Don’t miss this video compilation of the sweetest moments with the most beautiful women
One of my favorite things to do for expectant and brand new mamas is put together a little video sneak peek right after the session.
I take my most favorite tender moments, set them to music, add in baby’s birth stats (if baby is here) and text it to mama so she can see photos pretty quickly after we’re done shooting.
The sweet responses to the sneak peek videos from mamas I photograph make my heart smile:
“This is the most precious thing!”
“These photos brought tears to my eyes!”
I love to get feedback like this because it’s important for clients to love their photos. More than that, though, I want the women I photograph to treasure these memories of their pregnancies and babies.
While some women can’t wait to document the journey through pregnancy and new motherhood, others aren’t quite so enthusiastic.
They ask me to photoshop any “imperfections” during maternity sessions, like double chins.
They hesitated to schedule a newborn session in the first place because they aren’t confident with their post-baby bodies.
They feel like baby is the most important person anyway, and it doesn’t matter if they’re in any of the photos.
The truth is, double chins happen to every pregnant woman, and there is no reason not to rock your after-baby curves. It absolutely matters for mama to be in photos with her baby, too.
But I didn’t believe any of that when I was pregnant or sleep-deprived with a newborn, either.
However, now I look back on those photos of myself pregnant and then snuggled with my brand new babies. I can hardly believe I almost passed up the opportunity to make those moments last forever.
The thing is, those pictures aren’t really for me, anyway.
They’re really for my daughters.
My girls won’t have to wonder what life looked like for their dad and me as they joined our family. I can pull out an album and show them how I wore my hair short with Annabelle, but it was long by the time Josephine arrived.
They’ll see the difference between a reserved, scared-to-be-hopeful me carrying my first rainbow baby in 2013… and a more confident mother when I was pregnant again with Emily and then Josephine.
I’m not ashamed of my post-baby curves because this body grew four babies in total, and birthed and nursed three of them through infanthood.
This year, I’m celebrating amazing women who were brave enough to document their pregnancies and lives with a newborn – because motherhood isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s both the hardest and most amazing thing we’ll ever do.
Join me in celebrating the beauty of motherhood.
