Focusing On Families

Jaime Bley
Owner of Baby Jaime’s Photography

Please tell us about your business. I photograph families, babies, newborns and maternity. I’m a portrait photographer, but I’m also a very passionate artist – it’s more than just the photography; it’s about connecting to families and connecting to the children.

How did you start the business? I started the business a little more than three years ago. I mostly was working with musicians in New York City, doing album covers and other photo shoots before I started photographing children. I had done an album cover for a musician whose wife had twin girls, and since they loved my work, they wanted me to take photos of them. They were the first children I had ever photographed, and I fell madly in love with the process. The couple helped me develop a website, and within three months I had a thriving, booming business.

Why do you focus on children? I couldn’t get enough of taking photos of those twin girls. I also had given birth to identical twins, Gabriel and Isaak. However, I lost my son Isaak when he was 6 days old. I feel that he was the one who guided me to those twins who changed my entire world; they changed everything about photography for me. Now I’m doing what I love to do and I’m working with amazing families – and you can’t get any better than that.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of your business? Working with babies is so meaningful. It’s like working with fresh life. I feel that they have an incredible energy, and babies are so pure. It’s a very meaningful job for me; it’s not just about clicking a camera. And the families feel that, they know that. And I really love them and they love me, and I love their children.

What’s the most challenging aspect of your business? It’s been really a wonderful journey, but in the beginning I was fearful that people wouldn’t like my work. I was really nervous that people wouldn’t like what I saw. It took me awhile to get over that self-doubt. That was the most challenging part about starting my business.

What makes you get up every day and go to work? My son.

What has been your favorite photo shoot? My favorite moment was when the Daydreams with Animals series was born with the twin girls.

What is the Daydreams with Animals series? They are layered photographic images. I photograph the child in a completely different scene and then layer that with images of animals. Now I’m playing with more animals and bigger scenes, and they’re getting more magical.

How do you come up with these ideas? It comes in like a shock. I was taking a picture of one of the twin baby girls on a play horse and I saw a different scene of her on a real horse, creating a bigger dream of that moment. I am inspired by playing with reality and illusion and dreams.

How did you learn how to create images like this? I had been travelling a lot, when my boyfriend at the time bought me my first camera; he thought I had a really strong eye. From that point on, I was never without a camera. Photoshop came to me when I was in school earning an associate’s degree in photographic imaging. The same person who bought me my camera was really pushing me to learn Photoshop and play with images. I was really resisting because I loved being in a darkroom, but I finally opened myself up to it.

Do you have a business philosophy? Love yourself through everything.

If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing? Exploring outer space.

babyjaimephoto.com
516-769-3709
jaime.bley@gmail.com