Seattle Artistic Black and White Maternity Photography - September Mother of the Month

Mother of the Month is a monthly blog post that I have been doing for three years to introduce readers to the amazing empowering women and their partners who come through my doors and trust me to be their maternity photographer or family photographer. It is an honor, and I am so grateful to have met so many soulful people who continue to change my life for the better. It is always with their permission that I share these images and words. 

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself, Omar and how you met. Why you decided to have kids. Was it an easy process? Share as much or as little as you are comfortable, but remember someone is going to read this late at night and it might give them some hope and strength.

Two days before my high school junior homecoming dance, I was dumped by my date in a very public, almost humiliating way. I had the dress, I had the shoes, all my friends were going to be there … I couldn’t stay home or go alone to suffer further embarrassment. What to do? In comes Omar, a guy I hardly knew - a friend’s older sister’s boyfriend’s best friend (did you follow?) to the rescue. It was a magical night where disaster morphed into a miracle and a first kiss to say “good bye” turned into 23 years of love and adventure.Conceiving, like everything else in our lives, has been a journey. We decided to get married after being together for 17 years. In part because we wanted to be parents, and in part because we were incredibly inspired during our travels by the epic setting of an amphitheater carved into a mountainside in the jungles of Costa Rica. It was created by a French architect who first imagined the place in a dream and built it to capture the setting sun as it lay to rest in the Pacific.A dreamlike wedding was followed by five years of wonderful peaks and painfully low valleys of emotion as we tried fruitlessly to get pregnant. Again, I think we just had to be in the right place on a multitude of levels (physical, spiritual, emotional…). THAT took getting rid of all our “stuff” literally and figuratively, leaving behind everything and everyone we knew, and a 3000 mile move across the country. The big trees, mountains, and waters of the Pacific Northwest had called us to nest.  We’re so grateful we listened.  

2. What is your secret to happiness? How do you want to guide this little person in the world?

Enriching our lives with wonder and adventure, sharing it with those we hold dear, and acting with purpose, compassion, love and deep gratitude has brought us much happiness, as well as, the strength to get through difficult times. These are some of the key values we hope to pass on to our son.

3. Tell me about why you decided to have artistic maternity photography, and why you trusted me to take these special photos.

Maternity photographs didn’t even cross my mind as I compiled my long list of pre-birth preparations, but close friends encouraged me to mark this magical time in my life.  I took their advice and started looking for images on the web that “spoke” to me. When I came across Jennifer’s Sacred Mother Project, I immediately knew she was the artist I wanted to work with.

4. Tell me what the experience was like to work with me, and anything special that you came away with or learned? Anything that I did that made this a special experience? Or anything that was different working with me?

I have a tendency toward a slightly self-deprecating nature which I try to challenge myself to overcome.  I knew working with Jennifer would be a good project in support of this effort. The only thing I was hoping for were beautiful images. The whole of what I received from the experience, no exaggeration and surprisingly, was transformational. Immediate reflections are generally the truest. Here’s a direct quote from a text message I sent to Jennifer after sitting with the photo proofs on the day we received them, “…we really love the photographs. I wasn’t expecting it as a reaction, but I really feel like a different person today – super positive, more energetic, and a lot less anxious. Who knew – WOW and thank you!” 

I not only feel beautiful, but more empowered to bring this child into the world. When those pangs of self-judgment try to creep back in, I look at the pictures and see-feel-know that I was made to do this and that I will be a great Mom.Mother of the Month is a monthly blog post that I have been doing for three years to introduce readers to the amazing empowering women and their partners who come through my doors, and trust me to photograph their pregnancy or their family. It is an honor, and I am so grateful to have met so many amazing people who continue to change my life for the better. It is with their permission that I share these images and words. Here are a few more photos from our session that Maví chose. 

To see meet more of my clients and see more of my most recent work, please visit the Mother of the Month archive.