Wow. I love my job and that I get to see my clients over and over again through the years. Wether it’s for anniversary photo or as they grow their family, I get to see them through so many stages of life. I had the opportunity to photograph Danielle & Colin’s engagement session and wedding last year and was overjoyed when they told me they were expecting early in the summer and wanted to plan a maternity session.
This maternity session was during Easter weekend and the trees were just starting to bud and flower. I was worried that we wouldn’t have enough interesting background but were so perfectly surprised when we got on location and the magnolia trees were blooming.
We did the session at Rockwood Hall in Mount Pleasant, New York. It’s part of the Rockefeller Preserve and with just a quick walk from the parking lot you have gorgeous views of the Hudson, a ton of towering old growth trees, and a lot of architectural elements left behind from an old mansion that was on the property. Combining this with Danielle’s gorgeous toile dress and Colin’s suit, it gave the photos a romantic, old-time feel.
Like we were a bunch of Rockefeller’s having a picnic on one of our many estates.
I am deeply passionate about maternity sessions. Not only because it’s such an important time of life to document, but because the photos themselves render a completely different tone than other sessions. For the couple, these sessions are deeply connective. There is more of a weight to the photographs and a certain degree of intimacy only achieved during maternity sessions. As if they somehow capture all of the unspoken words, feelings, hopes, dreams and fears before baby has arrived.
So, as the late spring afternoon sun slowly started to slip westward, we spent our time taking things slow, taking a little film and cherishing this time together. I will always cherish these sessions where we take time to document the big and the small, and everything in between.
