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Yorkshire Biz August 05 - Jacqueline Clitheroe - Babies By Jackie
Want to get a gorgeous baby photograph for your little one?
In August, we are featuring many amazing female Yorkshire entrepreneurs by showcasing their business (#yorkshirebizaugust) and a bit of personal life on our shop blog.
Make sure you enter our big Yorkshire Biz August Giveaway (#ybagiveaway) to win one of our prizes given out by these superwomen! No need to be in Yorkshire to enjoy our prizes. (read the bottom of this post to find out how to enter)
Today we are featuring Jacqueline Clitheroe and her business Babies by Jackie which is aimed to create beautiful babies portraits for the UK families to capture this special moment in time for parents and creating beautiful images to treasure forever.
Business Name
Babies By Jackie
Business Related Questions
Which part of Yorkshire is your business based?
My studio is in Market Weighton, North Yorkshire – a lovely little market town approx. 20 mins from York and 15 mins from Beverley.
Tell us a little bit about your business - What makes your business a little different from others?
I am a baby photographer. I specialised in baby photography around five years ago, and was the first photographer in England to achieve ‘Qualified Newborn Photographer’ status with the APNPI (Accredited Professional Newborn Photographers International).
I love being able to capture this special moment in time for parents and creating beautiful images to treasure forever.
What’s your favourite ever product or service that you currently sell or have sold?
This is such a difficult one – I have spent years creating my product portfolio and only including things that I truly love: bamboo wall panels, treasure boxes and albums.
If I had to choose, I would probably say my favourite is my Fine Art Album. These albums are custom designed with a contemporary leather cover sourced from manufacturers committed to sustainability and the ethical treatment of animals, and printed on wood-based paper made from sustainable sources. They are both stunning to look at and eco-friendly – and they are also hand-made here in Yorkshire! What better way to protect these precious images?
Why did you choose this business to run or establish?
My photography journey really began when I became a mum myself (previously I had enjoyed wildlife photography as a hobby and worked as a project manager for a well-known communications company). Having my own baby opened my eyes to just how quickly children change and grow up and I wanted to document every precious moment.
With that came the fear of returning to work and missing out on these precious times. I got super lucky – my firm offered redundancy and the timing was perfect. I made the decision to take the money and set up my own photography business, allowing me to work around my daughter and hubby’s work. What a dream come true!
Over the years, I have been privileged to be able to document lots of families as they travel on their own life adventures from weddings to pregnancy to babies to growing families, and am proud to now count many of them among my friends!
I chose to specialise in baby and maternity photography as I feel this is the area that I can most make a difference.
How are you pivoting or adapting your business during this crazy Covid virus time?
I absolutely love my job and I couldn’t bear the thought of new parents missing out on their newborn photos, I created my Collab Baby Photography Service, where parents can follow my video tutorials to take photos of their baby and then send them to me to digitally composite into a stunning work of art. It’s proven to be quite popular and of course as it is a completely remote service, I have had interest from people all around the world!
I am hoping to re-open the studio soon, but only when I feel completely confident that it is safe to do so, and there will be some changes to ensure safety, including social distancing and mask wearing, limited sessions and attendees, etc. I am so excited to be able to cuddle those little tiny babies again, but will continue to offer the Collab Baby Photography Service as an alternative to those parents who are still uncomfortable with going out and about in the early weeks.
What is your one product or service you would recommend for either a pregnant woman, newborn mom, or for babies, toddlers, or young children?
Obviously, a photo session with Babies By Jackie, whether it be a maternity, newborn, milestone or family session!
Personally Related
Who or what inspires you?
Professionally, there is a photographer in Australia called Kelly Brown who has been the biggest inspiration in my baby photography business. Her style aligns so well with mine and I got a chance to meet her in person last year – yes I did totally fan-girl out!
Personally, I draw inspiration from so many different sources: my family, TV, nature, weather. Creativity can be sparked from anything!
What TV shows can make you binge on all day long?
With the lockdown, I have binge-watched so many TV shows and series. My current favourites are ‘Married at First Sight’, ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ and ‘The Good Place’ – though I have just about finished these, so am looking for the next big series.
What is your favourite ‘me-time’ or ‘self-care’ activity?
Pilates. I started Pilates classes a few years ago and it’s the only ‘fitness activity’ I have ever stuck to. Not only does it help with core strength and flexibility, but it is also a chance to ‘meditate’ and clear my head. I have been lucky enough that my Pilates teacher has been able to continue to run classes using Zoom throughout lockdown and it has totally helped to keep me sane.
What is one thing you love about living in Yorkshire?
The sky! Particularly in the area where I live it is quite flat or there are low rolling hills so you can see so much sky.
What advice can you give to a new mom?
It sounds cliché but ‘This too shall pass’ is such an appropriate motto for this time in your life. Becoming a new parent is an absolute rollercoaster ride of emotions; some days you are on top of the world and others are the hardest times of your life where you feel like a total failure. I always say to new parents, ‘this too shall pass’ so make the most of the highs and don’t stress about the lows.
And if it ever feels like it is getting on top of you, please ask for help.
Final Words
So there you go. I really hope you have enjoyed learning more about Jackie and her fabulous business, if you'd like to find out more, here are her contact details:
Contact details:
Website: https://www.byjackie.co.uk
Email: jackie@byjackie.co.uk
Facebook: @byjackieuk https://www.facebook.com/byjackieuk/
Instagram: @babies_by_jackie https://instagram.com/babies_by_jackie
Yorkshire Biz August Giveaway
What are Jackie’s gifts for the giveaway?
Jackie is giving out two x free digital images using our Collab Baby Photography Service (value £60) to be used by 31st December 2020. If you don't have a newborn, this can be exchanged for a professional edit of a family photo instead. One gift for Facebook and one for Instagram entries.
Enter the Giveaways
If you want to enter our August Giveaway (entries close on 30 Aug 2020), click on the links below to take part.
Please make sure you read the description to understand how to enter the giveaway contests as the two giveaways have different requirements.
By reading this interview article, we hope it will encourage you to support more small local UK businesses. It will be even better if it inspires you to create your own business! There are many other Yorkshire Biz August businesses we have to introduce you.
Click here to find out more about the campaign and links to other interview blog posts.
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