Maternity Photo Session

We had been scoping out different local photographers for a while. Being photographers ourselves, we were pretty picky when it came to selecting someone to take our maternity photos. We had the money saved from photo shoots that we took this fall, so we figured it was kind of like "free money" since it was our side job that would be paying for this...but we still wanted to get a good deal. 

www.kellibrewer.com

Don't you just LOVE Camden's first pair of shoes? We saw these at the store and couldn't resist!

We decided to go with Kelli Brewer Photography. We found her Facebook page through a friend of Mark's and love all the photos she posts online. Every time she posts photos from a new photo session we are always like "man, that's a nice camera" or "wow, she does good work". The photos are always so crisp and clear and the scenery and poses are great too. 

At first we had scheduled our session for December 14 at 3pm. Looking at the forecast a few days before was not pretty. They were calling for freezing rain and snow (wintry mix). We kept an eye on it and on Friday the 13th, Kelli decided we should reschedule. I was actually glad because I came down with a head cold that weekend and my face and eyes were all puffy from sneezing and sniffling so much. On December 14 at 3pm I looked out the window and it was POURING. So glad we decided to reschedule rather than trying to wing it and hope for the best.

So, we got lucky since she was available that next Saturday. Looking ahead at the forecast they were calling for temps in the 70s and sunny skies with 0% chance of precipitation. Perfect! I was glad the forecast didn't suddenly change and cause us to have to reschedule AGAIN because her only available dates were late January and I would look/feel/be even more miserable. 

So my cousin Sam came over to curl my hair that morning. I didn't want to just have it straight like I always do and I really suck at curling my own hair - well I do good on one side then the other side is total opposite. I was so excited at how warm it was outside, we had the windows open and were jamming to country music while she did my hair. I noticed the blue sky and saw a slight breeze but didn't think anything of it. 

See, look how pretty it was!

When we went to get into the car to leave it was SO WINDY! I started freaking out because my hair was messing up and I hadn't even left the driveway yet. I knew it was going to be a nightmare during the shoot because of the stupid wind. When we got to Manassas Battlefield, of course I had to pee so we went into the visitor center to wait for Kelli. As I was walking out of the bathroom, she was walking in. Noticed my belly I assume and said "are you Shannon?" haha...then we introduced ourselves and off into the windy field we went! 

I had to walk backwards most of the time so that my hair wasn't blowing into my face, specifically my lip gloss which was super annoying. I warned Kelli that I had a bad side and she tried to work around that, I am just not comfortable posing on the other side because I hate my teeth/smile on that side. I feel like I spent more time moving my bangs outta my eyes than actually posing for a picture - our photo shoot would have been finished in half the time if the wind wasn't a factor. Towards the end I just didn't care anymore, my hair was doomed and there was no fixing it. I can't wait to see how the rest of the photos turned out. Kelli is taking time off to spend it with her family for the holidays so we're being patient because we respect that! 

All in all it was a pretty cool experience - being on the other side of the lens for once. I am self conscious about my two chins and a few other areas that have grown since Camden has been around but I know it's all for a good cause and could be worse so I shouldn't complain. It was fun to pose with Mark and he said he loved looking into my eyes when she would tell us to look at each other or just be flirty. He was tickling me a lot to try to get me to laugh more, Kelli's idea...but I don't think those photos are going to turn out too nice with him tickling and me trying to get him to stop, but she might have captured a cute/playful one here and there, lol.

Kelli was super nice and outgoing during the shoot. She was asking questions which I believe will be incorporated into her posts or blog about us...smart thinking! She even gave us some yummy hot chocolate and candy afterwards! Highly recommend her as a photographer - we will probably have her do our lifestyle session in our home once Camden is here and is a few days old. I'd much rather have photos of him than my belly so I can't wait for that! 

I yelled at Mark once I saw our sneak peek photo because his sleeve wasn't buttoned but hopefully y'all didn't even notice that til I pointed it out. I love that outfit on him though, don't you think the sweater vest is a good look? Can't wait to show these to Camden when he gets older because I remember looking back at pictures when my mom was pregnant with me and thinking how cool it was to see. 

I will be sure to post the link to our gallery/blog once she sends it to us, or if she posts any other sneak peeks I'll share them too!