Photographing Nicole and Maxwell was a little out of my comfort zone. I am so used to shooting fashion so trying to capture the bond between a mother and child was going to be a challenge for me. But as soon as the first shot was taken I was instantly at ease. Firstly, Nicole is a god dam milf and Maxwell, well clearly he's going to break a lot of hearts when he grows up. I quickly realised that all I had to do was think 'what would I want out of a shoot like this with my little boy?' No posing, no staged shots and no fake laughs. I would want it to be real. I would want someone to capture those little looks he makes when he's excited, how I can can make him laugh, how he can make me laugh... I would want that look of 'you are everything to me' to be captured.
Maxwell is not only a handsome little bub but he is a fighter. He was born with a condition where his brain doesn't regulate how much oxygen its getting when he sleeps. Every single time he sleeps, even naps, he has to be hooked up to oxygen. Nicole shared a horror story with me on our drive down to Aldinga Beach of how she had to do mouth to mouth on him one night after she had discovered he had stopped breathing. Maxwell is in and out of hospitals and is on a first name basis with the neurologists and respiratory specialists. Its not uncommon for him to have seizures or just completely stop breathing for no reason. For any mum this is a horrendous and scary thing to deal with on a day to day basis but Nicole is not just any mum. She is a single mum who also works full time as a teacher. I struggle enough keeping my toddler fed and clothed and I have an extremely helpful husband so seeing everything that she manages to cope with whilst maintaining so much positivity and grace really put things in perspective. For Nicole the love she has for her son is what powers her on and editing these pics I could see that in her eyes. If anyone deserves the title #girboss its Nicole.
I feel this quote sums up the bond between Nicole and Maxwell perfectly...
"Thinking of you keeps me awake. Dreaming of you keeps me asleep. Being with you keeps me alive."
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