I am Mea Barath, Christchurch based Visual Storyteller

This is my family, the six of us. Our life is loud, chaotic, and something crazy always happens to us.

I am a mother of four. I was born in Hungary. We live with my family in Christchurch, New Zealand. My kids taught me there’s no perfect family, no super mom. Life with kids is perfect in it’s own way. We’re exactly enough good as we are. Jam-sleety, hugging little arms around our necks. With a circle around our eyes, but a grateful smile. Being a parent is a challenge but the most wonderful, richest thing in life. I think, family photojournalism speaks about that. And this is my mission.

I’m a storyteller. I take pictures of “nothing special” in families’ everydays, because that’s where the thing that we are calling Life is happening. Goose bumps and heartbeats. Documenting life, photography without poses.

I graduated in 2009 from the ‘fotografus.hu’ Photography School of the Foundation for Hungarian Photography. I could learn from such great contemporary artists as Miklós Gulyás, Luca Gőbölyös, Zoltán Vancsó.
In 2020, I also completed the National Training List as a photographer, in Soter-Line Education Center.
Since 2020, I have been teaching documentary photography in Adult Education by National Training List Education training in Vác, Hungary.
In 2020, I was invited by the Italian Association of Children’s Photographers ‘Associazione Fotografia Italiana Neonati E Bambini’ to present my work and documentary family photography at the Documentary Family Week they organized.

Claudia

Mea’s pictures are how I see ourselves when no one can see us—the moments I collect in my heart. Of course, you could say this is documentary family photography, but Mea is more than that. She has an eye for family life; she knows what is extraordinary in the ordinary, what is the wonder of being together.

When I showed the pictures to others, many said how good they were, that they were not boring and fun to look at. Well, that’s how exciting, real and human all the pictures of Mea we got. At the photo shoot, it was as if she wasn’t there; she didn’t shape the family dynamics or the events, yet she was everywhere she needed to be, and in a few hours, she saw in us who we really were.

Agnes

I wanted photos in our home with our children that would faithfully reflect the atmosphere of those years with small children. It was a perfect choice to invite Mea to come and take photos with us. She immediately connected with us with her fun, open personality, and we had an enjoyable and relaxed morning together. Thank you for the experience, Mea! Nothing proves that we were on the same page as the wonderful pictures we got from you. You photographed precisely what I wanted and how I wanted it!

Imola

Before Mea, we only did staged photo shoots. While that has its own vibe and the pictures are usually beautiful, it’s torture with two little ones!
During a staged photo shoot, we tend to go from begging to pleading to blackmailing to threatening… For sure, kids – and parents – get tired quickly during these sessions.
With Mea, it was a different photo session, we had nothing to do but be together and play while she quietly hid in the background and took fabulous pictures. It was a calm, happy afternoon, without tantrums or whining. We got real, vivid photos, a slice of real everyday life that we can look back on years later.
Mea is kind, reliable and, last but not least, professional. I heartily recommend her to everyone!

Áron Hajósi

High quality art, reliable work, valuable human connection from the same source: this is Mea.

Tamás Márkos

Fun and playful, sensitive photography, unique way of seeing.

Virag Sarosdi

I’ve always known, that my family doesn’t fit to a photostudio. We don’t feel comfortable with poses. Mea photograhs exactly what I want to remember, and exactly the way I want to preserve those moments.

Frank Kirchner

I like the natural atmosphere in the pictures, not artificial! Pure life. A hidden world, picture full of stories, thoughts. Mea fills the frame with valuable content, with real impressions of life.

Dan Rubin

The story and images are captivating, and the images themselves feel both carefully curated and edited — the set would be at home in a major print publication. (about Lőrincz Szamaras, Wild and free series)