Sarah and Ava

Little Ava, when will you be joining us? When I first started to become really good friends with Scott, he was working at Hope Chapel with another young guy, Russell. I remember the church sent them both to a conference in Florida and Scott would call me to talk...and his roommie, Russell, would be chatting on the phone with his "friend," Sarah. Well, three years later, they've been married for about two years and are expecting to grow their family by one beautiful baby girl. They moved to a different church, Grace Bible (hey, I used to go there with Josh), but they hit me up with an email asking if I would want to take maternity pictures of Sarah. Would I? So cool!!! Something completely foreign to me but what an opportunity because it is becoming very popular nowadays. So, I had to do some research on my favorite flickr site to look at possible maternity shots...and it's so much better to go in with at least a few shots already lined up in your head. And fortunately, Sarah had done some research on her own and had some ideas of her own. The one thing that I learned when I had her sit on the grass is that hapai women will be uncomfortable in certain sitting positions. I had no experience of that so I definitely learned quickly that you can't ask them to be doing the splits.

(this one was just a casual snapshot...and I can't stand the stone wall in the background. I did a blatant and ugly blur but it's still there. However, Sarah and the little "nameplate" is super cute...and I was really surprised that this photo rapidly got 37 hits on my flickr site in one day. wow! the "name plate" is also an idea from my flickr research.

(hee hee...no, this session was at Sarah's mom's house in Kaneohe...we didn't rapidly jump to Waimanalo beach...I shamelessly photoshopped the background. I'm usually not a big fan because it adds a fake touch to things...but I felt it made this one more dreamy and artsy)

(taken against the side of the house...so simple...but I really like this one)

(here's also why researching poses can be rewarding. I saw the idea of using an ultrasound with the parents holding it on flickr...and I just changed it up to appear more like a window into Ava's life right now. Absolutely one of my favorites. I would put this on our walls but I think Scott and Stanton might not approve.
(from the beginning, Sarah wanted to take pictures in this little separate living room. It was such a cloudy day that I didn't think there would be enough light so I kept it for last...she was right, it was perfect lighting. Every shot was absolutely beautiful.)
(the most popular pose for maternity shots...I don't care...so worth it. So cute)