For newborn photoshoots, Gabriele has to prepare a few days before. Each composition takes time to organise: gathering materials, choosing a design and getting all the colours to work together. The mandalas are made up of items from the natural world: flowers, leaves, stones, moss and other materials. It can take between two to four hours to get everything ready.
“If I am using real flowers, I try to do it right before we begin, so they can be as fresh as possible for the photo session. If a newborn baby is sleepy, to photograph the set up won’t take that long. If baby is awake – it is a little tricky, because I don’t want any detail to fall apart. It just takes longer, if they are awake.”
“My mandala ideas are always connected to nature, the timing. If it’s autumn, I know that I will be using colorful leaves, if it’s summer – definitely flowers or something that reminds me of that particular season.”
Gabriele moved to USA from Lithuania in 2003 and has a background in graphic design and a lifelong love of artistic creations. However it wasn’t until she had children of her own that she discovered the world of newborn, maternity and family photography. “After my kids were born,” she says, “my artistic soul was reawakened. I started capturing pictures of my own children, and fell in love with photography. That is how my photography journey started.”
To Gabriele, the mandala as a symbol has a deeper meaning as well. It represents light, harmony, love, hope, a circle of life, completeness, fulfillment and happiness. It becomes magical.
One day she would love to take the mandala photo sessions outdoors, so she can more fully incorporate nature into her photographs. “I do have a strong connection with nature. It gives me absolute freedom to create and inspires me.”
Gabriele Dabasinskaite / JustGaba Photography
