Our 2023 Visions of Motherhood showcase is here!

This collection of images, video, and words captures a rich look at the celebrations, challenges, and diverse perspectives of motherhood.

To make this year's Visions of Motherhood extra special, we partnered with our friends at B&H Creators to present one artist with an inaugural 2023 Visions of Motherhood Award and a $500 B&H gift card. ✨ We're thrilled to announce that the recipient of this year's award, selected by The Luupe and B&H judges, is Tiffany Luong.

Take a look at Tiffany's selected photo below and then scroll on to explore all of this year's featured visions of motherhood.

"Mothers are the primary transmitters of heritage. Here my mother-in-law teaches my husband and daughter how to fold dumplings." - Tiffany Luong

"This photograph was taken in a moment of calm between contractions, just before she gave birth to her second child, Ava. I am forever grateful to my friend. Not only is she one of the most loyal people I know, but she always challenges my perspectives and taught me there are many ways to live a life, just as there are many ways to be a mother." - Kelli Radwanski

"Comfort and reassurance are what both mother and child seek in their bond with one another." - Karene-Isabelle Jean-Baptiste

"I've been photographing my relationship with my son and motherhood for the past three years, capturing love, tensions, and play. Sometimes the images are about the feelings and experiences totally new to me, unknown prior to becoming a mother. At other times I'm reliving childhood moments, now on the other side of the experience, surprised and grateful for what I took for granted as a child." - Anastasia Sierra

"Motherhood is a life journey to find my tender, loving, caring self under the hardshell that I have built around me during the years. I am rough on the outside, but love my children deeply and will do anything for them…even dreaded lunch boxes!" - Naomi Soto

"This photo is all about re-envisioning motherhood in queer communities. It's about communal mothering in queer circles, where some people may not have the support of a traditional mother or may need mothering in adulthood because of their gender journey and/or sexuality." - Chelsea Brimstin

"My mother Maryam an Iranian migrant is imagined as a colourful ethnofuturist icon as she merges her cultural identity with the contemporary place in the world." - Sammaneh Pourshafighi

"This photo is a fragment from a project called "Transformation" about the mother-daughter relationship. I'm showing a process dictated by the laws of nature - the path of a mother entering menopause and the path of a daughter - a young woman who enters into a world where she is challenged by everything around her. The photos are created as a mother's support for her daughter and self-therapy of a mother who tries to understand the process of menopause in which she found herself prematurely." - Marta Szyszka

"I just had a baby boy in February and as naive as it is I had no idea how much it would impact my life and my career- it truly changes everything. I was encouraged to professionally hide that I was pregnant to not jeopardize work but I chose not to. The pacifier photo was my birth announcement- I think sharing the complete picture of who we are as women should be the norm." - Rebecca Peloquin

"‘Ma’ (Mother) is a series of photographic portraits of Hijras (transgender people) living in Bangladesh. Often Hijras are adopted into a community at a young age to live with others who are of the same gender. They are guided by their guru who they address as ‘Ma’ (Mother)." - Seema Khalique

"Portrait of a friend expecting her first child." - Diane Allford

"My father died in 2014, and I didn’t take enough pictures of him, so I’m trying to make up for that by photographing my mother whenever I visit her in Las Vegas. The older we get, the more important it becomes. She’s 75 now and seen here in her home, wearing a “Chanel” mumu her friend bought her from the Philippines, a visor from the Korean shopping plaza, and sunglasses from a store in Area51." - Anjelica Jardiel

"This image is a celebration of family, love, and the special bond between grandparents and their grandchildren. The grandmother's face is filled with joy and tenderness, while the grandchild's eyes are wide with wonder and admiration. The moment was captured from a balcony, showing the two inside a window, highlighting their intimate connection. The background of the photo is blurred, putting the focus solely on the two individuals and their connection." - Nazanin (Sita) Alipour Jeddi

"Motherhood is hard and only one thing is certain: it will never be perfect, and there is beauty in that. These images were made in the hopes of creating space for open and honest conversation, connection, forgiveness, and nonjudgmental support; knowing that openly sharing the difficulties and downfalls does not take away from our endless love and deep devotion." - Jamie Schofield Riva

"My teen daughters seem to be charging ahead in life while I as their Mum stand still, being their calm place, and cheering them on as they rush on by." - Kirsty Larmour

"A portrait which captures the intimate bond my friend Johanna has with her son.It is part of a larger photographic project which highlights motherhood and womanhood in the Caribbean." - Caroline Lacoma

"In this video, my son responds to a photograph of myself as a newlywed. He quickly identifies my portrait, and paints over my figure." - Alison Chen

