A Photographer, In Front of the Camera

It’s rare that I am in front of a camera. At family events, through daily life and on instagram I am the one behind the camera, it’s rare that you’ll see a picture of me. The last professional photos we had of us together (other than the mini photos we took to do the pregnancy reveal) were at our wedding, and that was almost 4 years ago. Bill jokes that there will be hundreds of pictures of our soon arriving new baby girl but there will be few to none of us together because I’m always taking the pictures. While funny in the moment it’s also sad because I AM a photographer, it’s what I do. I encourage my clients to take a hugely brave step and be vulnerable in front of my lens, why shouldn’t I be held to that same standard?

Enter our maternity photo session. I always thought I’d be that pregnant lady who was diligent at taking creative month to month photos of my growing belly. I think I’ve taken two. It’s sad. This is why I didn’t try to shoot my own wedding. But I really wanted this monumental new chapter in our lives to be documented, professionally, with a real camera, not my iphone in a mirror. So I took the bold step I ask my clients to take every day, with Bill as my support, and we had our maternity session done by the wonderful Andrea from Ethan Avery Photography.

Andrea and I worked together at a photography studio years back and hit it off right away. Since then we’ve traveled together, shot weddings and photo sessions together, constantly bounce ideas off each other, shoot each other’s families, share knowledge and tips and tricks. She’s the Lucy to my Ethel when it comes to photography. I love her, she’s fantastic, which made being in front of the camera a lot easier, still incredibly odd, but easier. I also had forgotten how much preparation went into a session on the part of my clients, gathering clothes, props, getting ready, hair cuts, making sure we have everything. Goodness it was job in itself.

All that to say, it was totally worth it. The photos are incredible. I can’t stop looking at them. Andrea did a great job and I’m super proud of myself for curating our clothing and accessories choices.

So that’s the shoot. There are about 100 more photos I could share but these are some of my favorites. Andrea you are amazing! I’m so so so glad we have these, I look forward to the day I get to show them to my daughter and say, “that’s when you were living in mommy’s tummy.”

And if you’re curious what the elephant is all about you can read about it here.