography journey. Is there anything new coming up this year?

Definitely!  We are expanding our milestone sessions this year with new birth to birthday packages.  We are also working on a “Dogs and Dancers” photo session to help out the local dog rescue my puppy Maisie Jane was adopted through.  And while this one was put on hold by COVID, the “Fifty Shades of Red” childhood redhead image project is set to start up again later this spring.  We have lots of exciting things coming.  I think 2024 is going to be an interesting year!