“Working closely with a friend of mine at 37 weeks pregnant, we explored using alternative photography techniques to showcase the expecting female form in a creative, yet beautiful manner. With anticipation of new life to come, we took the time to celebrate her body and the growth of the baby to be." - Sophie Ellen

"I was interested in the idea of Mother Mary and the sacrifice represented in the saintly figure. This portrait of Jas and her child, Mukti, was one of the first personal projects I attempted after maternity leave, and I was inspired by religious iconography and painting. I attempted to capture both the glorious and holy of motherhood, and also the chaotic blur, disorientation and alienation of sleepless nights, and the reality day-to-day." - Alice Xue

"Motherhood is one of the greatest gifts in the world and heaviest weights to carry. So much of the role is invisible, the constant thoughts, the sacrifice, the numbing, the shame. The self-portraits I capture with my children address the stigmas of domestic motherhood." - Carrie Usmar

"I’ll never forget those first few days as a new mama. The excitement of finally getting to meet this little human, the sense of overwhelm and responsibility, and the fierce love I felt without us even really knowing each other. But what stands out the most were those quiet in-between moments when he would be sleeping and I could just stare at him: his long eyelashes, his perfect lips, his tiny toes. Those were the moments that seemed to last forever, and yet go by all too quickly." - Gen Labbé

"Maternity photos of my friend Laura, better known to the world as Lady Skollie, a celebrated South African artist about to become a mother for the first time. The hands on her pregnant belly belong to her parents, her sister, her best friend and the godfather of her baby." - Alix-Rose Cowie

"When the daughter mothers her mother". Grandma was placed in a nursing home after a fall, being separated from her husband of 70 years. Dementia took over to the point that her daughter now mothers her mother." - Melinda Edwards

"A friend of mine wanted a photo that celebrates her body and the C-Section scar that brought life into this world." - Christina Naguib

"One of the most beautiful things about motherhood, a miracle that all women are not lucky enough to experience, is breastfeeding. The bond that arises between mother and child is like a strong rope that binds them together, giving them strong support and security. I love watching and photographing mothers feeding their offspring in many different ways." - Monika Ralcewicz-Ciaiolo

"While exploring my ambiguity to parenthood and thinking about the obligations, pressures and inherent systems and beliefs in place which fix our identity so closely to our physical selves as women; I began to ask to photograph some of my friends or family that had recently had children. This is my sister and her first child at just a few weeks old. So beautiful, so vulnerable, so full of love and willing like never before to expose her body. It makes me yearn for the friendship of my sibling, it makes me so proud I could burst with admiration. But somewhere, within me, it also strikes an uncomfortable unknowing and almost disconnection with my own body and, ultimately; self doubt in my sense of self at that time." - Carli Adby-Notley

"Black women are 4 times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth than white women. Although motherhood is a natural act, for black women it is also political. I wanted to show tenderness and nurturing images of black mothers that are so rarely seen in the mainstream." - Denise Maxwell (Lensi Photography)

"Roz and Heidi. From my series, 'The Shift'. -- The shift from individual to motherhood. A series of portraits and interviews with women about their shift to motherhood. Political, societal, personal - Their issues in their own words about the issues and experiences that matter to them." - Anne-Marie Michel

"Moments of Stillness. I took this photo of my husband and I, the night before I went into labor." - Ashley Vargas

"As profound and weighty as motherhood can be, it's also made up of so many silly, mundane moments, many of them uncelebrated or unseen. Through self-portraits with my children, I try to freeze time on the fleeting in-betweens. Nothing says "motherhood" to me more than an interrupted pee!" - Jamie Atlas

The Passenger. "Shooting the belly of my very first best friend becoming a mom we realized that Baby Roman was leaning on his back on her right side as he was reading a book in the subway. From that day on, I could not see this or any other pregnancy belly without thinking of it and trying to find the baby's position. Years later, I learned he was getting into position to jump into outer life." - Celeste Martearena

"The series of photos features artifacts that privately became part of my daily routine as a new mother. They hold precious information about an immensely cloistered experience that has shaped my new identity." - Beatriz Bellorin

"I am missing their warmth from 5,968 miles away." - Bin Youn

"When I found out I was pregnant I started to cry, one thing is to fantasize about the idea and another is the shock when you find out. I remember reading a phrase in a book: "From now on you will be a mother until your last breath". "La Dimension Desconocida" is an ongoing project that reflects my personal journey into motherhood for the first time." - Fernanda Rocha

"My project "Like Mother, Like Daughter" is an exploration of motherhood from the perspective of a child-free woman in her mid-thirties. Faced with the societal and media pressures of having kids, I decided to give my take on the topic from the one role I did know very well, the daughter one." - Daniela G. Maldonado

"This photograph draws on flashes of vulnerability and fear I've encountered in ordinary moments spent caring for my baby." - Allison Grant

