ABOUT ME

WHO AM I?

Hi. I’m Tara Mahoney, from Motherhood in Focus. I’m a photographer and doula based on Sydney’s North Shore. According to my Instagram bio I am a connection seeker, feminist, mother, wife and woman. And given that no-one ever lies on social media…that sounds about right.

I have two completely amazing and totally mental lentil girls, Imogen and Tabitha. You’ll see them scattered about my website, Facebook and Instagram with reckless abandon. Mainly because they are the biggest, best and most terrifying thing I’ve ever done and while I’m knee deep in the thick of this parenting thing I often grab my camera to document the crazy or perhaps just lighten the mood (mine usually).

I believe there’s nothing so powerful or so overwhelmingly extraordinary as becoming a mother and I am passionate about supporting women through this momentous journey. As with everything I do in life, I bring playfulness, a sense of humour, a deep desire to connect and a dash of reality. But most of all, I promise to keep you in focus. Because this is your life and your story, I’m just here to help you tell it.

Of course, if I’m going to immerse myself in your gorgeous and sometimes messy reality, I suppose it’s only fair I share a little bit of my story. Keep scrolling to find out a little bit more about my journey…

MY STORY

I’m probably the only kid who surreptitiously read their mother’s copy of Everywoman for the pregnancy and birth information, not the terrible 70s drawings of sexual positions and it’s fair to say I’ve always been fascinated by pregnancy, birth and babies. My brother and most of my cousins are six years younger than me, so I’ve grown up around babies and children and have always taken delight in joining their world, even for just a little bit of time.

I know I’m the only kid who went on the bushwalk on camp in Year Five, with her very first camera and precious roll of 36 Kodak Max 400 film and was so captivated by the possibility of photography and capturing the world around me that I took 14 photos of what can only be described as a trickle of water masquerading as a waterfall, which I then proudly showed my bemused mother upon my return.

When I was 15 and deciding my future I thought I might like to be an obstetrician, but my dismal marks in maths put a dampener on that plan. However the subject I loved the most was photography and I was captivated by the possibilities of my first SLR camera.

Even when my own birth and family experience seemed like nothing more than a dream, I’ve never shied away from a birth story, from babysitting or just hanging around kids. I used to dream about pregnancy and birth like other women dream about their weddings.

I’ve always had a camera in my hand, and in this digital world it doesn’t matter if I take 14 photos of the same lame waterfall, though thankfully I’ve gotten better at composing, editing and storytelling since I was 10 years old.

It wasn’t until the birth of my first daughter in 2012 that I started to really honour that my place was in the world of pregnant women, birth and their growing families. And it took the pregnancy of my second daughter for me to respect the power of photography to document those truly transformative moments in your life.

I suppose it was always inevitable that I would one day find myself in the position where I simply had to combine these two lifelong interests and save myself from a lifetime of terrible career decisions.

I’m really glad that I’m finally here.