A few weeks ago I had the great joy of capturing my friends' maternity session. Anna and Kevin will be parents any day now and I couldn't be more excited for them!
Sappy/personal story coming at ya - Capturing my friends' maternity session brought me back to when I was pregnant with Ari and the maternity session a friend did for me.
I loved those photos but the importance of them did not really hit me until after I had Ari. A couple weeks post birth, I remember putting my daughter down for a nap and pulling up our maternity photos. Friends, I balled. Like a real good ugly cry. It all came full circle for me. This precious baby that was now napping next to me, also grew into a person inside my body. Now she wasn't there anymore but here she was and I could now touch and feel her skin, hands, feet... Postpartum emotions may have played a role too, but nonetheless, it was such an emotional thing for me to walk through and hit me in a way I didn't see coming.
It made me appreciate those photos that much more. These images helped capture that 9 month season. A season that felt so long at the time but post birth I'd sometimes wish I could carry my sweet girl a little while longer.
You may be wondering, why am I sharing this? I think it is such a good reminder that these seasons we are in while they may seem long and exhausting, they are also short and beautiful. Whether you are engaged and hoping to get married in the next year or two; expecting your first baby any day now and tired/achy more than your comfortable with; have a newborn at home and lacking much needed sleep; or, have littles running around and you can't seem to get everything on your to-do list done... There are many more seasons but these are just a few I've walked/am walking through. But my encouragement is to be sure to photograph the season you're in! I assure you that one day you will look back on those photos and be thankful that those good ol' days were captured.