"This was the first time I met my nieces and nephews, after not seeing my cousin Jennifer over 10 years. The last time I saw her she was a teenager visiting the US from Guatemala. I was inspired to photograph her and her kids because I was amazed to see the beings she created and the bond they shared. After eating lunch with the kids I asked her to come pose on the roof exactly how they were dressed. I wanted to capture how strong she is alongside her children. The beauty of the everyday mom with her children. You can see the love and the need they have for their mother on a regular day." - Carolina Isabel Salazar

"The inspiration for my self-portrait came from my connection to nature and the symbolism of the earth representing motherhood. As a woman and an artist, I wanted to explore this connection and express it through my art. Additionally, creating a mixed media piece using a photograph and graphic design allowed me to combine my personal history and artistic vision, which was important to me as my family had paintings hanging on our wall, reminding me of home." - Nicole Ipsen

"This photo is a part of my series "Empty Nest," which explores my feelings of oncoming obsolescence as my youngest child prepared to leave home. Reflecting my earlier career as a comedy writer, the images straddle the line of humor and pathos, thus creating a style that I have continued to embrace for all my fine art work." - Susan Borowitz

"I recently began photographing my mother-in-law and mother with my daughter as an exploration of womanhood, my relationship to spirituality and the bond that is created from the care work that we all participate in. My motherhood experience expands so far beyond the day to day alone with my daughter; their impact as incredibly different grandmothers to my child are deeply woven into this journey of raising her." - Jillian Guyette

"I became a mom at the age of 15; at the same time I had decided if I wanted to become and leave my biggest passion at the time - dance. This helps demonstrate how I felt having to leave myself behind once I became a mom. My child became my priority while dance became an afterthought." - Magdalena Oliveros

"Zaika with her newborn baby Salma, 13 days old outside a tent where they temporarily live after having to leave their home in Naseerabad due to the floods in Pakistan 2022. Both mother and baby suffer from malnutrition, for baby Salma its the acute kind." - LOULOU d'AKI

"A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take. Continuously on the go pouring into others when you need pouring into. Irreplaceable. Fabulous. Multifaceted" - Sophina Dhaiti

"Motherhood is about playfulness. I love this moment with Bergen and her two kids; kids often mimic their parents but in this instance it was her daughter who put her baby on her head first. The result was lots of laughter and an authentic connection." - Meagan Shuptar

"For a long time, my grandmother always has been "grandma" for me. She is Kim Hwak-sil before somebody's mother and my grandmother. Through these images, I am exploring Kim Hwak-sil and giving her name back." - Jungbom Jo

"The reality of Parenthood was a real shock to me, I really had no idea how hard it was going to be. I have tried to capture a glimpse of the chaos and mess of my life as a Mum. But also the creative and weird world I live in with two very creative and weird kids." - Maja Baska

"What does motherhood look like through the eyes of the mother. For centuries, artists have focused on depicting the mother and child. These images are from an ongoing project, First Person Mother I began when pregnant and continues. . ." - Rita Nannini

"Much of my pregnancy was spent in isolation - our city had major lockdowns - which made me think of seedlings sitting in the house waiting for the spring to be planted. This portrait on film captures my isolation (my growing body, stuck in a little box) mixed with anticipation (the view of my soon-to-sprout garden in the big world, just beyond my reach.)" - Spring Morris

"I am the mother. In this being there is a thin line between the feeling of being complete and boundless love and renunciations and the compulsion to adapt. Sometimes I can't see myself anymore, my body is no longer mine. I feel transparent, blended into the background of everyday duties." - Sylwia Ciszewska-Peciak

"Becoming a mother has completely changed my relationship to time. The urgency of living is measured against the slow weight of the minutes and the hours. It’s fragile, limited, ticking." - Emily Hlavac Green

"Have you ever asked yourself how you would portrait your children without them being there? I did and I expected chaos, frustration and a strong need to organize what once were my own spaces. But motherhood has this strange thing, it surprises you everyday. What I found was a smile on my face and a new home full of toys and joy." - Dolors Planiol

"I made this photo a day before Amaris and Jamel's baby was born. We planned to re-create Rhianna and ASAP Rocky's maternity photos but their baby had her own agenda. So we had an hour to shoot these near the hospital." - Aviva Klein

"This laboring mama took a moment to look at her photo from childhood that was on her altar. I loved this moment because giving birth really feels like giving birth to a new version of yourself and to honor your inner child as you birth your first child feels so special. As a first time mom myself, the first few years really felt like an honoring, learning, nurturing and healing of my inner child." - Karissa Raya

"Life isn't always like this, but sometimes I feel like we're forever falling, unable to find our footing with each other. And other times it's a dramatic dumpster fire I can't get under control. In both cases I've learned it's best to just wait until I stop tumbling, to accept my world is burning around me, before I attempt to walk on again." - Claire Dam

