What I've learnt being a Rugby newborn photographer | The Corbett Creative Photography

I’m not quite sure how to begin this post as I never quite dared to dream this would happen but here I am celebrating one whole year of owning and running my own newborn and family photography business in my hometown of Rugby. A creative vocation that until fairly recently, I thought was simply too big to imagine, to pivot from a decade of primary school teaching to working and building relationships with families across Warwickshire and beyond in a whole new way. What a whirlwind it has been!

Adele Corbett from The Corbett Creative Photography sitting in a field of daisies in Rugby at sunset holding a camera

How it started

I’m sure you’ll have guessed that my family and newborn photography journey began a whole lot longer than just a year ago! Around five years ago, before I had children, I felt like I needed to put my mind and creativity to something other than my full time role as a primary school teacher. Like most teachers, you live and breathe this role. It becomes your identity and although I loved it, I needed something else other than being ‘Mrs Corbett’. I dusted off a second hand, 15 year old, entry level Canon DSLR my brother-in-law had given us and enrolled onto a ‘Beginners Photography’ evening class at a local college.

From that moment, the obsession to learning more and more began!

Like so many photographers, once you enter this world your whole appreciation for the everyday mundane things change. You walk around noticing leading lines whilst out shopping. You notice the beauty in the tiniest of details. You watch your favourite tv programme appreciating the composition of the scene. I’ll never watch a David Attenborough documentary in the same way!

Once our first child Ellen was born, life got a whole lot busier and although I’d occasionally capture important milestones of her that was as far as my photography went.

That was, of course, until 2020. The year when life slowed down and everything changed for everyone.

In October of 2020, we welcomed our second child Toby into the world. Following a really tough birth with our first born and a lack of prenatal support due to the pandemic, I knew it was down to me to make this birth a much more positive experience and overcome the huge anxiety I had surrounding it. I practiced hypnobirthing and planned for a homebirth.

And it paid off!

We welcomed Toby into the world with the most positive and magical birth at home; it really was the most healing experience. That moment will forever be the precise moment a new confidence in my own ability quietly started to take root. I realised with hard work and dedication, I really could achieve things that previously, seemed so out of reach and had always thought were beyond me.

A couple of months into a fairly lonely lockdown maternity leave, scrolling social media in a sleep deprived state, I came across a family photographer and filmmaker capturing families in a way that just completely resonated with me. The more I looked at this style of photography, the more I knew it was exactly what I needed to do. It was quite literally a lightbulb moment! It was everything I loved… a relaxed style, capturing the in-between moments and tiny details. It reignited my fire for photography immediately. That very day I went out, bought myself a new notebook and started to formulate a three year plan of how I could transition into a full time photography career.

Notebook on a tray with a three year career plan by The Corbett Creative Photography in Rugby

With none of the usual baby groups and coffee dates to go to due to the pandemic, I dedicated every car journey, every nap time, every evening, every 2am feed to learning anything and everything I could get my hands on. Like I had been when preparing for Toby’s birth, I was well and truly obsessed. The money that I had saved for a ‘normal’ maternity leave, I used to invest in new equipment and education. I plucked up the courage to get in touch with a photographer I admired from the North West (Kate Hennessey ‘Clicked by Kate’). She ran a 1:1 parent photography course. Attending that course was the first time I had left Toby, who was five months by that stage, for more than an hour or two but I knew there was good reason to do it. Within a few minutes of meeting me, I’m sure Kate could tell that deep down, I wanted to do more than just take beautiful photos of my own family. Hearing positive and encouraging words from someone other than my husband about my photography validated that this little dream could perhaps have legs. I left her house that day with a plan in my head of how I could start to build this business and began to put the gears in motion. I’ll forever be grateful for the support Kate gave then and still continues to give now!

Over the next couple of months I continued to learn as much as I could and offered free shoots to both friends and strangers to help build my confidence and create a portfolio. I learnt how to build a website and researched tools that would help me on the business side of things such as client management systems, gallery host websites and accountancy software… a far cry from anything related to being a primary school teacher!

On the 27th June 2021, I launched my newborn and family photography business ‘The Corbett Creative Photography’. Nothing could have prepared me for the year that would lay ahead and the opportunities that awaited me. I’ve made friends with fellow togs, worked with brands I’ve loved for years and met so many families many of whom, I now have the privilege of calling my friends.

Family on bed and dad tickling little boy by The Corbett Creative Photography Rugby

Mum with red hair tickling daughter by The Corbett Creative Photography in Rugby

Baby smiling into the distance whilst sitting on blanket

Mum and dad staring down at baby daughter

Boy on dad's shoulders leaning down and kissing mum

Family sat in nursery reading a book together

Mum twirling daughter in Cawston Woods Rugby

Dad spinning son around by his hands at sunset

And as for the three year plan from earlier…I think a new one might be required! One that features bigger dreams and new directions I definitely didn’t think would be possible just a year ago.

So if you’ve got a passion project hiding deep down inside of you, why not give it a whirl?! What’s the worst that can happen? Imagine where you might be in a year’s time!

A few things I’ve learnt along the way this year:

You never stop learning.
Along the way, you’ll meet people who do things in different ways. There is ALWAYS something to learn from someone else. Make the most of every opportunity.
Being a photographer is SO much more then turning up to a shoot and taking pretty pictures.
As a photographer, you have to wear so many hats. Along with the obvious fun stuff… professional baby cuddler and child entertainer, 90% of the work isn’t taking photographs or being at a shoot at all! Along with time consuming editing, you also need to be a website designer, accountant, marketing director, SEO specialist, content creator, copywriter, graphic designer… I could go on and on…the list is endless!
Reach out to fellow photographers
The term ‘community over competition’ is used frequently in the industry and there’s good reason for it! Building relationships with other like minded professionals is vital. They are the people who ‘get it’ afterall. The ones you can message with a question or swap shoot ideas with. As a photographer, you can only be in one place at one time and diaries get booked up. Being able to refer clients to other professionals you trust is invaluable and likewise, those referrals come back around.
There won’t always be balance
There’s been many times over the past year when I’ve felt overwhelmed. Until very recently, I ran this business whilst teaching three days a week and having the children at home on my two days ‘off’. It was and still is tough. There will be many late nights and a hell of a lot of hard work. But if you are passionate about it, goodness me it is worth it!

Adele

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Shout outs

Along with my hugely supportive family, I also have a number of other people I’d love to highlight who have helped me this year.

Togs

Clicked by Kate - https://clickedbykate.com

Angela Paul for allowing me to second shoot weddings with her and being an all round wonderful new friend! - https://www.angela-paul.com

Carley Aplin - This lady’s work was the inspiration that got me started on this journey and I’m excited to be attending in person training with her in September! (see below) - https://carleyaplin.com