WELCOME TO THE WORLD... XENNA (MATERNITY TO NEWBORN)
YUP, THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE WATER. BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE ARE MAKING BEAUTIFUL BABIES ALL OVER THE PLACE! AND I HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO PHOTOGRAPH A LOT OF THEM. THIS TIME THOUGH, WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE TRANSFORMATION AND TOUCHING STORY OF MATERNITY-NEWBORN SESSIONS. DAVE AND KATIE ASKED ME TO SHOOT NOT JUST THEIR BABY BUMP, BUT ALSO TO COME BACK JUST FOUR DAYS AFTER XENNA'S BIRTH, TO RECREATE SOME OF THE SAME SHOTS WITH THE BABY. THIS IS BECOMING SUCH POPULAR IDEA, AND ITS EASY TO SEE WHY.
First, you'll see the before and after shots. But make sure to flick through to Xenna's portraits at just four days old, and the whole Newborn Family Session. And catch their full baby bump shoot here.
I've had more and more mothers-to-be contacting me about this twin-session (two shoots, not two babies haha). And I'm so glad.
IT SEEMS THAT WOMEN ARE FEELING LESS SELF-CONSCIOUS ABOUT HAVING THEMSELVES PHOTOGRAPHED PREGNANT.
And it doesn't have to be a Beyonce style, ott affair (though, down get me wrong, that's awesome too) or Demi-Moore style cover-shot. Here, where explored Katie's pregnancy with my usual story telling, soulful style. And we used exactly the same approach (and deliberately, some of the same shots) for the newborn shoot, just four days after Xenna's birth.
PLACING AND HOLDING XENNA'S TINY BODY IN THE PLACE OF THE BUMP,
on recreated shots, gave new meaning to the maternity photos for me. It seems to reveal how it must feel for the mother during pregnancy; literally carrying the baby in her belly, feeling it move and grow. But now, the father can hold her too, and there's something truly magical about that. In the newborn photos, we see what the mother felt at the end of her pregnancy.
And let's not forget about Dad, or in this case, Dave. I defy anyone not to melt at the sight of a father-to-be laying his head on the swollen belly, with mother-to-be smiling down at him. Every time I shoot a moment like this, I feel overwhelmed. Once a father can hold his child in his arms, it seems the entire experience becomes most real to them. Shooting Xenna in her father's arms felt super touching; Dave's face and arms all wrapped up around Xenna's sleepy face.
IT FEELS SUPER SPECIAL TO SEE HER FATHER HOLD HER, AFTER HER MOTHER HAD FOR SO LONG.
These guys trusted me unequivocally, and allowed me to shoot them in their most raw and vulnerable state. After having been parents just four days, they confidently and happily invited me into their world.
IT DOES TAKE TREMENDOUS COURAGE AND TRUST TO INVITE A PHOTOGRAPHER INTO THAT,
and to also let them truly capture everything naturally. No paranoia about how good you look, or how you cope with your new baby, just a wish to capture how in love you all are. And look at the results. If you really let a photographer get to work on the chemistry and the natural beauty of the whole situation, you will be bowled over with the results.
I would love every couple to be this confident and this trusting, but here's the thing. Not every one is. And that's fine. If you love how these photos feel and look, and would love to have something similar, just get in touch. You don't have to be super confident or self assured to get shots like this, you just have to want them enough to work with me to create them. It's a collaboration.
I WAS EMOTIONAL WHEN EDITING THESE, BECAUSE THE PHOTOS FELT TOTALLY RAW, HONEST AND TOUCHING. I WANT NOTHING ELSE FROM ANY IMAGE I TAKE.
And I am so thankful for any opportunity to do that. I cannot thank Dave and Katie enough for asking me to capture their story in this way.
I will leave these photos to speak for themselves now, and hope that I hear from more of you warrior mothers, and fathers, who want to capture stories like this.
GWx
