When a family is faced with the tragedy of having a stillborn child, there is very little time to gather memories and create a sense of what happened.
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For Bec and Jonathan Greeshaw, losing their son, Lucas, in July 2013 was devastating.
It was during a routine 38-week check-up that doctors told Bec, who grew up in Page, her baby boy had no heartbeat.
"They put the heartbeat monitor over my tummy and the doctor's face told me," she said.
"When everything happened, my husband Jonathan was deployed in Afghanistan ... so I was by myself. It was horrible."
Several members of Bec's family travelled from Canberra to Redcliffe Hospital in Queensland to rally around her on that terrible Monday afternoon.
Precious memories from Lucas' all-too short life were captured by a volunteer photographer from the Heartfelt Photography charity.
Overwhelmed by emotion at the time, Bec said having photographs taken of her baby was not something she had even considered until the service was offered.
"This wasn't the situation we had planned," she said.
"My biggest concern was that Jonathan wouldn't see Lucas.
"When I got the photos done, I thought if he wasn't relieved to come home and he wasn't there to see him, these photos might be his only memory."
Heartfelt Photography, founded by former Canberran, Gavin Blue, provides a charity service nobody wants to have to call on.
As well as stillborn babies, it offers its services to terminally ill children and premature babies.
Blue said many of the professional photographers who took the photos had experience with loss.
"In my case we had a stillborn girl, Alexandra, in 2006," he said.
During grief counselling, he came face-to-face with the heartbreak parents felt when they had no keepsakes or memories of their child.
He then decided he would use his contacts in the photography industry to make a difference.
"It's something quite unique we can give," Blue said.
"There is such a short window of time and such a swill of emotions.
"Having a photo that is non-medical, but rather beautifully lit and photographed can make a world of difference to grieving."
Blue said close to 120 families across Australia sought the assistance of Heartfelt Photographers each month.
Families in the capital region can call on the seven volunteer professional photographers that provide this free service in the ACT.
He said due to urgency and location at times professionals weren't an option and access to high-quality camera equipment was the next best thing.
Bec Greeshaw raised money through several fund-raisers to donate two $860 camera kits to Canberra and Calvary hospitals.
As Redcliffe Hospital, where she delivered Lucas, already had camera kits her first thought was to give back to the Canberra community.
"It is our way of giving back to a community we have close ties with," she said.
"Understandably stillbirth is not a nice topic, but it's something that happens to more people than you think.
"We constantly try to find ways to honour Lucas' memory.
"He was our son and he always will be."
