It's a Christmas Baby!

Mother and baby meet for the first time from Michele Farley-Photography on Vimeo. music by bensound.com

Just a couple of days before Christmas, a long time friend asked me if I could take her picture before giving birth. What an honour it was to do a quick shoot for a friend to immortalize her beauty once again, this time in all the glory of her pregnancy. We had done a fashion shoot many moons ago. Yes this lady is a beauty queen and wore a crown with that title to prove it.

And quite the queen she is for being so powerful and tireless. Actually that could be said of all women who choose to bear children. It takes strength. Beauty is just part of the total package it seems. I took a few pictures as to not impose too much, but she did not let on how actually tiring it was... She was to give birth the next day as it turned out.

Lucky again, was I to pay her a visit on the very same day she was strong enough to get up to go see her baby. The rules of the admitting hospital may be different where you come from, but at this particular hospital in Seoul, the mother is not allowed to handle her baby until both are strong enough. But, we were able to see her, yes a baby girl, born December 21, 2015. I've been around pregnant women, I've been around babies, but this is the very first time get to capture both the  before  and after. So to celebrate  I decided to put it all together, a bit of photography, a bit of videography, a dash of music, and another beautiful story just in time for Christmas.

This is my gift to her and I hope you will find this project just as special as it was for me to make.