I was starting to worry that we wouldn’t be able to meet at all. Frances and Mike are both doctors, so that made scheduling a maternity session tricky enough. On top of that, their baby was due in less than two weeks! Luckily, we figured out a November afternoon that worked for all of us and the weather cooperated wonderfully.
We chose to meet at Explore Park for its convenient location and variety of natural scenery. We walked and walked along the riverbed, through the woods, and past barns and mills. Even though Frances was so very pregnant, she had no qualms about traipsing down muddy riverbanks and up leafy inclines. Mike took her hand when she would allow it and watched her closely when she wouldn’t. Their dynamic was adorable.
Frances and Mike were complete naturals in front of the camera. They had a really calm presence between them that drew me in. It surprised me, because I didn’t know much about them beforehand beyond the facts that they were in the early stages of their medical careers and on the cusp of becoming parents for the first time. But, it was clear that things between them are easy and so it felt easy for me to be with them. They kept making each other laugh and holding each other close as if they’d just fallen in love. I felt honored to capture them in these final days together as a family of two.