I’m Pregnant! And Not Glowing | Vancouver Maternity Photographer

As a maternity and newborn photographer, my feed is full of radiant moms and seemingly tidy spaces in the families’ homes we work in. We always want you looking and feeling your best in your photos, and to avoid clutter that can distract from the beautiful moments we’re capturing.

An unfortunate side effect is that it creates the impression of perfection, which can be intimidating for anyone interested in booking a photography session. In our consultations, we frequently hear concerns from pregnant moms like “I’ve gained so much weight”, “I have nothing to wear”, “my home is a mess”, or most commonly, “I’M a hot mess.. there is no way I’ll be photo ready”.

It’s such a shame to miss out on capturing this fleeting, huge milestone in your life, because you’re hesitant to have a camera pointed in your face while you just don’t feel put together - I get it, probably more than you know.

I am currently 31 weeks pregnant with our rainbow baby, which you’d think I’d be shouting from the rooftops, but for 25 weeks I kept pretty quiet about it. I was scared to share positive news that could end in bad news. I was concerned about rubbing my pregnancy in anyone’s faces who wanted a baby so badly, as I knew this feeling. I also completely lacked ANY energy to pull off even just one cute photo for a pregnancy announcement. I had all-day sickness for the first 15 weeks, a new apartment to move our family to, an elderly sick dog to care for, insomnia even when my three year-old decides to miraculously sleep through the night, and somehow had to carry on running my business between running to the bathroom and looking after everyone else. My pregnancy has been wrought with anxiety over how I’m going to do it all once the baby actually arrives.

Finally, our amazing associate photographer Dani and I made an executive decision that she would come over to our new apartment, full of unpacked boxes, and capture my pregnancy. I would not style my hair, wear a cute outfit, or even lint roll the dog hair off my leggings. Why? Because I want to show anyone reading this that I understand that pregnancy is not always easy, no matter how much we have longed for it, and that I will be the last person to judge YOU if you’re in a similar (or worse) condition when you choose me as your photographer.

I’ve also decided to practice what I preach and book a session for some nice, styled maternity photos in a few weeks. Have things gotten easier and am I up for it now? Not really. But I know that this pregnancy will be over before I know it, and as rough as I feel, creating life is still a beautiful thing. I deserve an evening of having my hair & makeup done, wearing a pretty dress, and having fun with my family while a photographer captures it all. I know that this is made easy by the business we have, with all of these aspects built into what we do.

I can’t wait to show you those photos when they’re done, but for now, enjoy these captures of my real, imperfect, often struggling to get by, hot mess self.