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Colleen Harris is no stranger to photographing children and families, but some of her most precious work is done with families that have just suffered a devastating loss — the loss of a child.
Ms Harris is one of more than 250 photographers around the country who volunteer with Heartfelt, a service that provides professional photos to families that have just lost an infant to stillbirth, or have a premature or gravely ill child.
She said the service gave families a permanent memento of their child's brief time with them.
"It can mean a great deal to them; without those photos, they don't have much else to go by," Ms Harris said.
"Stillbirth is such a taboo subject, it still is in many areas, and I think Heartfelt is working towards breaking down those barriers.
"It is really heartwarming to see so many families reaching out and using the service."
Heartfelt works with hospitals, who contact their volunteer photographers when a family requests their services.
The family receives 20 prints, and digital versions of all the images taken in the session.
The non-profit organisation was founded in 2010 by Melbourne photographer Gavin Blue after the loss of his own daughter.
He found that there was no-one there who was able to provide this service, so he decided he was going to start this on behalf of his daughter.
"A lot of other photographers think this is a fantastic idea, and we're getting a lot of support from hospitals as well, so it's a service we try to provide to as many families as possible," Ms Harris says.
Photography a family affair
Ms Harris's father was a photographer, but when it was time for her to choose her own career he steered her away from the darkroom.
"He used to shoot and develop all of his own work. Being film, you really had to be a master of your work," she said.
"He said at that stage it probably wasn't the best career choice, it probably wasn't going to make enough money to support a family."
Ms Harris rediscovered photography when she became a mother.
"My husband's grandfather gave us some old camera gear and I picked it up, started playing, and haven't put it down since," she said.
"I started my business when I was on maternity leave, so I started practising on my own son — and my husband, who really doesn't appreciate a camera shoved in his face all the time!"
Despite the adage about working with children, as her work progressed Ms Harris discovered a strength for working with young subjects.
"You get a lot more natural captures from children — you can't bribe children, you can't persuade them, you just have to set it up and let them go, and whatever you capture is them," she said.
"There's no falsity about children; they are who they are and they come out best that way."
Topics: babies---newborns, grief, fine-art-photography, volunteers, child-health-and-behaviour, children, rockhampton-4700