In the past, Helga has worked as a staff photographer for publications such as The Age and The Times on Sunday and holds a Master of Contemporary Art from the Victorian College of the Arts. Her work is exhibited widely and is held in numerous public and private collections including the National Portrait Gallery, The National Library of Australia and the Epworth Art Collection. In 2015, a series of Helga's photographs depicting family, community and rural life were published by Five Mile Press in a book titled 'Mother Country'. She is currently working on a new collection of photographs celebrating the Abbotsford Convent.