blog

Winter weather provided a beautiful setting for Bri and Anand’s Maternity Session!

You’ve got mail!

In late December, a contact form popped up in my inbox for a Winter Maternity Session. Now, I’m always excited to meet a new family, but this one was especially interesting because they weren’t from our area. They were visiting from a far-away place that I had once visited myself. Their home town is Mumbai, India!

Bri and I connected on a phone call right away. I learned that she and her husband were staying with family near Mechanicsburg, PA. While here, they were doing some traveling within the states. Someone had suggested they do a maternity session as a momento of their trip as well as the pregnancy.

The perfect location

Since a Location really sets the stage for your portraits, this is one of the first details we decide on when planning a photo session. Bri and Anand weren’t familiar with the area, so they were eager for some suggestions. They wanted a natural setting, near a body of water. They thought a bridge might be nice, and they were hopeful for snow in their photos if the weather cooperated.

Their preferences helped me narrow down my lengthy list of location ideas. I sent them links to a few of my online location albums and an blog article about great photo locations. Bri looked over the options, narrowed them down to 3, then finally settled on Gifford-Pinchot State Park.

We did get a small snowfall the week of their maternity session, but I thought for sure it would be melted by Saturday. That morning, the weather forecast threatened rain. We knew that this was the only day we could pull off the photo shoot before their return to India, so we blazed ahead with our plans.

Picture day for the parents-to-be

As I arrived, I was surprised to find a little snow still covering the ground, and fog hanging low over the lake. I thought it looked crazy-cool but I wasn’t sure how the parents-to-be would feel about it. While I waited for their arrival, I strategized the best angles and spots for their photos given the lighting conditions.

Bri and Anand arrived right on time. I was relieved to hear that they were as excited about the fog as I was. Bri was looking so lovely in her navy blue dress and Anand was nicely coordinated in a cream-colored sweater. They looked the part of glowing Momma and Father-to-be! They brought a set of Mommy & Daddy denim jackets that I was excited to work into their maternity session.

Now don’t be fooled by Bri’s blue dress! In India, it is not customary to find out the gender of a baby before he or she arrives. So the gender of this child was still a mystery to all. I learned that even the name would not be decided until after his or her birth!

As we made our way around the lake, I enjoyed hearing about their jewelry business back home and their travels here in the States. We talked about seeing each other again on another visit. I thought how cool it would be to meet this sweet little boy or girl in the future!

Something I like to try to capture with almost every photo session, is walking photos. Regardless of the session genre, I find the natural movement helps people feel and look relaxed. I asked Bri & Anand to focus on each other and forget about the camera for a bit. I was hoping to capture those special looks passing between them and that natural glow of happiness they have just from being together. Later these images would be some of their favorites from their maternity session.

Selecting their photos

We parted ways after our session, with a promise of a quick turnaround on their images. They were heading home within the week. I went home and got to work right away. Culling through everything we had captured and narrowing that down to the best of each “pose”. At this stage I do light adjustments to the images to create a consistent look across the entire gallery.

That same evening I met with Bri and Anand to show them their images and help them make their selections. By the time they headed home they had their downloads gallery and mobile apps for their phone. This was definitely my fastest-ever turnaround of a session!

News from Mumbai

A short time later, I noticed Bri in an Instagram story at her BABY SHOWER! So fun! I was pleased to see the way her friends had used some of her baby bump photos on the table displays. Seeing people enjoying their printed images makes me happy! In a tiny way I felt like I got to participate in the festivities. 

Update: Yesterday I saw the exciting news drop that Bri and Anand had welcomed a BABY BOY into their lives! I am SO excited for the two of them and CANNOT WAIT to see the photos and learn what name they’ve chosen for their firstborn!!