My First "Melanie"

Maternity shoots are some of my favorite to shoot because it's such an special time for my clients. They're waiting and dreaming and just excited to meet the little one who's already claimed their heart. And I get to be a part of it! So to say the least, I was thrilled when Melanie called me and wanted me to capture her first pregnancy.

Armed with the wonderful Rachel Ratajeski as my assistant, a wardrobe of cool clothes and accessories, and (most importantly to me) CHIGGER SPRAY, we headed out to our first location. Melanie was such a trooper and laid down in a huge bed of clover for our first set of shots without using my trusty chigger spray. (Granted, with all of its chemicals, it's probably worse for you than the chiggers, but still...I'm more scared of the chiggers.) Slightly terrified, I kept shooting, muttering prayers for protection from chiggers under my breath. She, on the other hand, was as cool as a cucumber. I know women can tend to have a reputation of being high maintenance, but this chick is not! And she was right not to be worried- we walked away chigger-free (thank you Jesus! ;-)

For our next location, we headed out to Natchez Trace to shoot near the entrance which was literally covered in red buds. An hour later, the sun was setting, so with our eyes on the clock, Melanie and I waved goodbye to Rachel and the redbuds and hopped in my car for another location further down the trace. Realizing that we were running out of light and may not make it to the third location, we prayed for a big field so we could at least get the sunset. A few minutes later we rounded a bend and saw a huge field off to our right. We drove off the road, down the hill (I LOVE my SUV) and right into the field, thinking we could sweet talk our way out of any tickets. (Assuming we got a male cop, that is. Otherwise, we'd probably be in trouble...Then again she is pregnant so maybe we could use that for leverage? I kid, I kid...;-)) But the sunset was PHENOMENAL and we just shot away, praising the Lord for such a gorgeous job, for a baby we'd soon get to meet, for a new friend, sweet conversation, and for the MANY blessings the Lord has brought our way.

As Melanie hugged me goodbye after our shoot I was this close to saying "I just love you!" But of course, regardless of the fact that I tell all my girlfriends that, I'd only known her for ONE day. Actually LESS than a day, AND she's a client! I needed to maintain some semblance of professionalism. But as she let me go from the hug she gave me, she cheerfully exclaimed- "I love ya girl!" I had to laugh as I echoed it right back to her. I walked around the rest of the day telling everybody (and I do mean everybody) how much I loved my job and my amazing new client, who happened to have the same name as me.