For me, a maternity photo shoot celebrates the growing family, but reserves a special place of honor for the mother-to-be.  As the one who both receives from her husband and gives new life to a growing baby, I believe an expecting mom deserves a central place within my photographs.

In early February, I photographed a maternity session with Beth and Tony, who are expecting their first baby any day.  Simply by her presence, Beth commanded the energy in the room.  Tony took a cue from her to know just where to sit and how to embrace her, while they were both ever aware of the growing baby.

During the entire shoot, Beth seemed both energized and subdued.  She possessed an obvious excitement about the prospect of motherhood, but kept a relaxed pace and peaceful demeanor.  It was as if she remained acutely aware that even amid the celebratory photo shoot, her body was continuing to do its most important job.

From a photographer’s perspective, the female form is breathtaking, and arguably it may be its most stunning during pregnancy.  There is no denying that women exude a particular strength and energy when — moment by moment — their bodies are preparing a new life to grace the world.

Check out more photos from this shoot at McLeod House Studios on Facebook.

McLeod House Studios is kicking off 2012 with a fresh look.  We are so excited to launch our new website that celebrates our vision as a studio to create beautiful, modern, and sophisticated photography.  We chose to use a black damask background as our theme and made sure to incorporate a mix of imagery – from black and whites, to rich color, from small details to wide environmental shots.  We also focused on integrating all of our creative tools – from the website to Facebook, to our Dr. Photo blog and even our latest YouTube video.

If you have not yet created a website of your own work, we especially hope this will inspire you to have a vision for how you can display your own portfolio in 2012 and beyond.

Check us out and let us know what you think: McLeod House Studios

McLeod House Studios

Life moves so fast.  In my mind, there is no doubt that moving so fast affects our cultural view of beauty.  Unless something is fast, fierce, fabulous, or fashion-forward it somehow loses visual appeal in our culture.

Just a few weeks ago, I photographed a wedding in Virginia Beach that challenged this aesthetic.  It was a much-needed reminder for me that beauty doesn’t have to be fast and fierce. Beauty can also be peaceful, innocent, and even simple.

I met Heather and Jay, the bride and groom, several months ago.  They immediately struck me as kind and uncomplicated, and obviously completely in love.  After Heather and I became Facebook friends, I found a photo album of her acrylic on canvas paintings.  It quickly became clear from her work that she is a thoughtful artist.  Pieces called 19 Assaults to Your Self-Esteem, and Put On Your Face indicated to me an appreciation for the countless ways in which our “fast” culture has negatively influenced our ideas of what is beautiful.  I also came across a painting called Pioneer Meadow. It is a beautiful windswept landscape that uses a natural palette of mostly blues, grays, and browns.

Later, when Heather described the theme of her wedding as “country church,” I thought back to Pioneer Meadow and, in light of this piece of artwork, the theme made perfect sense.  The wedding was to be a celebration of love, simplicity, intimate connections, and careful details.

(To view more photos, see our FB wall album called Heather and Jay’s Wedding at McLeod House Studios).

The ceremony took place at Tabernacle United Methodist Church in Virginia Beach.  It is one of the oldest Methodist congregations in America, established in 1789, whose first two ministers preached on horseback.  The original structure had only three rows of pews, was lit by kerosene lamps that hung from the ceiling, and included a slave balcony.  In 1908, the slave balcony was removed, while wood floors, stained glass, new pews, lights, and a bell tower were added.  (http://tabernaclevb.org)

When I visited the church to assess the lighting, I met Pastor Davis, who directed me to just call him “Jack.”  He gave me a tour, along with a brief history of the church.  To a pastor, this church was an obvious historic and community treasure.  To a photographer, it was a visual one. Warm tones resonated from the wood floors and pews, and the stained glass windows allowed for ample natural light, and provided an arched visual that could potentially compliment my composition.

On the wedding day, I tuned my camera to the simple details, whether it was photographing the gown against the church’s wood paneling or posing Heather and Jay in a peaceful embrace.

In my post-production, I kept the “country church” theme in mind and added custom edits to reflect the overall mood of the wedding.

From beginning to end, this experience refreshed my visual perspective.  While I can appreciate many of our cultural views of beauty, I was reminded there also remains a place — within my art and in culture at large — to celebrate simple beauty.

To view more photos, see our wall album called Heather and Jay’s Wedding at McLeod House Studios on Facebook

Our entire portfolio can be seen at our website: McLeod House Studios

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