ITS A GIRL

Maternity photo shoots are by far one of my favorites. I love documenting the connection between the couple who is sharing this remarkable experience. They are on the verge of something really wonderful, but for now, it is still just the couple and a dream. Yes, the baby is THERE, but there is still so much unknown. The baby is wrapped inside leaving the parents filled with so much wonder and anticipation. And even with that unknown, there is a connection with the baby as well. When I look at the maternity pictures I make, my heart pitter-patters. This is the start of a family and it is grand!

Meet Brittany, Stuart and Soon-to-be Baby Gracie:

Quinn Maternity

This is my friend Jessica and her sweet family. I know Jessica through her sister, Yessenia who is one of my best friends. We grew up around the block from each other in Austin, TX. Jessica was a few years younger than Yessenia and me, so we didn’t play together too often (seriously, little sisters are supposed to be annoying, right? LOL! I don’t ever remember Jessica being THAT little sister, but still…haha!) Back then, I was pretty much a fixture at their house. Their mother nicknamed me “Kimmie” like DJ Tanner’s best friend from Full House…I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. LOL! Nooo, I know she meant it endearingly…right? Anyways, that was from about 3rd grade to freshman year of high school for me and then, they moved far, far away to Dallas, TX. Luckily, we stayed in touch and years later, as fate would have it, I moved just about 10 minutes away. Of course, living so close and having known each other pretty much our whole lives, we started to get to know each other again. That has been such a joy to me! I love seeing Jessica as an equal and not just my friend’s little sister. Plus, Jessica and I have a lot of the same interests. For one, Jessica and I both have degrees in Psychology. Also, as many of you know, I worked in OBGYN for 6 years and have since become a “birth junkie” and a birth photographer. Well, Jessica has since become an L&D nurse, so obviously that makes for fun conversations for us. I just love that I can talk birth with her and it doesn’t freak her out. Yay, birth! Haha!

Aaannnddd, that brings me to this! Jessica is expecting her second baby! Jessica and her husband, John already have one of the cutest and sweetest little boys ever, Liam. Gawww! Look how cute he is!! They certainly could not out-do him with another boy, so this time around they are having a beloved baby girl!

Meet Jessica, John, Liam and soon-to-be Harper Grace:

The Allen-Stern Family

These are my neighbors, some of the nicest people you will ever meet. I met them in August of 2012 when we moved into our new house. I was 9 months pregnant at the time and about the size of a house! From the very start, they were friendly and welcoming to us. They are definitely the kind of neighbors you want to have. Since then, they have seen me begin this great adventure into photography and they gave me the greatest compliment ever by hiring me to photograph three generations of their family. It was such an honor! And, to make it even better, they were so much fun!

Meet The Allen and Stern Families:

Soon-to-be Baby Tripp

I met Heather at my previous job. I was a social worker and she’s a licensed professional counselor. We worked in a high stress environment, but this girl was always there to help provide some much needed perspective and comic relief. She helped me keep my sanity among literal craziness (and I’m not talking about the consumers), and she was fantastically funny just when I needed it. Sometimes, it was just a clever joke and other times, it was her busting a move in the hallway. You know, whatev! LOL! I really do miss seeing her sweet smile everyday, but we have stayed in touch, so I’m happy about that! And, of course, I was thrilled when she asked me to photograph her growing family. It was such an honor for me to get to document this special time in her life. She looks absolutely stunning with her mommy glow and oh-so-perfect baby belly! I love it! The hubs and pup aren’t too shabby either. 😉

Meet the lovely Heather and her three favorite boys- Clint, Mr. Bear and the soon-to-be Baby Tripp. Aren’t they a good looking family?!!

The Three Bears: Shirey Maternity Part II

Alas, I have Shirey’s second maternity shoot is ready! I like the images from this shoot so much that I had a hard time picking my favorites. They are all so good! Now, all that is left is the anticipation of Baby Bear’s arrival in February/March 2014. 🙂

Miss the images from the first shoot? Here’s a link to Part I: https://pushphotographyblog.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/the-three-bears-shirey-maternity-part-i/

The Three Bears: Shirey Maternity Part I

You’ve met these two before. This is Mama Bear and Papa Bear, and just in case you didn’t know, they have a Baby Bear hibernating inside that belly! Eeeekkk! So exciting! This is soon-to-be Baby Bear Brennyn. Below are images from Part I of their maternity photo shoot. Baby Bear is oh-so-loved that we just couldn’t fit everything we wanted to document into one day. Part I was shot indoors two weeks ago and today, we shot Part II outdoors at a beautiful park. I love these images so much and there are still more amazing images to come! I can hardly wait to show y’all! In the meantime, these will have to hold you over until I finish applying my magic to the others. Enjoy!

p.s. Isn’t Elise gorgeous? I had the best time editing these. She is just so stunning!

