Maternity Photos

About a month ago, we met back up with our wedding photographer for a maternity photo shoot. We were blessed to receive this shoot as part of a bartering agreement - photography for graphic design services.

We met at Duke Gardens on a warm and humid Tuesday evening, storms looming around the area. Because of the unpredictable weather, we stayed close by the parking lot. We had plans to roam the gardens and then head over to the American Tobacco District to finish out our evening. About 35 minutes into what should have been a two hour shoot, a tornado siren went off on the campus warning everyone to take shelter. Our photo shoot was over.

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I had spent so much time preparing for this shoot and I was pretty excited to be on the other side of the camera for once. It wasn't going to be up to me to "get the good shots" and to "work my magic".

Leaving the gardens, our photographer gave us two options to finish out our shoot: we could choose to have a second maternity session or wait until our baby arrives and have a newborn session. While I was sad that we didn't have much time for maternity photos, there is always sunshine after the rain. A newborn session? As part of this bartering agreement? Yes, please. We had been weighing our options for a newborn session for some time now, from having one in the hospital to doing them myself to hiring someone else once we were back home with the baby.

This couldn't have worked out more perfectly for us.

So, here are a few of our favorites from the evening, thanks to our oober-talented photographer.