Boston + New England Wedding Photographer » bellies

Seattle Belly Session: Lanaya + Zach

Kate — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:42:50 +0000

Lanaya and Zach are former wedding clients who have become dear, dear friends. I try to hook up with them every time I fly back to Seattle, and when Lanaya finally agreed to let take some maternity photos of her (she claims to be camera-shy) I was thrilled. After being rained off the first time around, we decided to meet up with Zach at Green Lake after her baby shower last Sunday. Just as we were leaving Carkeek Park (the venue for her shower) I decided I couldn’t resist taking a couple of solo shots of her as the light was dreamy …

I’m so happy I got these, because the sky quickly clouded over and we were left with the Giant Gray Softbox that was the bane of my life when I lived back west!

Still, who really needs sunshine when your subjects are glowing like this?

I was hoping to find an unused dock for a set of photos … no such luck, but a very sweet man kindly offered to vacate this one for us when he saw my camera.

Thank you, guys, for a lovely afternoon, for making me laugh, and for helping me make it back to Boston in one piece. I can’t wait to meet the little one when he arrives!

Boston Maternity Session: Barbara + Ryan

Kate — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:48:35 +0000

On Saturday I headed down to South Boston for my first belly session of the year. It was crazy cold out, but bright and beautiful, and Barbara and Ryan’s house was awash with sunshine. Perfect! This was my first time photographing a belly session 100% indoors, and I have to say, I kinda like it. You’re forced to work more creatively with the spaces you have, and expressions and interactions become so much more important when there aren’t any spectacular landscapes to distract from your subjects.

We started the session on the beautiful staircase just inside the front door. The light there is strong and directional, meaning lots of good shadows to work with. I also loved that I could change my perspective by photographing down from the second floor, shooting over the banister, or photographing straight on from the doorway.

I love working with both parents together during belly sessions – to me a belly session is about the couple, and their relationship, and the shared excitement of welcoming a new family member. That being said, it’s always fun to get some solo shots of mom too – especially when she’s glowing as gorgeously as Barbara …

The front door made a great backdrop for some silhouette shots … and the living room was bathed in the most amazing light – it was so bright, in fact, that I ended up closing the blinds for much of the session.

We finished the session upstairs in the front bedroom. I loved the clean white decor, and I totally loved the photos we took there. We ended with some boudoir-style belly photos on the bed, and I’m hoping that Barbara and Ryan might let me show one or two when they receive their full collection. Fingers crossed!

Thank you both for welcoming this stranger into your home and playing with me for an hour and a half. Good luck with the arrival of your new baby (due so soon, on February 12th!)

Bellies, Boudoir and Beaching: Michelle + Scott

Kate — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:58:22 +0000

It’s an incredible honor being asked to photograph momentous occasions in peoples’ lives – and never more so than when it’s for your very dear friends. Scotty and Michelle spent a while trying for their first baby, and it was announced to our family here in Seattle on Christmas day. It took me a few minutes to get what the heck their strange little Christmas card was all about (yeah, I’m slow like that) but when it finally dawned on me that they were expecting I burst into a quivering mess of happy tears.

Their belly session was rearranged four times, but we finally got to hang out and rub the bump last week, and I am so excited to post these pics. I always find it so much tougher photographing my friends (they know the real me that’s hiding behind the goofball exterior) but I think we did OK. Well, I’ll let you all be the judge of that.

It was Michelle’s baby shower on Sunday, so this is part of my absentee gift (I’m back in Boston right now, house hunting again). Thank you, good luck, and all my love to you guys. And congrats on the FAB paint job in baby Nougat’s room!

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Golden Gardens Belly Session: Brianne + Shane

Kate — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:54:04 +0000

One gorgeous evening last week, I met up with Brianne and Shane for their belly session at my favorite portrait spot in the world, Golden Gardens. It’s not the typical way to shoot a maternity session (it seems that most are done in a studio) but it worked out so well – even if we did get a few strange looks from the teen boys hanging around the bathhouse!

Brianne and Shane are the most amazing couple to work with. As well as being gorgeous, they are also incredibly natural in front of the camera. And I’m sure it helps that they are just bursting with pride for their soon-to-be baby, little Jackson … too cute! I love how they dressed, too – and their colors and the beach setting were chosen to work with the beach theme in Jackson’s new bedroom. Love!

Thank you, Shane and Brianne, for being so easy and fun to work with, and for fighting on through the evening despite the cold. I can’t wait to send you your full collection!

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Protected: Bellies and Boudoir: Katie + Nate

Kate — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:11:21 +0000