Jennifer: Winter Maternity

Maternity sessions in Alaska can be tricky sometimes because you don’t have all the time in the world to wait for Mother Nature to get her act together. Jennifer had such a perfect vision of snowy flocked trees in Girdwood for her maternity photos, and I was willing to try anything to get them for her. I location scouted so many different spots, but there just wasn’t enough snow— or when there was snow, it fell on dates when neither one of us was available.

Finally, we had to go for it at the beginning of December or run the risk of not getting them done before her baby boy arrived. We ditched the idea of Girdwood thanks to copious amounts of rain. (Are there really still people who don’t believe Climate Change is a thing?!) And then Flat Top turned out to be so windy and the snow was blowing so hard, that it really wasn’t safe. We took only a handful of photos before I turned to Jennifer and said, “I know this is going to sound crazy, but I need you to trust me. There’s a place where I can get you flocked trees, gorgeous light if we leave now, and it will be out of the wind. The only problem is it is right on the side of a road and when you pull up you’re going to think I’m crazy.” But she was a trooper and trusted me, and I think these photos speak for themselves.

If you have a vision for what you want your photos to be, I’m always down to do whatever I can to make that a reality for you. <3

Cassie + Levi + Baby: Maternity Session

I LOVE maternity sessions. Have I mentioned this before? 

I have a completely different outlook on maternity sessions now that I’ve given birth. There is something so sacred about these sessions to me, and I am constantly in awe of the Moms I work with and all that the human body can do. I was also completely in awe of Cassie as she braved swampy mosquito marshes, steep ditches full of fireweed, and rocks slippery from a churning waterfall. She was such a force to be reckoned with, that there were times you could forget she was 8 months pregnant. And then the sweetest moment happened…

We were standing by Glacier Creek in Girdwood when a smile crept over her face and her hands instinctively went to her belly. “He’s moving a lot right now,” she said. And then I remembered: there is this amazing life growing inside of her. A life that is going to be met with such enthusiasm, love, and joy. Looking at Cassie and her husband, Levi, cuddle with each other and make each other laugh made me even more excited for this sweet life that is going to be joining them. What a lucky baby to be born to two loving parents, who will teach him what it means to be adventurous and kind. (And I am so grateful that Cassie and Levi have chosen me to be present at their son’s birth to capture the moment their lives change in the most amazing way possible!)

Seriously... these two are going to be the cutest parents ever!