"This first photo captures a special moment of girlhood: my sister teaching my niece how to wash her face for the first time. It's a beautiful scene that I felt compelled to capture. Seeing my sister take on this nurturing role reminded me of how important she has been in shaping who I am today." - Jade Fernandez

"Everything in the universe is made up of waves. ”Embrace the Wave” is a journey of self- discovery, in which our own inner waves can resonate with and influence the world around us, dissipate, magnify, and transform. This the story of my pregnancy until I embraced my baby "Wave". "Manifestation of Wave Crest", 2 Dimensional, Digital print on canvas, [Dimensions: 30" x 39"], Hosna Shahramipoor, 2023.

"Lydia, Caro & Hiero. Portrait from my series, 'The Shift'. -- The shift from individual to motherhood. A series of portraits and interviews with women about their shift to motherhood. Political, societal, personal - Their issues in their own words about the issues and experiences that matter to them." - Anne-Marie Michel

"I wanted to understand what motherhood mean from the point of view of Latino mothers, how they find it different in the society they are raising their child." - Paola Vivas

"My family during the early days of the pandemic. Our mother was especially vulnerable, the roles had reversed and suddenly we had to become the protectors." - Jessica Chen

"After having my first child, I found that going to coffee shops was a significant aspect of my routine as a mother. It was a simple activity that my baby and I could do together, and it provided a way for us to get out of the house. I soon discovered that this was a common experience among many other mothers. To explore this further, I began a personal project of photographing mothers with their young children in coffee shops, showcasing the delicate balance that is motherhood while venturing into the world." - Michelle McSwain

"A portrait of my mother from the serie "Females, a sicilian story", a story about all women of my family in Sicily" - Ornella Mazzola

"My mum comes on the train every three weeks to visit me and my family since dad passed away for four days, she feels she has to help with the housework otherwise she thinks she's a burden. She feels the happiest when she is with me and my sister otherwise she's sad and cries in her apartment." - Zorica Purlija

"Becoming a mother has completely changed my relationship to time. The urgency of living is measured against the slow weight of the minutes and the hours. It’s fragile, limited, ticking." - Emily Hlavac Green

"I am not a mother, but this Istanbul commuter boat from 2022 reminds me of the many ways women support each other and the younger people coming up behind us." - Jess Stephens

"Another day at the office for my daughter while she works on her paper laptop with her sock puppet and puppy close by. Lockdown was such hell for our family but this was a moment of cuteness and creativity amidst the terrifying mental health crisis which a person in our immediate family was going through at the time. Imagination is such respite (for photographer mothers and their brilliant little daughters)." - Leaf Klevjer

"Kelley Coleman with sons Aaron and Sean and Aaron's service dog at home in Los Angeles, California in January 2023. This image is part of a High Country News story on how Aaron, a medically complex child, and others with high medical needs are impacted by disaster evacuations." - Stella Kalinina

"Drawing on my recent experience of childbirth and breastfeeding, my work communicates through the lens of motherhood. Working across the mediums of photography, textile and sound, I am creating a collection of data that centers around notions of private and public, reciprocal relationships of comfort and care, the interior landscape of the domestic space and unseen acts of labor. Derived from a desire to convey the all consuming nature of familiarly mundane gestures, my practice highlights tensions between preserving and letting go because of the fast paced rate of change and demand to adapt in parenthood." - Maddie Casagranda

"This portrait is from a much larger series titled Slow Release (2016-2020), which documents a fleeting moment of major transition as our daughters, in the act of becoming and forming their own identities, prepare to move out into the world on their own. Simultaneously, we traveled through adolescence and peri-menopause; both major biological shifts heavily weighted and prescribed by society as notoriously difficult. I documented this journey in an effort to hold onto us, our togetherness, and to picture the complicated nature of mother-daughter relationships." - Whitney Bradshaw

"This photo to me represents, in a certain way, the loneliness motherhood feels sometimes, often realizing that the only person you've talked to all day was your baby, and if you're lucky enough to own a dog, with it." - Miriam Jave

"I used to say that my youngest would crawl back into my womb if he could. I was and still am his safe place." - Angela Ramsey

"The delight and joy on mom's face as she's sandwiched by her kids - capture the incredible sacrifices that mothers make - we are physically & literally taken over by kids. But to find our own unique way to carve space out for our own comfort and joy - that's the delight in the moment." - Carolyn Fong

- Sarah Bodri

"Within this series 'Home-Maker', I sought to document the intrinsic performance in the unseen and faceless act of 'housewifery'." - Fliss Quick & Stephanie Defragger

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Want more? Take a look at our past Visions of Motherhood features from 2022 and 2021.