Yesterday’s post was a little heavy but I am glad it’s out there and we can all move on. Also, it’s amazing what a dose of honesty can do for the soul and how people seem to genuinely appreciate it. Today I want to show an exciting and sweet side of pregnancy that doesn’t include nervous meltdowns: maternity photo shoots. I am very, very thankful I possessed the emotional capacity to have these done last summer. I look back on these pictures quite fondly and remember the excitement of that time in our lives. I highly recommend having professional photographs taken if you happen to find yourself knocked up.
When I first began searching for a photographer, I immediately nixed actual maternity photographers. The bare-belly-hands-over-the-ladies shots (perhaps with the fella reaching around from behind) is just not my style. Some women can really rock that photo shoot yet I am not one of them. Perhaps it was due to the fierce stretch marks criss-crossing my abdomen. Know your strengths, right? My goal was simple: to catch that time in our life when we were living in Annapolis, loving life, and I just happened to be pregnant. There was a sense of excitement and serenity circling around us and I wanted to capture that feeling. After speaking with several wedding/engagement/lifestyle photographers I immediately fell in love with Krista of Krista A. Jones Photography and Design. Her style was exactly what we were looking for: casual, thoughtful, and real. She hadn’t done much maternity photography and that was perfect for what I was looking for.
If you’re fixing to have maternity photographs taken, here is some unsolicited advice:

• Google “awkward maternity pictures” and enjoy hours of entertainment. Also learn what poses not to do.
• Use the town you live in as a feature in your photographs. You may move away at some point. We specifically took pictures at locations we frequented, like Charlie’s swimming hole, and having these photos is a lovely reminder of when this town was our home. (Heavy sigh.)
• Do not, under any circumstances, wear a nursing bra. Your ladies will not be showcased in their full pregnant glory. Sad ladies.
• Do not feel obligated to take bare belly shots.
• Use your belly as an accessory. It really is part of your outfit.
• Aim to have pictures taken on the cusp of your third trimester. Too soon and your belly may not be big enough, too late and you may feel too gigantic with a swollen face/ankles/everything in your body. Take them while you still feel beautiful-pregnant, not get-this-creature-out-of-me-pregnant.
• Wear an outfit you’d likely wear when you’re not pregnant. Just because you’re sporting a basketball belly doesn’t mean you’re a different person.

For more photos, please visit Krista’s post on this shoot and explore her website!