kim+ryan in-home los Angeles maternity session

so much beauty in this short and long season of waiting, anticipating, preparing, hoping and worrying. while baby forms and grows and develops, your body swells with change, making room for new life. your role is altered, your relationships are different. a shift in perspective and responsibility. so much of it feels abstract in the days of waiting until finally baby arrives and you meet face to face the one who'd been doing the kicking and rolling and growing and the literal miracle of life so precious, so vulnerable, so devastatingly beautiful.

and baby makes four | silver lake maternity session

oh boy oh boy these guys are something else. talented designers, expert curators and parents extraordinaire. photographing families over time has got to be one of the best parts of my job. i shot molly + brandon's intimate wedding back in 2011 and then molly pregnant, james turning one and now as they were awaiting baby boy number 2! (he's arrived, healthy and delicious!) besides excellent hair and superb style, these parents are passing down so much love and sincerity to these little men and l.a. will be better for it. also, come on with those tiny squishy butt cheeks, right?!

eagle rock maternity session

these two. they mean the world to our tiny family. and they're becoming three.

we met art + reika one unassuming sunday evening at our tiny church plant in columbus, ohio five years ago. they walked into the old chapel and i thought "whoa, too cool. probably never gonna be friends with those cats." boy am i glad i was so wrong. A+R are two of the most genuine souls this earth has ever known. i had the pleasure of celebrating and photographing their fantastic backyard picnic wedding a few years back. fast forward to reika being one of three gal pals that dropped everything to drive across the country with me when we moved to l.a. Fast forward another six months and we get a phone call that art's job with jeni's ice cream was moving him to los angeles (i don't think i need to tell you the happy tears that flowed all over my lonely face after that call). fast forward another two years and here we are, each expecting a baby boy within months of each other.

leaving our community in ohio was so hard not only because the quality of those friendships was unlike any we'd experienced before, but because those people knew us. they grew with us. during transition, trial, ups and downs. we did life together on a daily basis. they helped us welcome ruth into the world and loved on us in a myriad of selfless, wonderful ways. to be able to continue that kind of friendship here in los angeles has been life-giving. 

we cannot wait to meet you, baby boy. any day now. and we cannot wait to love you, head to toe. you are one lucky little man to have the love of your mama and daddy. we have been the recipients of it for years and know the kindness of christ and the beauty of friendship because of them. you will be so very loved.