I have taken my daughter to photoshoots before, which has always been fun too. I love that she knows what I do and more importantly why I do it. She sees me being creative, having fun and getting paid for something I love. She sees me empower other women and she sees their response to their photoshoots. I feel incredibly grateful to be able to share this with her.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
A constant and frustrating challenge would have to be social media censorship. I shoot real, raw moments and I am constantly faced with images being removed and threats of being deactivated on these platforms. Not only do I find this difficult as a small business but also as a woman, a mother and an artist who has to censor the female form in the name of a misguided and outdated guideline.
For the better part of this year, my Instagram account has been shadow banned, which means my work is very difficult to find. Hashtags, explore options and recommendations do not showcase my account. I’ve even had people type in my account name and have nothing come up at all. It is at the same time humbling to see my growth slowly but steadily continue in the face of such a challenge. I am confident in time these guidelines will change and we can celebrate and honour female bodies without shame, judgement or censorship getting in the way.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
I read a meme the other day that said ‘if you see me talking to myself, don’t worry, I’m in a staff meeting.’ That sums up one of the cons that’s for sure. It can be pretty daunting being a one-woman show. There is a level of isolation which can sometimes feed fear and doubt. At the same time there is a beautiful community of photographers out there – and many have become really good friends of mine – who have shown me nothing but immense support and love.
The biggest pro would be that I can schedule time off without permission and I am able to be there for my daughter ANY time and that is priceless.
Hopes and Dreams: What next?
My biggest dream is to be able to travel and photograph at the same time. With my family spread out over the east coast of Australia between Queensland and Tasmania, I am travelling from west to east often. To be able to connect with women and mothers all over Australia would be amazing. There is also such widespread beauty here in WA that I would love to be able to travel around the state as much as possible too. As a creative, the different locations would be such a spark of joy and to be able to incorporate work and play and be regularly connected with family would be the ultimate for me.
To see more of Bec’s work at Wild Flow Her, check out her on Facebook and Instagram.
