Beautiful Michelle

A while ago, my mother told me she was having a conversation at work with her friend, who was pregnant, about maternity photos. She had asked Michelle if she had gotten any done because she looked so cute...... and Michelle had no idea what she was referring to! Again, one of the reasons I love my mother, she told her all about how a session works and that her daughter just happened to do them! :) I am always up for showing someone what a session can be, so I welcomed the challenge to wow her. :) Not that she needed to be wowed, but I wanted her to have a fantastic first impression of what a photographer can see!

After our initial contact, and her telling me that she was a blank slate, I encouraged her to do a Google Image search for maternity pictures, to get an idea of what was out there and what could be done - and also to get a feel for what her style might be. After searching, she had something specific in mind, wanting to surprise her husband with a triptych (3 vertical images side by side in a frame) for Christmas. Commence the awwws.... :)

Well, I got all into it when I got there. I knew she only imagined these three pictures, but I went all vicarious on her. I am a total sucker for a pregnant woman. :) Such an amazing time, and it moves me beyond words. My experience was awesome, so I have good feelings from that, but I also just love how beautiful women look pregnant - I have to stop myself from staring that them in public - I am always in awe. And I kept thinking about the mementos she could have of herself, knowing that the time is so short to feel your baby inside you, and after it's over... I know I sometimes long for that feeling again, and since it's such a transient time in your life, I wanted to do it right!

Have you ever seen The Family Stone? Diane Keaton, in that picture Sarah Jessica Parker gives the whole family, the one where she is pregnant in a chair, looking wistfully out a window? Yeah. I saw that movie right after I had the triplets and in the midst of the hormonal postpartum sea I was in, I bawled, wishing I would have had just 1 picture of me like that with them in my belly. Ugh, it was most likely not pretty. But the good and interesting thing about that picture, in that movie was that it was the first stirring of the photography idea in me - the "well, if I can't have it - maybe I can give it to someone else!" My aim was to give it to someone someday, not necessarily start a business, but make it my personal goal to give someone that gift. So, just a little idea of how that all got started and how crazed I might have been at this shoot. lol Besides Stephanie, this was my first maternity session since going pro... it was a good day for me!

So, I apologize, Michelle, for making you pose so much that day, but I certainly enjoyed capturing you in all your maternal glory - you were gorgeous, and I hope these pictures help you to remember just how much. Thank you for humoring me. :)

 

And a collage I made up for her at the last minute... :)

Last of the Stephanie

Well, I have to say that this blogging thing is hard. Like, hard. :) I am having such a difficult time keeping it updated with all the new work I am doing because, well - I am doing all that new work! I have no idea how this gets done in the real world - maybe I'll hire an assistant! Yeah, that's it! They can post all my new work as I send it through - great idea! Now, to find one that will work for leftover Halloween candy, an occasional cup of coffee, the music of my screaming kids and the bonus of my company... Any takers? No? :)

Well, pushing onward - here's the round-out of Stephanie's maternity session. And after this, we move on to more of Mary Jane's head shots - a sampling of my favorites! After that, more of Stephanie and Chad's engagement session (who, btw, are GETTING MARRIED today!!! Congrats you guys!), then one of my favorite families - the G Fam, my cousin Tony's (sounds so MOB doesn't it?) Senior pics and then the reveal of more of Little M and the Buck Fam. So much to process, so much to put up!! Seriously, any takers yet?

I also have news about some unique Christmas gifts coming soon - I have decided to create a line of Fine Art prints from my photos to offer on my very own Etsy page - woohoo, exciting! - and they will be up very soon. Many vintage, rustic, natural and ethereal prints - if you are a texture-nature-rustic-beautiful light lover, you may just want to pick up a few for gifts or for yourself! I will post more on that soon - gotta finish them first! :)

Enjoy the last of Sweet Stephanie in all her loveliness! And if you are in the WNY area, enjoy this awesome weather. :)







   









   

   

   

   

Stephanie - Beautiful Baby Belly

Maternity just sounds so... clinical to me this morning. So, I will go with the awesome alliteration in this title instead for today. Ah, fun grammar makes me dorkily happy. :) Here are a few more of the session with Stephanie a year or so ago. Sorry these took me so long to put up! I do all my editing on a parked laptop that my great husband bought for me a few birthdays ago (not knowing I'd be using it for this endeavor!) and space is at a premium after loading up a few tens of mega-sessions. So, I need to constantly move off the old to make space for the new - and I put them on a backup hard-drive. This session has been living there for the last 8 months or so, and getting to them proved to be an adventure. But, here they are now, most of my favorites. How about you? Have you got any after seeing some of them? Please leave me a comment with it and why, if you know! It helps me to know what kinds of angles and light and finishes people are liking these days. :) Thanks in advance!

One more post for Stephanie after this one, and then lots of new material to share! I have been a busy girl this fall - and will get even busier in the next few weeks - a new head shot opportunity, a senior session, family shoot, a "friends and family" shoot, which will hopefully include some toddler shots and a 9 month old to capture separately... whoa. I may need to get a more comfortable chair... :)

A Peek of Stephanie's Beautiful Belly

I did this maternity session a year ago. Yes, a year ago. :) It was one of my first shoots EVER - and I was so scared/pressured/honored that my sister's friend Stephanie would let me do this for her. Really, scared first and foremost - How do I pose? What do I say? Will I get any good shots? I am such a dork and socially challenged that I stumbled my words and kind of just pointed a lot. :)

BUT, I think there is almost nothing as beautiful as a glowing pregnant woman - and this beautiful pregnant woman was going to be my subject to practice on! That means I was excited too; to have 2 beautiful lives to photograph and their already close relationship. I have to say that I was very lucky she was such a natural in front of the camera, since I had no idea how to pose a person yet - let alone a person who was growing another human being. :)

I still struggle with this, but on that day, I was so quiet and introspective, I was kind of so lost in the process that I would forget to talk! Oh, poor Stephanie, and I thank her from the bottom of my heart for being such an amazing, teaching and expressive model. I learned so much from that shoot - not to be so lost in my head, to remember to express what I am seeing and feeling to encourage natural expressions and movements. There was much to learn in post processing as well - so this shoot was a wonderful part of the beginning for me. This is just a teaser - there were so many I ended up liking from the session that I would like to share a bunch over the next few days!