[MODEL MADHOUSE] Hey Baby

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When my job turns into a family day out at the beach and the campaign images become some of my favourite family portraits it’s sometimes hard to believe I get paid for this. Don’t get me wrong though, rolling around on the beach with my baby girl, snacking on chocolate and spending the afternoon with my husband is still really hard work.

Jokes aside, the afternoon was spent shooting the newest campaign for Hey Baby’s bamboo swaddle range with Miss V being the star of the show (obviously). Clocking up her fourth job so far she’ll be sitting on a sweeter retirement than Georges and I in no time.

After loading up the car with all the essentials (essentials being a rusk, her floppy bunny and sultanas a.k.a my life savers) in jumped mummy, daddy, baby and grandma and we headed for the beautiful Cronulla beach.

Now for those who don’t know Georges has surprisingly good knowledge of hair and make up. I mean he did grow up with 3 older sisters and has worked in the fashion industry for over 12 years so you’d think something would have stuck. That being said, without hair and make up on set Georges took it upon himself to become my unofficial/official hair stylist. But it didn’t stop there….

“In the words of GWEN STEFANI, hey baby, hey baby, HEY!”

Where ever there’s a camera there’s a Georges Antoni not far behind. I could quite literally see his fingers twitching, aching to get involved. Not one to sit back and watch all the action he was right in there with scrims, hair flicking, swaddle wrapping and baby entertaining. Photography is quite literally in his blood whether he likes it or not. And Jack took it all in his stride. At one point he lent over to me and said, “I can’t quite believe Georges Antoni is assisting me!”

Now I’ve been asked on several occasions whether or not I think putting Valentina to work is the right thing to do. First of all it’s not something I sought out. I used to bring Valentina to my jobs when she was much younger and I was still heavily breastfeeding. It was on one of these jobs that I got asked by the client if Valentina would be able to model for them and if she had representation. So I put it to my agency who said they could represent her on my behalf and I decided to give it go. Of course there were and still are things I take into consideration. Firstly, where is the job? Inside, outside, 1 hour away or 20 minutes away? What time of day do they want to shoot? 6am, 7am, 12pm or 9pm? And with regards to length of time, the industry has imposed a 4 hour limit for children her age. All of this goes towards making my final decision and whether or not is will be safe and comfortable for Valentina. All I want is for her to enjoy herself and as a bonus we get some incredible photos that we can cherish forever. Until the day comes and she turns around and says to me, “I don’t want to do this anymore,” (and her wishes I will whole heartedly respect and honour) then I see no harm in hanging out together, having our photo taken and in the meantime filling up her bank account. By the time her 18th birthday rolls around then we’ll see who’s the annoying, embarrassing, ‘you never do anything for me’, mum.

So after 4 hours working on my tan……….oh sorry, working, we wrapped (get it) a fun, relaxed, beautiful, family filled shoot. It’s days like these that I really love my job but more so that I really love my family. Proud mama, proud wifey and proud daughter in law (there’s no photographic evidence but Georges mum Mona was doing an excellent job holding fort). Now for the car ride home and thankfully being carried all day was exhausting for Miss V and she slept like a baby all the way to Bondi.

You can purchase the new swaddles at the website linked below.

Photographer: Jack Steel
Stylist/Client: Melanie Ekermans
Unofficial Hair Stylist and Photographer Assistant: Georges Antoni

Website: www.iloveheybaby.com

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