Julio Ngankam

This was not a professional studio — a simple bedroom, a window, one LED light. The mother has done this before. She knows exactly what she is holding, and exactly what will be asked of her in the years to come. I worked without assistants or complex lighting. I simply pointed my lens at a feeling I had no words for and pressed the shutter. What I captured was not just a newborn portrait — it was a woman who has already given everything, yet chooses to give it all again. The baby's name is Grace. Looking at this image, I finally understand why.

Dortmund, Germany