Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
Balance was a big challenge when I was brand new with a slow workflow, especially because I work from home. Separating work from family time is essential. My mum guilt would set in every time I sat down to open my laptop. Lately I have started relying on my support system more. Mums are reluctant to do this because we feel responsible for everyone and everything, but I have had to stop treating my business like another baby because it won’t feel neglected or abandoned if I take one night off to reset and refocus.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome
I often find myself paralysed by my plans, lists and ideas because there will never be enough time in a day. Accepting that I need to stop, rest and spread the workload in order to get more done, has changed the way I work and I can be more present and intentional in my daily life. Photographing life events is a very intimate and sacred way of serving people, and I need to be at my best to produce this gift for them. This balance has not been perfected but it has become a lot easier now that my own newborn has reached her first birthday. Now that she sleeps more – I can be well rested and on call for my 2am birth photography clients.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The pros of working my own hours and planning my life around raising my children far outweigh any of the cons.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
I have developed a new style of elegant birth photography which will be available to expectant mums in Christchurch from now on. I can only book a handful of births each month, similar to a midwife. I’m hoping to work with midwives and hospitals to show expecting mums how empowering and elegant birth photography really is, and capture that incredible “I did it” moment to relish in for years to come.
Head to the Anchen Hockly Photography website to view her beautiful collection of images, and follow her journey on Facebook.
