with twins

 

Every now and then I get the idea in my head to quit offering maternity sessions. I can come up with a whole slew of compelling and even practical reasons for this thinking, but since I’m not motivated much by practicalities, the truth of it is I prefer photographing kids to adults, and I sometimes get bored with the repetitive nature of maternity shoots.

The funny thing is, every single time I reach the point of firmly deciding to eliminate them, I have a session that I begrudgingly go into and then find myself having a surprisingly good time or learning something new about myself in the process. And then I’m back on the maternity session bandwagon.

A lot of times I have to sort of harass and tease couples during these sessions to get them to relax and reveal more of themselves, but I could tell early on that that approach wouldn’t work for this couple I recently photographed. They’ve been together a long time…….been trying for a baby a long time…….and now that they’re pregnant with twins there was a rather serious intensity to their expectation not as prevalent in those to whom it’s come easier.

While at first quite uncomfortable in front of my camera, it was evident how completely comfortable they are with each other. So I knew that my job was just to help them forget about me and concentrate only on their partner. It was a session done in hushed tones where I spoke very little and when I did it was nearly a whisper. I did all the usual stuff I do for maternity shoots, but it felt different to me, almost sacred. They were finally able to forget about the intrusion of my camera, and I guess that I did too. I was caught up in observing the dynamics of a long-time couple who were still utterly in love with one another and anticipating something yet unimaginable that they thought might never happen for them.

I think as portrait photographers there are two ways to ensure the longevity of our livelihood. One is to keep current with trends, remaining innovative and clever and staying always on the cutting edge with products and technique. While the other is more internal, entering into each photo session with the question, “how willing am I to take the time and expend the energy to delve beneath the surface of both myself and my subjects in order to see that which is pure and genuine, as if seeing it for the first time?”

It’s always there, somewhere. Even in maternity sessions. Ü

~Cynthia