Love was in the air
One of the things I remember most about Alma and Brian's session is that the love between them was floating in the air the entire time. Their love is truly inspiring and I am so happy that I was able to meet them and capture Alma's second pregnancy. Brian was the best hype man for Alma throughout the session. He was saying all of the perfect things to help her feel comfortable and confident and I didn't even have to prompt him to. Relationship goals! Though I didn't get to meet their little girl, I am hoping one day I will be able to meet not only her but her new little brother as well. With such amazing people as parents, these two kiddos are on the top of my "to meet" list.
Strength, love and kindness
Did I already mention how extremely kind Alma and Brian are? Even after their maternity portrait session, Alma has been such a great supporter and truly the friend we all NEED in our lives and on social media. I cant help but be so proud and smile every time I see her post a new picture of their new baby boy (Santiago) and their daughter (Nala). How precious are their names by the way? It's not that often that you make a new friend on Facebook and immediately just wish the best for them and their family. But that's exactly what happened with Alma. They both give off this amazing energy that makes you feel so warm. I cannot wait to capture portraits of them for the first time as a family of 4!
Beautiful inside and out
After learning that Alma is a hairstylist, I knew that they were going to show up looking amazing but I still cant get over how great they looked when I first saw them. When I think of beauty on the inside and out, these two are top of the list. See for yourself. I will never forget when Alma told me during her session that the images I was showing her on the back of my camera were allowing her to see how truly beautiful she is. That is something I will never get tired of hearing because that is one of the biggest reasons I photograph maternity sessions. Every expecting mom deserves to see her true beauty. I am so honored that I was able to do that for Alma.
Why it's important to leave your kiddo(s) with a sitter during your maternity session.
As I mentioned earlier, Alma and Brian already have one wonderful daughter, Nala, and they did not bring her to their maternity session. Originally, Alma was going to have both her daughter and her husband at her session, then not too long before her session she decided that she wanted it to just be her and her husband. And I was totally on board with it, but I wanted to know what lead her to that decision so I could get a better understanding and perspective. Here is what she told me "I realized the magic of the photos might have been tainted by the idea of having my daughter with us. Thinking of the stress of getting her dressed up and ready, making sure she had a full tummy before the session and making sure she cooperated during the session; I began to have anxiety about having her involved because it was so important to me. I talked to my husband about my feelings and the solution was simple... make the shoot about US. Allowing us to take time away from everything and really focus on our unborn child ONLY was so special to us. We had guilt about Nala not being involved so we agreed to get family pictures done soon.
Alma's Tips for a Successful Maternity Portrait Session
01.
Prepare the day before.
Was, iron and lie everything out the day before to avoid any last minute rushing and stress.
02.
Make getting ready fun.
My husband and I love to dress up so we made it fun! We put on some music and set the mood.
03.
Shoes.
I wish I wore more comfortable shoes. Being in the 3rd trimester I started to swell pretty bad. I could have give more confident smiles but I know I was struggling with my shoes so I was hiding some uncomfortableness.
04.
Bring your partner.
I loved having my husband involved in the photos. Whether it was making me giggle, fixing my hair for me, checking my shirt tags to make sure they weren't sticking out. I really felt like it was a special evening to remember. Getting ourselves out there and wearing something fancy was one of his favorite things because we truly dont get to do it often with the kids. It was such an empowering and lovely experience for both of us. We felt a connection we never had before.
