Ineverthoughtwomenneededtobe
strongerthanmeninphotography
untilIbecameamother.Ialways
feltIhadthesameopportunitiesas
men–actuallythefactthatIama
womangavememoreaccesstostories
sometimes.However,whenIgotpregnant
Istartedtofearmypresentandfuture.
Ithinkthephotographyworldshould
startspeakingopenlyabouthowto
approachmotherhood,sothatmenand
womenhavethesameopportunities
professionally.Ipersonallyfeltreallylost
regardinghowtoapproachthissituation- Iwantedtowork,butIdidn’tknowifit
wasOKtobringmysontoshootsand
breastfeedhimthere.Ididn’tknowifI
shouldtellclients.Itwasatoughtime.I
felt,forthefirsttime,thatIhadtobe
strongandfollowwhatIthoughtwasright.
Equalopportunities
Annagivesherthoughtsonthe
prosandconsofworkingasa
womaninphotographyWebsite:annahuix.com
@annahuixand freaked out as I feared I would lose a lot
of work and it would be difficult to go back
to where I was professionally. Most picture
editors I work with are women – strong,
talented women – and they were really helpful
and understanding. I think it’s tough to be
a female photographer with a newborn, as
you want to work after a few months but
you’re unsure whether clients are going to
be cool with bringing a baby to the shoot, or
organising the shoot keeping in mind that you
have a small baby, you want to breastfeed etc...
I was lucky because my clients were
amazingly open-minded and because my
parents helped me out so much. I remember
photographing Margaret Atwood for The
Sunday Times, when my son was just five
months old. My mother came to the shoot
with Nil and waited for me downstairs until
the shoot was over. When Atwood realised my
mother and son were waiting downstairs she
said that I should have brought them upstairs
to the shoot!
I feel the industry should be open-minded,
reconciling work and motherhood. Otherwise,
it’s difficult to reach equality between men
and women photographers, because the
reality is that if you want to be a mother and
a photographer, if there isn’t a progressive
approach to motherhood we are left behind
men professionally.
All images © Anna HuixFEMALE FORCES