About half the time that I talk to women about the idea of maternity portraits, they raise some objection, usually along the lines of "I wouldn't want portraits when I was so big" and/or "maternity photos are so cheesy!" Natalie & Jason's session is the perfect response to both. When Natalie first contacted me, she was primarily interested in scheduling a newborn session... it wasn't until she was 33 weeks into her pregnancy that a conversation with her sister convinced her that a maternity session might be worthwhile. When she called me, she was clearly nervous that we'd crossed some kind of invisible line, and that making maternity portraits at 36 weeks would mean that she wouldn't look her best.

Not only did Natalie look absolutely stunning the morning of our shoot, but the closeness of her due date sparked visible excitement on both hers and Jason's faces. The weeks leading up to the birth of a child are an extraordinary time of anticipation, emotion, and vulnerability, and if a maternity session focuses on those very authentic experiences instead of lots of props and staged poses, the cheese-factor disappears. We had a quick session before work one morning and made some simple, artful portraits that I think really highlight the connection between a couple getting ready to head off into exciting, uncharted waters together.

Sweet Campbell arrived shortly after this session... watch for newborn portraits on the blog soon!

xox,

annemie