I shot their family photos last fall and was delighted to get the call that they were expecting baby number three in late summer. Almost immediately, my brain was working overtime on several visions I had for the maternity session and I spent the last three months looking for the perfect shabby white bed and spread, and then, the perfect spot easily accessible from the road with any remaining wildflowers blooming. In my quest for to match what was in my head, I enlisted the help of my amazing creative friend, Kimberly Thomas. (She’s just begun refinishing vintage furniture for photographers and consumers and I can’t wait to share more of that with you, too). Without so much as a simple promise of instant fame right here on the blog (LOL) or even a great lunch, she jumped right in and became an assistant/designer/stylist/babysitter all rolled into one fabulous framework. Did I mention it was nearly 100 degrees the morning we shot this? Or that the boards that support the box springs didn’t quite fit the frame and required a last-minute “fix”? Did I mention I was going on my second consecutive week of very late nights and was hosting house guests that week, too?

Add “keeper-of-my-sanity” to Kimberly’s list of talents, too.

In the end, we had a bed full of color, a belly and two beautiful girls that truly helped us take our  “bohemian mama” vision and make it reality.  It certainly didn’t hurt that mom could easily be modeling designer maternity wear. Stunning almost seems too inadequate a word to describe her.

I can’t wait to meet their newest family member – we’ll be doing a newborn session in about three weeks. In the meantime, enjoy some of my favorites from our session:

Some of my favorites from a very recent maternity session. To say she is stunning would be an understatement – I think she looks like she stepped right out of the pages of a magazine ad. She gave permission for me to post the third image which we both love. Worth mentioning: Each custom photography session is unique and maternity sessions are no different. I tastefully and artfully show as much or as little of the belly and body as mom is comfortable with and I always, always let my clients dictate that part of the vision. If you search maternity sessions in the Archives here on the blog, you’ll see a variety of ways we’ve crafted these images, from fun outdoor sessions, to more boudoir-like maternity sessions in-studio or on location.

The truly amazing thing here: She had the baby just four days later.

I love that these images (and the rest of her gallery) will forever mark the milestone of those final days of pregnancy. In about a week, you’ll see newborn session peeks – the end result from that trip to the hospital – all ten fingers and ten tiny toes. I’ll leave you guessing as to whether it was a boy or girl.

Those of you who “read” bellies … feel free to leave your guess here on the blog.

(Drumroll, please) …. The voting was seriously down the wire for the second, third and fourth highest rankings last night.  I am simply amazed: There were a total of 1,568 votes cast. Thank you everyone for spreading the word and voting! And don’t forget, there are still two more ways to get really cool stuff:

Enter to win a $500 Gift Card toward a 2010 Signature Session with me: As a thank you to all the blog readers, past clients and future clients I just haven’t met yet, you have the opportunity to win a $500 gift card to be used toward a 2010 Signature Session  simply by becoming a fan of Kami Brady Photography on Facebook or subscribing here to the blog. One Fan/Subscriber will be chosen at random on January 31 as the winner of this gift card.

Added bonus: If  you reserve a session to take place in 2010 by the end of this month, you’ll receive a $50 Gift Card to be used toward prints/products following your session.

WINNERS!!!

The grand prize winner of the 2009 Kami Brady Photography Image of the Year Contest goes to image #5 (13% of the votes) featuring a very vintage little Brendan:

Brendan’s parents receive a 16×20 gallery-wrapped canvas of the winning image AND a $500 Gift Card to be used toward a 2010 Signature Session with me!

The first runner up in the 2009 contest is image #7 (11% of the votes) of beautiful Miss Lauren:

Lauren’s parents will receive a mounted 11×14 linen art print of the voted image AND a $200 Gift Card to be used toward a 2010 Signature Session with me.

A huge CONGRATULATIONS to Ryan, Amy, Pete and Nicole and an even bigger thank you to everyone for spreading the word, getting the vote out and simply for the awesome support of my work.

What a fantastic year! It’s been a blessing to be able to do what I’m passionate about for clients who truly appreciate the art in the imagery. So THANK YOU for an amazing year filled with bellies, babies, toddlers, big kids, high school seniors, families and more. To celebrate, I’m holding a BIG promotion and contest – watch the blog tomorrow for details. You don’t want to miss it!

In the meantime, enjoy a special slideshow looking back at the many faces, bellies, piggytails and piggy toes that truly made me smile this past year (click on the play “arrow” in the middle and turn up the speakers to hear the music):