Ready to Pop!/ Portland Maternity Pictures

Talk about cutting it close. This gorgeous mama was truly ready to pop when we met up at the Children's Garden at Michigan State University on Friday (lovely trip back to my home state by the way). I was fully expecting a call that week saying "never mind, she's in labor", but luckily, little girl was nice and snug as a bug in there and let us get some beautiful belly shots of her mom and family. Susi is a "more like a sister" cousin of one of my dearest friends, who decided to surprise her with a photo session. What a great gift! Susi, you have an amazingly adorable family and I hope you had a smooth day today meeting your new little girl. It was a pleasure to meet you guys, I just wish I was around to do your newborn pictures!

Old Friends, Good Times/ Gainesville Florida Family Pictures

There are some friends that never seem to change. With some people it doesn't matter how much time has passed, it feels like old times again instantly when you meet. Casity is one of those friends for me. We hadn't seen each other in 18 years, and hadn't even heard from each other until fairly recently on Facebook (where else?), but I clearly remember the first time we met. Latin class, freshman year, Lake Mary High School. If it wasn't for Casity who knows if I would have ever discovered Chinese food (Epcot, yum, except for the one not so good meal I had that day, but I won't spoil your appetites with that story) or mushrooms (that was some good veggie pizza). Anyways, I was thrilled when she asked me to do family pictures for them the next time I was in Florida. And when she said she liked old buildings I knew just the place. We had a great time roaming around Micanopy, especially since the town pretty much shuts down at 5 o'clock so we had the whole place to ourselves. Casity looked exactly the same except for her 6 months pregnant belly and the husband and 4 year old she had in tow. Nathan was such a trooper, as was husband Christian. Thanks guys, I had a blast, and YES, you must come to Portland!

Hot Mama!/ Portland Oregon Maternity Photographer

Ah, finally, I can drive past this spot without having this picture in my head. Every time I pass this place, which I still have yet to visit when they're open, I imagine a glowing pregnant woman standing out front...happy. So, when I realized my fabulous friend was about to pop, I knew she'd be perfect for the part. Thank you Adrienne for indulging my imagination and helping me create some beautiful images of a beautiful mama. Some clouds hung around just long enough for us to get a few frames. I can't wait to meet that little girl of yours!!!

This is pretty much the exact shot I had in my head, and what fun it is to be able to finally get to a point in this picture taking journey to be able to create it. I kind of wish her belly were showing, but it's great nonetheless.

The sun was starting to show it's face here, but I still love her expression!

...and when the sun showed up for good, we walked around the corner to this fabulous wall I spotted the other day when scoping things out. Isn't her vintage coat the best?

I swear I didn't even notice this heart on the sidewalk until I started processing the pictures, but it was a pleasant surprise!

Oh, her shoes, I loved her shoes. I wish I was cool enough to pull off shoes like this!