Our Story
This is such a fun blog post for me to write because Andrew and I just announced our first pregnancy last month! Keep reading to hear our story and I’ll share some tips for your pregnancy announcement photos. 🙂
We always knew we wanted to have kids, but it was a nebulous idea with no timeline. After realizing that there will never be a perfect time to start a family, we figured we were as ready as we were ever going to be. We decided in February that we would start trying for a baby. But, I knew it was possible we wouldn’t conceive right away.
Infertility is a painful struggle for many. My parents struggled to conceive me and my brother; they tried for a baby for seven years! After undergoing fertility treatments that were unsuccessful, my parents eventually gave up and started considering adoption. Part way through the adoption process, both my mom and dad felt like adoption wasn’t the path for them. So, they put things on hold and decided to wait. After seven long and emotional years, and one miracle later, my mom became pregnant with my brother. After my brother and I were born, my mom was ecstatic to have a third positive pregnancy test. Unfortunately, it was a chemical pregnancy. With that being said, I learned early on that anyone can face the heartbreak of infertility and loss.
In March, I took two pregnancy tests a few days before my period was supposed to start. We had tickets to see Hamilton with my in-laws and they wanted to go out for drinks after. I felt completely normal and expected that the tests would be negative, but just wanted to be sure before going out. So, on a Thursday morning, I took the tests and left them in the bathroom for the required three minutes. I came back to find two pink lines on each one! Even though I knew it was a possibility, I couldn’t believe that we had conceived so quickly! I went on to take several more tests within the next week before I fully accepted it. But, you’ll be glad to know I just had water with dinner after the show. 😉
Fast forward to our pregnancy announcement photos and the tips I have for your session!
There are lots of fun ways to announce that you’re expecting a baby. Being a photographer, I knew that I wanted to announce with photos of us and was excited to include photos of our first ultrasound. At our appointment, I expected to walk away with a few printed photos of our growing baby only to find out that my OB offers digital images and video, but no prints. And if you’re newly pregnant and just had your first ultrasound, you may have just had the same realization (depending on your OB’s policies). But fear not! You can still use your ultrasound images in your pregnancy announcement photos.
There are pros and cons to that model. It’s great that you can save the images on your phone and have them with you wherever you go. And the videos just melted my heart. I watched the baby’s heartbeat and movement over and over again, and that has been such a gift! And let’s not forget the trees that are saved! But, if you’re like me, you may also have been a little disappointed that you didn’t get the classic prints. I had a vision for our baby announcement photos in my head and they included the prints. But, such is life! 🙂 So, to make it easier on myself in the first trimester, I decided to keep it simple and use my phone in the photos instead of worrying about printing the ultrasound images. Now, let’s get down to the tips!
1. Think of the props you want to include in your session ahead of time and make sure they are ready to go in a place where you won’t forget them.
The list of props you can use to announce your pregnancy is extensive, but here are several popular ideas: ultrasound photos, pregnancy tests, letter boards, onesies, and baby shoes. You can pick just one of these props, you can pick all of them, or you can pick a few of your own—there are plenty of shots we can get with just a couple of props. The most important part is making sure that the props you pick show up to the session with you!
2. If you use a phone to display your ultrasound photo(s), make sure the screen is not cracked and turn the brightness up to 100%.
While editing can be great for removing small imperfections, like a few specks of dust, it is less likely that I will be able to make your ultrasound photo look like what you saw on the screen at the OB’s office if your phone screen is shattered. During our session, you will also want to make sure that your screen is as bright as it can be, that way we can see a nice, clear picture of baby!
3. If you plan on using a felt letterboard in your pregnancy announcement, run a lint roller over it before your session and be sure to double check your spelling!
Those little pieces of lint and dust likely won’t catch your eye during your photoshoot, but they will show up in the photos. The fewer pieces of dust I need to edit off of the letterboard, the sooner you’ll receive your gallery! 🙂 Also, do a quick check of your spelling before the session and then check again. Some spelling errors are discreet and tough to catch at first!
4. Take a break from the props and get some shots of you and your partner.
And if this isn’t your first baby, include your other child(ren) as well! Soon you will have a new family member to gush over. But in the meantime, document what your life is like now. Even though exciting things are ahead, you don’t want to forget the present moment either.
Whether your pregnancy announcement will be coming up soon, or if it’s still a dream for the future, I hope these tips are helpful! If you are currently searching for a Colorado-based photographer for your pregnancy announcement photos and feel like I may be a good fit, don’t hesitate to reach out! You can send me a message here! If you would like to follow along on social media, click on the icons below to connect with me!