Melbourne Family Photography: Why I Choose to Document the Ordinary Magic of Motherhood
- Cyb Jones
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
For much of history, women - mothers in particular - have been treated as second-class citizens.
Political systems, religious structures and social expectations were built under the patriarchy, designed to keep women in narrowly defined roles: caregivers, home-makers, supporters rather than leaders, creators or decision-makers.
A woman’s value was often measured by how well she served others, not by who she was as a whole, autonomous human being.
Motherhood, in many ways, became a trap.
An expectation.
A duty.
Something glorified on the surface, yet undervalued in reality.
Women’s unpaid labour - raising children, maintaining homes, caring for the sick and elderly became invisible work. Even today, women in Australia continue to carry the majority of unpaid care work, often on top of paid employment. The simple truth is: the world depends on the labour of mothers, yet does not reward, respect or support it in the way it should.
When a woman becomes a mother, something shifts in the way society sees her. Her career often stalls. Her earning power drops. Her time is no longer truly her own. This “motherhood penalty” is very real and long-lasting, especially for mothers in Australia. Many mums experience a significant reduction in income over time, which can impact their long-term financial security and independence.
And yet, in more recent years, women and mums have been told: You can have it all.
A thriving career. A beautiful family. A clean, calm home. A perfectly curated life.
But no one asked the most important question: At what cost?
This modern version of motherhood has created an invisible epidemic of burnout. The mental load of motherhood, the endless planning, organising, remembering, coordinating and anticipating, disproportionately falls on women. Even in loving and supportive households, the mother is most often the one carrying the emotional and cognitive labour that keeps the family afloat.
It is this reality, this honest truth of motherhood - that has triggered my passion for documentary family photography.
The reason I am so deeply drawn to documenting the lives of ordinary people, in the chaos they call home, is because that is where the story lives. That is where real motherhood exists. In the unmade beds, half-folded laundry, the toys underfoot, the crumbs on the kitchen bench. These are not imperfections. They are evidence of life, of love, of care and of relentless devotion.
As a documentary family photographer in Melbourne, I choose to capture families in their own environments. No forced poses. No perfect homes. No pressure to perform. Just honest, unposed, real-life family photography that honours truth over perfection.
When I photograph a mother in her own space, I am doing more than creating images. I am offering recognition. I am saying: you matter. Your presence matters. Your body matters. Your story matters.
In-home family sessions in Melbourne allow mums to feel safe, relaxed and seen. They remove the pressure of “getting ready” and instead invite families to simply exist, just as they are. This is where the most powerful, emotional, connected images are made.
My work is both celebration and quiet rebellion. It is a pushback against unrealistic beauty standards, staged perfection and the idea that only polished lives deserve to be documented. Natural, candid family photography is my way of reminding mums that they are not background characters in their own lives.
They are the centre!
Because one day, your children won’t remember if the house was pristine or if everything was in its place. They will remember how safe they felt in your arms. They will remember your laugh, your voice, your touch, the way you made the ordinary feel like home.
Those moments deserve to be preserved.Those moments deserve to be art.Those mothers deserve to be seen.
This is how I choose to honour mothers past, present and future. Not as invisible. Not as exhausted. But as powerful, complex, beautiful humans - against all odds.
