By Gabrielle Hall
She has been piddled on, pooed on and spewed on but Kate Millard still says she has the best job in the world.
The Mid North newborn photographer has finally found her niche and would not swap her job for anything.
For the past five years, Kate Millard Photography has been steadily attracting a following of new parents and young families.
Within a week of their arrival, a swag of babies from across the north of the State are being bundled into their car capsules for the drive to Gladstone, just over 200 kilometres north of Adelaide, and into Kate’s small studio for precious, everlasting newborn and family portraits.
“I’d be getting close to 500 newborns that I’ve photographed now and while many of my clients are local, I’ve had people come from Adelaide and about 40 per cent of my clientele are from Roxby Downs and Port Augusta, a lot from Clare, some from Renmark, quite a few from pastoral stations up north on their way home from hospital in the city and some even from the west as far as Cleve,” she says.
Kate started off photographing her own three children, but much to husband Darren’s relief, she branched out and started her own business.
“I just love newborns and if Darren would let me have a hundred babies of my own I probably would,” Kate laughs.
“Newborn photography is very therapeutical to me, it’s just so calming and I just let everything be done in baby’s time.
“Over two to three hours I get to know the baby and what it likes and what it doesn’t and I soon work out how the baby has been in the womb – breech babies like to be in a different position to head down babies.”
Kate started her photography business in the lounge room of the Georgetown farm where she lives with Darren and their three children.
But in 2012 when things started getting a little cramped, a local builder came out of the woodwork and offered Kate part of one of his Gladstone buildings at a peppercorn rent.
It helped kickstart Kate Millard Photography, and was a gesture not lost on Kate who is now looking to ‘pay it forward’.
“The building owner wanted to keep rent low to keep shops open and that’s what little communities need,” Kate says.
“I’m able to pass on some of the success of my business by sending families off for lunch or coffee around the corner at the local café while I finish the newborn shoot, so there’s a great flow-on effect that I’m able to pass on to other local businesses.”