Hello lovely readers, we’re so happy to introduce you to the talented Leslie Schor! We’re so thrilled to have her on the Babiekins team managing our editorial content. Leslie’s first interview for us is below — leave her a comment to welcome her aboard! -Editor

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Let’s get to know Shemara, the talented photographer behind the beautiful images of the Marine Life editorial found in Babiekins Magazine’s Print Issue #4 (which is just trickling onto store shelves now!)

Muted and serene, this editorial features stunning images of five-year-old children maintaining stoic expressions while holding a variety of sea creatures. Shemara shares her thoughts on child and commercial photography, gives us a little information on the behind the scenes aspects of the editorial, and tells about herself and her family including what she cannot live without during these hot summer months. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family. What can we find you doing on a beautiful sunny day? 
I’m 28 years old and have two children. My son is five and my daughter is three. We live together on a houseboat with a big garden, so on a sunny day you will find us outside.

Where do you call home? Where do you find inspiration for your imagery? 
Rotterdam [in the Netherlands] is my home, and my children are the inspiration for the images I create.

Share with us the story behind the Marine Life series. What did the children think of their special props? 
I wanted to create still life portraits of children like my Masked Venice series. I wanted to add a subject and all the children had to be five years old like my son. All of this was in an effort to challenge myself.
Funnily enough, the children were very brave with the fish. The fish smelled and were very slippery and cold. To make the children comfortable with the photo shoot, I had a lot of seashells and starfish. I let them choose on their own and their choices were very surprising!

Do you remember the first time you picked up a professional camera? What were those images like?
I can’t remember the very first time I held a professional camera, but I remember the first year of my studies. It was all analog photography, with different types of cameras; SLR, technical camera, [and a Swedish camera called] Hasselblad. I found it difficult back then and my pictures weren’t very good.

How do you connect with your subjects? How do you hope to connect with the viewers of your images?
I find it very important to connect with the children. The most important thing is to make them comfortable while photographing them and hoping they have fun! I would like to stand out within children’s photography. I love it when people like it, but mostly I want to be happy about my creations.

Your personal work has an intimate and serene quality. In contrast, your commercial work is full of movement and color. How do you maintain your aesthetic as an artist while meeting a client’s needs? 
Since the beginning of this year, I wanted to work on personal work, just to show my own vision of photography. Clients already have a vision, so you have to work with their ideas. I hope in the future I can work in my own style and still fulfill the client’s needs.

What do you enjoy most about photographing children? 
I love the natural beauty of children. They are who they are. You cannot force them and you have to catch the moment that they give you.

How do you encourage artistic expression in your children? 
I try to encourage whatever interests them as much as possible and acceptable.  I also want them to develop a variety of interests. As they grow, their artistic characteristics will be more stable.

Which one word do you feel best describes motherhood?
24/7

Name a few items that you cannot live without during the warmer months.
Flip-flops. I really would like to wear them all year, but unfortunately, I live in the Netherlands. [Another item is] air conditioning, especially in my car! And a lot of ice cream.

Marine Life // Photography: Shemara | Interview: Leslie Schor