I remember a photographer friend of mine (the amazingly talented Kate Williams of Seabright Photography, based in California/Colorado - check her out!) taking some of her own maternity photos when she was pregnant with her second child. I recall being super impressed with several of the images she captured of herself (and that her hubby captured of her).
When we found out we were expecting twins, I sort-of figured that’d be something I wanted to try to do, even though it sounded like a pretty big challenge (AND even though being in front of a camera definitely is NOT my favourite thing).
Well, fast forward several months, and I did attempt to take our own maternity photos. It was quite the experience, to say the least… and honestly, I didn’t end up with images I’d be proud of if I were taking the maternity photos for a photography client. BUT… I do think they are sufficient for capturing this moment in time for me and my hubby (and our little babes on the way!)!!
I had our photo location all picked out, but unfortunately there was no easy way for us to get in, as the little bush road was completely snowcovered (several feet deep), and I really wasn’t feeling up to snowshoeing in. We had a backup location in mind, but the same thing was true of that location (no vehicle access). We finally made a third location work, but discovered upon arriving that I didn’t have my “quick release plate” in order to connect my camera to the tripod. Sooooooo… we were relegated to the extremely classy “hood of the vehicle” photos. That meant we couldn’t stray far from the vehicle, but honestly that wasn’t terrible since it was COLD (we had just made it through a stretch of -40 degree Fahrenheit days), and we utilized the vehicle to warm up on occasion. Also, I couldn’t find my remote, and I couldn’t get my phone app to trigger the shutter (not that they would have worked for very long in the frigid weather, but still!). UGH. Not to mention, I was 33 weeks pregnant with twins (measuring full term for a single pregnancy) and definitely feeling very large/heavy, as well as out of breath… HA!
The hubby was freezing cold (curse that Mediterranian blood of his - haha!), so we started off with him taking photos of just me (so he could keep his coat on). I’d say he did pretty well (under my direction, of course - bahahaha!)!! :P Also, this is before I got brave and took off my sweater… ha!
We only ended up with a few decent photos of the two of us, but I think it’s okay. I mean, I’m the pregnant one, right?!? ;P Bahahahaha, just kidding! I would have liked more variety, but this captures some of the emotion! Also, we had a whole series that was out of focus, and that we were too lazy to retake, but would have been so nice (#selfportraitproblems).
A few of me without my sweater… apparently two babies make pretty good heaters! <3 Again, kudos to the hubby for these images. He was rocking it (now if only I could say the same for our self-portrait photos!)!!
We intended to get more lifestyle photos of the two of us indoors, but that didn’t end up happening. My excuse? :P Well, our home was a bit chaotic with prepping for babies, doing projects, organizing, packing, etc., so it wasn’t very picturesque. Plus, I was TIRED just from the first outdoor bit! BUT… Clement did capture a few photos of me with my sweet pup, #MissMochaMarie, who is gonna be such a good big fur sister to our babies!! <3 Also, haha, I’m pretty sure that once Mocha realized she got treats when she posed for photos, she felt the need to be in every single photo (she seriously continued to photobomb all of the pictures from here on out… HA, gotta love her!!).
Well, since people were encouraging me to share some of the images from our maternity session, there you have it… that’s everything I felt was worth posting!
Now it’s time to just WAIT (semi-patiently??) for the babies to make their appearance, which will happen for sure sometime within the next 3 weeks!! We are so excited to meet our little double blessings! <3
Athena Marie