So many years ago (over 8!) I was a brand spanking new photographer. I have a camera and one lens and nothing else. My portfolio consisted of a small handful of families, a few babies and hundreds of my three kids (8 years ago I only had the older kids).

Goodlife Photography was gracious enough to allow me to second shoot at her weddings. This was amazing because Julie was kind enough to allow a green photographer to tag along, learn and observe. Allison and Greg’s wedding was one of those second shooting gigs.

Fast forward Allison was a client of mine for dog grooming, they live up the street and I see her here and there.

When she messaged for a maternity session I was over the moon happy for her and Greg! They have waited so very long for this little prince to arrive.

She had a beautiful red gown, I had a black gown and we had a small town with limited variety to shoot from but I also know how pretty this little hidden gem could be in the sunshine.

We had hoped for snow and we didn’t quite get enough to completely cover the brush and grass but the bright spot was it was easier to walk around.

I loved her hair and makeup! So perfect! Honestly, how many times do we get to dress up in a gorgeous gown, wear lovely makeup and do our hair like a princess? Not enough times!

When I spied her scarf she wore on the walk with her winter coat I knew I had to use it with this black gown. Sometimes it works out beautifully!

I am not sure who’s idea it was but the end result was some maternity modelling magic. Genevieve Flynn Photography, Valley Photography and I put out a model call for a few new Mom’s to be. We wanted to stretch our skills a little bit, play with light, posing and push our own artistic boundaries. With regular session I always shoot what I know, my clients come to me for guaranteed results and their sessions are not the time to play with light and risk a fail. With three photographers sharing our knowledge with each other and trying things we had never done before there were a few failed setups that didn’t look good and it was okay! Some of my favourite setups to date happened during this session! And now I am excited for anyone who decides to book a studio maternity!

I placed the announcement on Facebook that we were looking for models and over 10, 000 people opened up the ad! I was a bit shocked and excited that so many people were spreading the word and curious to what we were cooking up! Patience Cole Makeup Artistry did hair and makeup and four amazing women signed up for the experience!

Genevieve, Brittany and I went through all of the candidates (there were so many amazing women!) and chose four, had a day where we sat down and made lists of setups, clothing, props and lighting we wanted to try. With so many people in my small studio and so many ideas flowing, we wanted to be as organized and as time efficient as we possibly could be.

Many hours of shooting later, very hot and tired, we were excited with what we accomplished!  Katelyn, Monique, Casey and Janelle were so amazing to work with! Their girls looked flawless thanks to Patience, they were good sports about trying weird poses and letting us decide every pose and all the wardrobe.  Thank you girls for the fun!!

 

Simone booked her maternity session a few months in advance and said that her friends were buying her a gift certificate for a newborn session with someone else. Little did she know but her friends were conspiring behind the scenes and bought her a gift certificate with me! During her maternity session we had a good laugh and she was so excited!

The weather was bitterly cold but she was a trooper and she makes the wait beautiful! The light was gorgeous and she glowed! She chose to borrow a purple gown that Enchanted Hill keeps in the closet for expecting clients. It looked stunning in the fields on this spring day!

Tomorrow we will be meeting her new little man!

Majority of my clients love to have their maternity pictures taken outside. In February, the weather was unpredictable; cold, wet with snow storms and Danielle booked a studio session in my Saint John studio. The results were gorgeous and elegant maternity pictures!

Not only is Danielle beautiful on the outside, she is also incredibly smart and was weeks away from her university graduation! She chatted about what she had left to do to complete her degree. Her little girl came with her and she was so well behaved. Quietly playing while her mama was photographed. We worked away from set up to set up.

Being in the studio there was no worries about the weather being poor outside or the temperature. Playing with the gowns in the studio and the ones she brought, different lighting and backgrounds, I was able to give her a gorgeous gallery of images.

Thank you Danielle! It was a pleasure to have done these for you!

 

When Beyonce posted her unique maternity images, one of my clients posted on social media that she should have come to my studio, I agreed and this led her friend Michelle to find me. We booked her session for a few days afterwards because it was almost the last minute (she was due any day!).

Her session was so much fun! She is super sweet and has this friendly bubbly personality that makes working with her a joy. This incredibly beautiful Mama was celebrating her THIRD pregnancy! She looked amazing!! I love that she decided to celebrate this time in her life, it is so exciting and as Michelle said to me herself she didn’t realize how beautiful she looked when pregnant.

Form looking through my portfolio she knew she had to have her picture taken in the with deep wine coloured maternity gown in my studio. This gown has been a massive favourite of my expecting mamas!! The colour is gorgeous and rich and falters any skin tone or hair colour. Fun fact too I actually made this gown with a $6 worth of fabric and then 15 mins sewing time (truthfully in person it is a bit of a hot mess but photographs like a dream!).

The favourite image was the last one in this post, she was shocked at how the backlit portrait was so amazingly beautiful!

Only a few days after her session Michelle’s sweet baby arrived and she was back to the studio for another amazing session (will post in a  few weeks!)

 

 

SaveSave

It was less then 2 years ago when we were waiting for her first little guy. We went back to the same spot as her first maternity pictures and chased Cruz around. We then headed to the lake for some pretty pictures by the water.