About me
Hi, I’m Belle — a 26-year-old wife, Mumma to two beautiful little ones, and the heart behind Belle Moment. I live in the little coastal town of Albany, Western Australia, where I balance my love for photography with my work as an early childhood educator. As you can imagine, my hands and heart are very full, both at home and at work! Children have always held a special place in my heart, and I’m deeply passionate about child development, with a strong belief in a child-led approach to both learning and play and this heavily influences my photography approach.
Like many young women, I once struggled to find my place in the world. I gave childcare a try on a whim — and fell completely in love. After completing my initial training, I went on to become an educational assistant, where I gained invaluable experience working with children with additional needs and learned how to adapt to meet each child’s unique requirements. While working in schools was incredibly rewarding, I discovered that my heart truly belonged in the early years. I’ve now spent over six years in the same childcare centre on and off through maternity leave.
How it all started...
Like most people I always enjoyed a beautifully taken picture but seemed to overlook photography as a whole it wasn’t until the year 2020 when I got married that I truly noticed the art of storytelling through photography I remember looking through my wedding pictures and reliving that special day over and over again, and was surprised that it wasn’t the perfectly posed pictures I was gravitating to but the candid shots, the pictures of me laughing with my husband or the joy in our loved one’s eyes. The following year we welcomed our first child and again had pictures taken and even though we were exhausted new parents those pictures felt perfect to me to this day there is a newborn picture of our son that still remains one of my favourite pictures ever taken of him. As a new proud mother (with not much sleep) I had decided that I needed professional pictures for every precious milestone to come and soon realised that was very out of the budget so instead I decided to purchase my own camera and take the pictures myself. After a few months of playing around and learning about my camera and the art of photography and as promised taking pictures for all my son's milestones I had well and truly been bitten by the photography bug and I decided I wanted to get some practice on others, I volunteered to take pictures of a few friends and family but soon learned there is only so many shoots your loved ones are willing to pose for before they say they need a break, this is when I took the plunge and began to offer free or cheap pictures to the general public, I was a stay at home mum on maternity leave still learning the ropes of her new life and diving into a whole new world but something about photography gave me a new sense of identity and encouraged me to meet new people and have new interactions while I was in the thick of the new baby trenches I was excited to meet new people and explore this new hobby and so Belle Moment officially began.
Why i love photography
As a child, I was often told I had a unique eye for design — whether it was in the clothes I wore or the crafts I created. I’ve always followed my own vision, rarely swayed by trends or outside opinions. That creative independence has carried into my adult life, and I still find myself making bold choices that others might not consider. Photography has become the perfect outlet for that creativity. Through both the lens and the editing process, I get to create artwork from something truly meaningful — the love people share with one another.
I love sorting through images after a session and discovering moments that might have gone unnoticed in the hustle and bustle of the shoot — a cheeky grin from a baby looking at their mum, or the light in the eyes of two people completely in love. With just a simple crop or a soft edit, those fleeting expressions come to life. Photography allows me to freeze time, even if just for a flicker, and tell a story through those tiny, powerful glimpses. Even when I don’t know the families I photograph well, I can always see how deeply they care for each other — and more than once, I’ve found myself wiping away a tear while editing.
Family has always been my greatest priority. My children and loved ones are my world, and I know the families I work with feel the same about their own. Photography has given me a way to tell stories, express love, create art, connect with my community in a way I never imagined, and it gives me a way to speak through my love language and deliver meaningful art that can be cherished for years to come.