UPDATE: Part II is ready! https://pushphotographyblog.wordpress.com/2013/12/31/the-three-bears-shirey-maternity-part-ii/

The Hauptly Family

Meet Lawrence, Hollie, Quinn and Raelynn. Hollie is a birth junkie just like meeeee! Wahoo! Someone who gets my level of crazy! Haha! 😉

I met Hollie at the very first Dallas Birth Network meeting I attended. I had just had my daughter a few months earlier and my experience left me craving more from the birth world. It was about this time that I decided to pursue birth photography, so when I was invited to attend a birth network meeting, I jumped on the opportunity. Hollie sat next to me. She mentioned that she had her own business as a certified doula and childbirth educator. I was impressed and inspired. I knew what I wanted to do, but being so new to the birth world, I didn’t know how to start. Hollie was brand spankin’ new to the area and had already launched her business. She didn’t let being new hold her back, and I shouldn’t either. Everybody’s gotta start somewhere! So, this is my start.

Since then, Hollie and I have become friends. Let me tell you, this is one cool chick. She is very sweet and smart, and she is really good at what she does. Lawrence is quite impressive too. He is currently in chiropractic school. These two make a great duo and then, of course, you add two pretty stinkin’ cute kids and they are the whole package! LOL! It was a lot of fun photographing them. Quinn was completely adorable and always ready for the camera. His eyes and smile just make you light up! Raelynn was much more reserved. She couldn’t quite figure me out. But, I still want to eat her up because even though she gave out smiles sparingly, she was ridiculously cute. Well, without further ado, here are their family portraits.

And, for anyone interested in doula services and/or a natural childbirth course, check out Hollie’s website at http://www.sweetserenitybirth.com/ or you can find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sweet-Serenity-Birth-Services-Hollie-Hauptly-Doula-and-BBCI/141314659269361. I highly recommend a birthing class especially if you are interested in a natural birth. Also, doulas are worth their weight in gold especially if they help prevent unnecessary interventions.

And, of course, if anyone is interested in birth photography by yours truly, you can find me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pushphotos or email me at pushphotography at outlook dot com. I am currently offering discounted rates for portfolio building. Please contact me for more details.

Kay Bay Bay and 50mm of Gloriousness!

God DOES answer prayers!

I have been fascinated with photography since I was a kid, but I always felt it was something I would need to do in another lifetime. Rather than do it professionally, I would have to settle for just being an enthusiast and I was ok with that…for a while. Then, my husband bought me my first Canon DSLR camera Christmas 2010. I started shooting in manual shortly after that and my interest grew.

Then, with the birth of my daughter in 2012, my perspective on life and work changed. While on maternity leave, I felt strongly compelled to make a career change. I was working as a social worker and while I loved my work and my clients, I wanted nothing more than to stay at home with my daughter. I needed something where I had more control over my schedule. It was then that I decided to take photography from a hobby to a business.

Now, I didn’t make that decision lightly. I understood becoming a professional photographer wasn’t going to be as easy as it looks, so I would need to study my tail off to master the technicality of it and also learn the business side of things. I began taking classes 5-6 days per week and each day I learned priceless information. I also learned that my intro DSLR and kit lenses were only going to get me so far. Through my research, I discovered that one of the best lenses for portraiture is a 50mm. I needed to upgrade…but going from a two-income household to a one-income household, plus adding a new family member made things quite tight financially. It was not in the budget to make any such upgrade. I had no idea how I was going to get enough money to get a new lens. So, I prayed.

The next day, I called up a friend, a “woe is me” phone call, and I told him how if I was going to do this photography thing, I was going to need a 50mm lens to get me started and the way things were going, I wasn’t going to be able to afford one. “A 50mm?”, he asks. “We have one here in the lost and found.” Say what?!! Someone had left behind a Canon 50mm lens at his place of business and it had been sitting there in the lost and found for nearly a year. He followed up with the manager. After making me wait about 3 months (talk about a nail-biter), he finally got approval to take it.

Like I said, God DOES answer prayers. I get chills just thinking about it. I mean, what are the chances…? Now, the fact that someone else is without their beloved lens is not something that is lost on me. I am genuinely sad for their loss, as cheesy and ridiculous as that sounds. If I were in their shoes, I would be so upset. But, if nothing else, I can say, it is in good hands. I treasure it daily and it has done a budding photographer well. I absolutely love it and it’s got me wondering what I was actually doing before I had it because what I did before was NOT photography. I was just pretending! LOL! This lens can do amazing things. I can do amazing things with this lens!

And, without further ado, below is my very first photo shoot with my 50mm 1.4 and my beautiful, smart, fun, sweet niece, Kaylee, aka Kay Bay Bay.

Roberts Maternity

Meet Stephen, Nadia and the soon-to-be Penelope Marlowe. I met Nadia through a mutual friend and I was thrilled when she allowed me the opportunity to do a maternity photo shoot for her. Nadia was so sweet and Stephen was so funny! It was quite easy to see what a great couple they make. They are just 2 very cool people…and they are multiplying! Let just hope the world can handle what Sweet Penelope will have to offer! 😉

P.S. Nadia has the most photogenic baby belly in the history of ever! Just look at her!

Erin and the Girls

My friend, Erin has two of the most amazing, lovable, precious, wonderful little girls God has ever put on this Earth! Every minute I get to spend with them is so special. They are just so much fun and so sweet. I can’t get enough! I put out a “casting call” of sorts looking for people willing to let me photograph them for practice as I try this new venture into photography. Erin jumped at the opportunity. I was over the moon happy to be able to do a photo shoot for their precious little family. I really hope that they had as much fun on the shoot as I did!

Meet Erin, Jerah and Ayden: