What happens when you're a family photographer and one of your best friends is about to have her first baby?! You really, really want to take her maternity pictures!! OF COURSE! But, what if she lives in Vancouver, Canada and I live in Las Vegas, Nevada? Well, you try a virtual maternity shoot! I wrote all about the first virtual shoot that I did HERE. As I say in that blog post, I wouldn't necessarily recommend virtual shoots for local clients but, for this situation, it was the perfect solution!
So, my friend Cara and I have known each other since Grade 9 in high school. She is smart, funny, brave, silly, thoughtful, considerate, generous, stylish and just a really good friend. We were each other's bridesmaid and she threw me a baby shower, when I was first expecting. She was also the first friend to visit me in Las Vegas after we moved here and therefore the first friend to meet my daughter after she was born. We have made so many fun memories together over the years (maybe because we both love sushi?!!) and I am so glad that we have stayed friends as life changed for both of us.
Now, I am so overjoyed and excited that she is about to become a mum!! I remember how instantly in love I was with my first born when I became a mom. Every little yawn, every little smile, every little new facial expression, every new skill, every new tooth, every new milestone and every "mama". I was hooked and loved getting to know the little person that my son was becoming. Now it's my friend's turn to experience the life changing and awe-inspiring moments of motherhood! BUT, before that, let's talk about these maternity pictures!!
For this virtual shoot, I actually had an in person photographer to help me out! This time around, I knew that I didn't want my pregnant friend getting up and down, running back and forth to the camera to set off the self-timer. I'm grateful to say that Cara's husband did a fantastic job moving the phone this way and that, as I gave him directions to frame each shot. Also, since we didn't have to wait for the self-timer each time, he was actually able to capture way more pictures for each setup. This resulted in more photos to choose from and therefore more shots to actually keep in the end! I'll be honest - I never would've thought that we'd be able to capture such beautiful maternity shots virtually, literally over 1200 miles apart! I am very happy with how they turned out!
While I definitely like editing in colour better, in general, the combination of Cara's dark hair and dress, plus the colours in her home, just begged for black and white edits, too! What do you think?! Not every photo is meant to be turned into black and white, but I quite like how these turned out!
Cara, you were wonderful during this shoot, and you are just gorgeous pregnant. I can't wait to meet this already-so-loved baby in just a matter of weeks! Eeeeeeek! Congratulations again to you and your hubby! I am so, so excited for you guys!!
If you want to see my other virtual shoot and read more information about how a virtual shoot is planned and executed, check out this post HERE! If you want to book your own virtual shoot, please do reach out HERE! Check out and follow my Instagram account @jenniferhymanphotography for my current work! :)