Lauren & James | Pregnancy Announcement Maternity Session

James and Lauren have become some of my closest friends over the last few years. I’ve had the honor of documenting them twice before - the first time when James proposed and the second time to celebrate their first anniversary. This third time - documenting the joy, excitement, and jitters of celebrating their first child - was something that left my heart feeling very full. As our photo sessions feel these days, it didn’t feel like a photo session at all - more like just another way for friends to spend time together. Lauren is so naturally elegant in front of the camera, and their joy around what they were about to announce to the world seeped into every part of our hour together. Nearly every photo we took ended with laughter and excitement about how fun this was and how great the photos were going to be.

What makes maternity sessions especially meaningful is that they preserve a season that often passes by quickly. In the midst of preparing a nursery, planning for the future, and dreaming about the life ahead, it can be easy to forget to slow down and simply enjoy this time. Sessions like Lauren and James’ allow couples to remember what it felt like to be waiting, the excitement, the tenderness, and the love that already surrounds their baby.

These photos will one day become part of their family’s story, something their child will look back on and see just how loved they were long before they were even born. And that is what makes maternity sessions so special: they capture the very beginning of a love story that is only just beginning to unfold.

I love walking through life with these two, and I’m looking forward to more parts of James and Lauren’s story I get to document. Being their friend and getting to photograph their love grow is something I’ll never take for granted!