Myrtle Beach Maternity Session

It feels weird that I'm starting my photography business blog by posting my own maternity pictures (that I didn't take, but edited!), but there doesn't feel like a better way to share the heart behind my business than to share the real parts of my life that have influenced it.

I've always been a big fan of experience gifts instead of just tangible things. Growing up, I always asked for practical items for Christmas or family time ideas rather than toys or books. So when my new husband asked what I wanted for Christmas last year, I asked him for a trip to the ocean before the baby came in June. We found out we were pregnant a week after we got married in October, and I had a lot of anxiety about becoming new parents right after becoming newly weds. I wanted to embrace the season we were in and heading into, but I also wanted to make the most of the time that it would still be Colt and me and not us as a family unit. I picked Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for a lot of reasons. One, it's affordable. Two, it's quiet at the end of February/beginning of March. And three, it's one of the biggest cliches for couples to go to. With our two years of dating and engagement being filled with hard and messy moments, I wanted to do something that so many other college aged couples do: Myrtle Beach spring break!

A week before we left for South Carolina, I decided to find a photographer to take a few quick maternity pictures for us. The day of our session, I almost cancelled. But the photographer talked us out of it, and I am so glad she did! Our session was so magical! The soft sand along the beach squishing under out bare feet, with the perfect cotton candy sky behind us. I can't stop looking at these pictures, and I know that I will cherish them forever!

Just three days after our session, while we were still on our vacation, I had a strong feeling that something wasn't right with our baby. We went to the hospital Friday night, and they couldn't find a heartbeat. I delivered our precious baby boy the following Wednesday. Even a month later, it still doesn't feel real for me.

I know that maternity pictures don't bring our sweet boy back, but it helps to have something tangible to look at and remember this short, precious season we had with Jefferson Fillmore. We chose not to see him in the hospital, and it helps make him feel more real to us by having these pictures. It's so meaningful to be able to look back at this season of our life in the future, when we will go through times of joy and times that were even harder than the past month has been for us.

That's my goal for my clients: to give them something to hold onto when they are going through hard seasons in their marriage or times of life and joy in their family. I have taken newborn pictures for dear friends just days after their babies were born. And I have also taken family formals for brides to have pictures of their loved ones used for their obituary months later. I have walked through seasons of brokenness with my brides, and I have shared the joy of answered prayers with others. To be able to capture all of this for my clients is an honor and a blessing for me. I'm excited to see how this season changes my life and business in the months ahead!