It take a lot of courage to muster up hope after you lose your child after a miscarriage, which is what makes the concept of the “rainbow baby” so beautiful. Photographer Alex Bolen of Shutter Darling Photography perfectly captured the poignant joy that comes with having a rainbow baby in a beautiful photo shoot.
To create the photo, Bolen had six women dress in color-coordinated gowns pose in front of rainbow-colored smoke bombs. The resulting image was breathtaking.
Photo: Shutter Darling Photography/Facebook
Since Bolen shared the photo on Facebook, it has garnered over 23,000 reactions and has been shared over 18,000 times, with over 2,000 comments.
She had been planning the shoot for months, just waiting for the fall season to end. She had reached out on Facebook to look for mothers who wanted to celebrate their rainbow babies, and chose the first six volunteers out of many responses.
The inspiration for the shoot came from Bolen’s own pregnancy. “Early this year, I had my daughter Haven, and my whole pregnancy was filled with happiness — but mainly fear,” Bolen told The Huffington Post.
Bolen was part of a many groups for expectant moms. And many women there were talking about dealing with miscarriages and infant loss. “I was petrified,” she said. “As I grew into this local mom community it became apparent how magical this ‘rainbow baby’ term really is!”
‘Loss isn’t something that people normally come together over’
“Loss isn’t something that people normally come together over,” Bolen explained to KSDK. “It’s just something that’s kinda swept under the rug and I feel like moms don’t really get to come out and speak about that.”
Bolen’s image captures the idea that beautiful things can follow the most devastating of losses. The photographer sums it up perfectly in her Facebook caption:
“A rainbow baby is a baby born following loss. These mommas are just 6 out of the millions that experience pregnancy/infant loss every day. Some speak out. Some stay silent. Some have lost many. Some try for months or years. Some meet their sleeping angels. All loved and never forgotten.”
READ: Dealing with anxiety and struggles that comes after a miscarriage