Damon and Emma | Boho Maternity Session | Indianapolis maternity and newborn photographer

There’s something special about Indiana summers. Especially when they involve maternity sessions like this one.

I’ve known Damon since before he was born!

I remember his mom sharing that she was expecting with a small group of other young moms at a Bible study I was holding in my home shortly after Joe and I moved to Indianapolis.

I was expecting my second child at the time, so Damon’s mom and I experienced pregnancies at the same time. My daughter Bethany is the same age as Damon.

I’ve also known Emma for a long time!

She was in early elementary when our families met.

When Emma was a young girl, I had the privilege of capturing her family when her grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary!

I was able to get some shots of Emma and each of her siblings individually, and this is one of my favorites of her from that special session!

As I have watched Emma grow up, I’ve always been encouraged to be around her. She is the kind of person that spills joy to everyone around her. She is full of joy and always has a word of encouragement for those she comes in contact with.

Damon’s mom could be described this way, and they say men often marry someone much like their mom. I’d say Damon has been doubly blessed to have a mother with these character qualities and now to have them in his wife.

I feel like you can just see that sweet spirit coming through as you view these photos, don’t you think?

Damon and Emma have been sweethearts since fourth grade!

How special to have been sweet on each other all through the growing up years and to see God lead them together as young adults! And now they are anticipating this new adventure of parenthood together!

Just as we were wrapping up the maternity session,

Damon made a special request . . .

He asked if we could do a few shots on the chair where he was holding both Emma and his baby boy. I absolutely loved his idea and we captured these precious heirloom photos for them to always look back and treasure this precious time.

When this little guy arrives, we plan to recreate this special scene. Keep watch for this special newborn session!

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Baby Azaria | Indianapolis Newborn Photographer

Little Miss Azaria’s arrival was greatly anticipated for several months, and her mommy and daddy were beyond thrilled to finally have her here.

Daddy was definitely smitten and couldn't help but sneak a kiss of her sweet little toes

Before Azaria arrived, we celebrated the special season of anticipating her arrival with a special maternity session.

You can check out all the unique and special elements to this awesome maternity session in my Indianapolis studio at the previous blog post here.

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Parent shots are always first so that Mommy and Daddy are fresh for the photos. We captured some beautiful portraits of Azaria with Mommy and Daddy.

Alexsis wore a gown from my client closet for some of the photos. Any of my maternity gowns can be worn when you come back for newborn photos! The gowns are all very versatile and can work both ways. You can check out all of the options in my client closet here!

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Alexsis wanted to recreate a portrait incorporating angel wings for Azaria to coordinate with her maternity photos with the angel wings. Both Alexsis and Azaria were the most beautiful angels. It was so sweet to connect the maternity photos with the newborn photos - connecting the time of Alexsis anticipating her angel to the reality of her baby girl being here earthside. What amazing heirlooms these will be for them as Azaria grows and changes!

For her maternity session, Alexsis requested a photo of herself holding a sweet little crown in the clouds

It was so special to pose Azaria with the crown that her momma held in her hands as she anticipated her arrival.

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Alexsis requested that sunflowers be incorporated into Azaria’s newborn session. Azaria looked so beautiful with these deep rich tones!

Alexsis requested the color yellow, and I made sure we incorporated it in some different ways. It didn’t matter what shade of yellow we used, Azaria looked beautiful in all of it!

We did a couple more set ups incorporating blues and pinks

Adding variety to a newborn session is important!

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Detailed shots will help Mommy and Daddy remember those tiny little fingers, the dimples in her knuckles, those sweet little toes, how tiny her little head was, the super soft hair on her sweet little head, and the newness of her little face. As Azaria gets older, it will also be a way for her to see how beautiful all her little details were when she was a newborn.

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Just as we were finishing up her session, Daddy mentioned that she would be pretty in purple.

So we got spontaneous and pulled together a purple set up. Boy, was he right! The purple tones really highlighted what a gorgeous baby she was!

It was a delight to my heart to make the connection between the maternity session and the newborn session. Both of these stages are a unique thread that ties the story of this precious girl and her family together.

Contact me here to discuss booking your maternity session. We can discuss your preferences for unique ways to incorporate some of the photos to line up with newborn photos when your baby arrives! Any time a maternity package is booked, a credit is given toward a newborn package!

The miracle of Charlie Joe, Part 1 | Rainbow Baby Maternity session | Indianapolis Newborn Photographer

Early in her pregnancy, Susanne contacted me to discuss booking maternity photos for a very special child she was carrying.

She and her husband Jamie had experienced the heart wrenching loss of a child in July five years previously. After this very difficult journey, she was now expecting and anticipating the arrival of a sweet baby boy.

She was really hoping to have some special snow maternity photos, but the weather in Indianapolis is not very predictable in the winter time, and you never know if you are going to be able to enjoy a beautiful snowfall or just have to deal with ugly dismal gray days all winter.

We planned for a maternity session as the holidays were approaching, but because of some family emergencies, we had to postpone. This was all in God’s design, because when we were able to reschedule, God gave us a beautiful snowfall and also allowed the temps to be agreeable for the duration of our session!

We started the maternity session showing how beautiful Susanne is in this colorful rainbow gown.

When she saw this gown in my client closet, she was sure she wanted some photos in this maternity gown to celebrate this beautiful rainbow after a difficult storm of loss.

