Maternity: Shawna + Jake

Can't even begin to tell ya'll how proud I am of this particular blogpost. Not only because I oh-so-love these photos.. but because of who the photos are of! If you've been following my work, you'll definitely recognize Shawna & Jake. A mutual friend referred them to me quite some time ago, and since then I have shot their family/engagement photos.. their wedding photos.. and now I'm sharing with you their MATERNITY photos!! How awesome is that?!
So Shawna & Jake already have some beautiful kids (you can see them here).. and now they are expecting baby Avree to turn their family of 5.. into a family of 6! Normally we would have included all the little ones in the shoot, but I think Shawna liked the idea of having the focus to be on Avree. After all, with 3 older siblings, Avree's one-on-one time with mom and dad is gonna be rare and precious!
A few weeks ago I scheduled to meet them at a natural wilderness area north of Whittier.. and I took one look at the steep incline that we would've had to climb in order to enter the park.. and I made a last minute decision to figure somethin else out. The last thing I wanted was for the 9-months-pregnant Mrs. Rojas to go in to labor during our shoot. Happy to report that it didn't take but 5 minutes to find a nearby spot to shoot at.. and I wouldn't have changed a single thing about the day!
So very happy that Shawna and Jake trust me and my camera to capture this incredibly special time in their lives. And excited to be sharing some of my favorite ones with you all!
Hope ya'll love them.. as always they were taken and worked on with lots of love!

I just loved the details of the day.. the afternoon light, the brush, the dirt road.. just too good. We are incredibly blessed to live in Cali.. where there is no end to the variety of natural backdrops.

 And the human details were pretty great too! Love her decision to rock boots!

As I've shared before.. Jake and Shawna met at work. So I love that Jake and Shawna wanted to use his SCE lineman job in the shoot... because its a little shout out to how it all started!

Love the pic below of them laughing.. because these two laugh a lot together. Its one of the things that makes them who they are. Love that!

And just to mix things up a bit.. we changed up their looks a bit and had them get comfier. Happened upon a gorgeous sunlit spot.. and ended this shoot in the most perfect way.

And probably the highlight of this post.. Shawna's belly! Unless you're a super model you probably aren't ever thrilled about the idea of having someone photograph closeups of your stomach. And that is probably even less exciting when you're 9 months pregnant! But Jake and I did our best to convince Shawna that as pregnant bellies go.. hers was beautiful and totally had to be shared! I'm so happy she trusted us.. and hope these photos encourage all pregnant women out there to strut their bellies proudly! And come on now.. could Jake be any sweeter in these?? Avree and her brothers and sister are lucky to have such a good dad!

And speaking of sweet.. had to take a sec to feature this bunting flag banner made by Shawna's mom. So cute!

Finally.. I had to wrap this post up with closeups of Avree. :P Shawna and I were inspired by some great maternity shoots on Pinterest.. and wanted to have a way to present the sex of the baby in a pretty way. And it doesn't get prettier than a pink bow. :) I also wanted to use these to share something that I've noticed before when I'm going through my photos... and that is that my eye gets stuck in ruts. What I mean is.. despite having practically unlimited opportunities (thanks to digital photography) and a live and willing model that I can ask to move in any number of ways.. I still end up with a bunch of shots that look very much alike. And whenever I notice this... I make it a point to spend time looking at art and photography, to be inspired by other artists.. in hopes of filling up my mind's eye with different angles and "looks". I think museums, magazines, and yes, even Pinterest can help push you out of these type of creative ruts. :)  I will say that fortunately for me (and for Shawna and Jake), this particular creative rut resulted in some really pretty pics.

Jake & Shawna.. I know that Avree is such an incredible blessing to you both! And she is so lucky to have you as mom and dad. So very happy to have met you way back when.. am so honored that you continue to ask me to share in some HUGE life moments with you.. and I cannot wait to meet little miss Avree! Congrats to you both! Xo