This was certainly a first for me. I’ve been doing photography for many years, and while my favourite subjects are things I can’t move around, I enjoy the few portrait and wedding gigs I come across. But when it came to shooting maternity, it was all new territory. And it can be a pretty creepy one, also. You look at places like Pinterest, and you can get carried away by semi-nude women showing off their pregnant bodies. Now, before you lay on the hate, I’m not saying that’s bad or wrong. I don’t like that shooting style, and when my subjects are my soon-to-be brother & sister-in-law. That’s not the direction I want to take.
Heather came up with the idea to do a shoot with them once we found out they were expecting, and it became all the more special when the one baby was two. Instant niece and nephew added in, and just before my wedding. It took Holly a bit to warm up to the idea of having maternity photos done. And I can understand that she also does photography, and it’s difficult for a photographer to stand in front of the camera rather than behind.
Thankfully we had just the right weather to be outside; it was a little cold for Evan and Holly, but I could keep my coat on. And for the backdrop, we took advantage of being in Hamilton, the city of waterfalls and worked at Tiffany and Sherman Falls. What makes this whole thing extra special is that Evan and Holly had been waiting a long time to start a family, so it was an amazing idea from Heather to document it right from the beginning.
The great part was that it went well once I got rolling with the photos; Evan and Holly were great subjects, and the process moved along well. I looked only once at a few saved images on Pinterest and then settled into my usual groove when shooting portraits. The only thing different was making sure to show off the baby bump! And no, I’m not getting into newborn photography, but I think I’d be okay doing another maternity shoot of the same style.