One of the most rewarding parts of being a photographer has been the people I have met and the stories they have shared with me. I have had cried in the car following a handful of consultations and sessions, inspired and overwhelmed by the courage these clients have drawn on in the face of adversity. It is always a pleasure to capture the joyful moments for families and couples to remember, but for those trying to make lemonade out of lemons, I am both deeply humbled and honoured. The stakes are higher. For many of these clients, it is a turning point in their lives, and these photos are part of that first step towards healing and growing.

Rita is due any second now as I write this post. She was 36.5 weeks when we did this session a week and a half ago, we were lucky to have booked a day that worked for both of us before Christmas. These photos mark a new beginning for her, her beautiful daughter Verity, and their new baby, nicknamed Chickadoan! The aim was to capture their special mother-daughter relationship before the arrival of baby number two.

I feel like we got it.

Thank you Rita & Sweet Verity for welcoming us into your home and allowing me to capture these special moments for you. It truly truly was a great honour.

Our Holiday Sessions came to an end and just as I was looking forward to planning Chloe's 3rd birthday, I received a small wave of last minute clients looking to book in time for Christmas, or in the case of two clients, booking before their bellies popped! Our first maternity session was with Katie + James. James came to me via our mutual friend and my neighbour Cait whom I had done maternity photos with earlier this year. After a few anxious months on bedrest, they made it safely through to the last weeks of their pregnancy and made sure to capture this very special belly 12 days before Katie was due!

We did some headshots to preserve her pre-baby glow. Many of us mamas are so hard on ourselves throughout our pregnancy, so worried of what we look like. It is often only after the baby has been born that we are able to see clearly how truly beautiful we were before being robbed of sleep and thrust into motherhood. We see ourselves through an overly critical lens and not for the amazing creatures we are. We lose sight of the strength and power of our bodies that are able to undergo such intense transformations in order to produce life.

In addition to the sweet and traditional photos of the Mama-to-be with her belly or with partner, I aim to capture these women in all their pregnant glory. Not only to celebrate the 9-10 months of sickness, headaches, bed rest, complications, physical aches and discomforts, etc.. but to remind them of their strength and give them confidence to go forth into the very scary world of motherhood.

Nobody wants to mess with a Mama Bear. (Or a Tiger Mom for that matter...)

We are Queens and We are Glorious!

(God, how I wish I had photos of myself taken when I was pregnant)