by Carolyn Robertson posted in Parenting

Each summer, photographers Aimee and Jenna Hobbs work on putting moms back in the picture through a project -- a labor of love, really -- they call "A Mother?s Beauty."
Several years ago, the sisters-in-law, who are based in Alberta, Canada and co-own Hobbs Photography, began to notice that moms were removing themselves from family photographs.
"[They] either were choosing not to participate in their family pictures or were participating in the session, but when it came time to select images, they weren't choosing any with them in the frame," explains Aimee. "It broke our hearts to see moms effectively removing themselves from the visual narrative of their family, whether intentionally or unintentionally." So the pair, who are both mothers themselves, decided to do something about it.
They put a call out to moms inviting them to sign up for postpartum photo shoots that capture and celebrate all of the ways that motherhood changes us, our hearts and our bodies.
Jenna, who has five children, says, "We wanted to capture a real mother's beauty? We wanted to stop and celebrate women, as they were. Whether they had a baby four weeks prior to the photo sessions or 14 years prior. Childbirth and motherhood changes us, physically and emotionally, it leaves scars and changes our shapes and mindsets. We wanted to not only capture that, but celebrate it, because it really is an amazing thing mothers are."...