Normally, you don’t think of rainbows and snow going together, but Jamie and Susanne made the rainbow look absolutely stunning in the snow!

We found some of the most unique spots as we walked around at the park on the east side of Indianapolis. Natural elements look quite different in the snow than they do in warmer seasons. And this provided us with some beautiful, unique photos for this sweet couple to cherish for always!

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We switched to this beautiful red gown after getting several sweet shots in the rainbow maternity gown.

Susanne looked absolutely stunning in this gown. The contrast of the red maternity gown against the snow really highlighted how beautiful this momma is.

This unique tree not only gave us some gorgeous shots of Susanne, but it gave us the ability to get some sweet shots of Jamie with her.

We walked on a bit further to the creek

and captured some beautiful shots with this unique background. The reflection of the snow and trees in the water created a beautiful backdrop.

It was a blessing to provide these heirlooms for Jamie and Susanne. They will always have these photos to treasure the time they anticipated the arrival of their sweet Charlie Joe.

Check out the next blog post for highlights from his newborn session!

Capturing your family's story | Indianapolis newborn photographer

Brandon and Kaylee had a strong desire to become parents, but struggled to see this dream become a reality. They waited three long years to finally meet their first little one. Read their story in Kaylee’s own words below:

announcement photos used with permission

““We can’t keep our secret any longer!

This is our story.

It’s been 3 years filled with tears, hope, discouragement, faith, questions, trust and phrases like “will we ever be blessed with a child?” We’ve been asked numerous times “when are you guys going to have a baby?” or “why don’t you have kids yet?”

Looking back on these 3 years we can see how God has worked everything out in His perfect timing. We’ve had these years to encourage, love, and grow in Christ together. We wouldn’t trade this trial for the world because it’s a lesson of patience and trust we’ve needed in our lives. We hope our story can be an encouragement to someone who is still waiting on their precious little one. God truly blesses in His timing!

We are SO thrilled for baby Unruh to join our family in April!”

— Kaylee Unruh

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What a delight it was to capture some beautiful maternity heirlooms for them as Kaylee carried their little one and they anticipated the day they would meet him! We enjoyed a sunrise maternity session at the canal along

the White River in downtown Indianapolis.

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And then, before they knew it, he was here.

Their hearts could hardly contain the joy this little one brought and the depth of love they felt for him.

Every time Brandon and Kaylee look at their newborn photos, they are looking upon heirlooms that take their hearts right back to all of those emotions of joy and love.

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Fast forward a couple of years…

and Brandon and Kaylee were gifted with another precious miracle! Grayson was now a big brother and Brandon and Kaylee now had a sweet little boy AND a girl!

Little Miss Harper was the sweetest addition to the family and it was an honor for me to capture her in the newborn stage while she was new to the world!

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Time passed, and Brandon and Kaylee discovered another little blessing was on the way, but unfortunately, they had to say goodbye to their sweet angel baby before their child ever came earthside. Going through this kind of loss leaves you with such a heartache that is impossible to put into words. It’s a difficult storm to navigate.

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In God’s perfect timing, He chose to give them a precious little rainbow

after the storm.

Little Miss Remington arrived . . .

. . . and the Unruh family had now grown to a family of five!

She was the perfect little bright spot that was so needed after such a difficult loss.

Returning to my studio on the east side of Indianapolis as your family grows allows you to have a beautiful consistency to your heirloom photos. Look at the precious growth that has taken place through the past few years!

It truly is an honor to walk with you as the story of your family unfolds, capturing precious heirlooms for you along the way.

Message me HERE to inquire about booking your maternity and newborn heirloom session!

Newborn photos - therapy for your soul

Finding out a little one is on the way brings a huge variety of emotions from one end of the spectrum to the other.

There is a feeling of joy and excitement that is impossible to put into words.

And yet there are so many fears and unknowns surrounding finances, health, and feeling overwhelmed by the amazing responsibility that you are facing.

There are challenges to your body physically that stretch you to a new understanding of what it means to love sacrificially.

There are emotional challenges as you face hormone changes and deal with postpartum.

All of this looks different for every momma and some struggle on deeper levels than others, but ALL mommas (and daddies too in their own unique ways) will face some of the hardest challenges you’ve ever experienced.

Sometimes, those challenges can crowd out the indescribable joy and delight of this new little person that has completely changed your life for the better.

Choosing to invest in heirloom quality newborn photos is therapy for your soul.

When you have nights of very little sleep and baby is extra fussy and your body is tired and sore, that can often be all that you see in front of you.

When you are struggling with postpartum emotions and have those hard moments and hard days, it is so hard to remember the positive side.

But when you catch a glance at any one of your beautiful heirloom newborn photos, it will instantly lift your spirits and remind you of this beautiful gift you’ve been given and the treasure that she is.

As your body heals and your baby grows and quickly changes, those difficult pieces of the first days and weeks of having a newborn will become blurred. Your memory of how beautiful and precious your little one was at this stage will be blurred as well, unless you invest in heirloom quality newborn photos. You want the memory of the tough pieces to blur and not be remembered, but you do NOT want the memory of your little one to be blurred along with the hard stuff. Choosing to invest in heirloom quality photos of your newborn baby will definitely be THERAPY FOR YOUR SOUL.

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Enjoy these highlights from little Miss Chikamsi’s newborn photo session at my studio on the east side of Indianapolis. Every time her mommy and daddy see these photos they will recall with fresh remembrance how tiny and beautiful she was at this delicate stage!