I was beyond excited to photograph Heather and Chad's baby shower this past weekend at Relix Event Venue in Knoxville, TN. Heather hired me to capture some of the setup and decorations of the event and well as take some maternity pictures.

Heather and Chad are the nicest couple, and it was so apparent how much their friends just absolutely adore them. Everyone was so excited to celebrate the couple and their little one who will be here soon!

The decor at the baby shower was just beautiful! Relix event venue is gorgeous in itself, but all of the flowers, chalkboards, and other touches Heather's friends added definitely made it even prettier.

Heather is a beautiful mama to be, and her maternity photos reflect that! Scroll below to see some of my favorites from the shower set up and maternity pictures.

 A few months Ashely inquired about booking a studio maternity photography session here in Knoxville, and I was so excited! Ashley and I actually met a couple of years ago and have hung out a few times with friends. It's always so exciting to watch the people you know transition into one of the most beautiful times of life. I know Ashley will be an amazing mom!

For her studio session we used three different backdrops, grey, white and my new pecan colored one. The pecan actually ended up being my favorite! In some of the photos she wore a sleek black fitted dress and in others decided on a white maternity gown. She looks gorgeous in anything! Scroll down to see some of my favorites from her maternity session. 

When Tara contacted me about taking her maternity / pregnancy announcement photos my first thought was, "Wow she has a cool name!" LOL (Anyone else feel as if it is so rare to meet someone with your name?) Then, I was excited because she wanted her photos taken indoors which meant I finally was able to photograph a session in the new studio located near downtown Knoxville, TN.

The new studio I am renting is absolutely gorgeous with a ton of natural light. Everything you need for a session is there, whether it is a couch, a bed, a brick wall or even if you want to use just backdrops. For Tara's session we decided to keep it more natural and give the photos a "homey" feel. I definitely think that feeling translated into the images, and it's almost hard to believe they were taken in studio and not at their house.

For some of the pregnancy announcement photos we just captured mom and dad, but in others we included the soon to be older brother. As you will see he is more than excited for his new role as a big sibling! Scroll down to see some of my favorite images from the Graves Family's pregnancy announcement session. 

 When Jamilex contacted me about maternity photos she said she wanted to have them taken somewhere that was "natural and beautiful." Immediately I thought of Ijams Nature Center here in Knoxville.

Ijams Nature Center is fun and educational 315 acres of land located in South Knoxville. There's rock quarries, sunflower fields, hiking and biking trails,and so much more. I've photographed several maternity sessions there.

Jamilex and her family were all dressed to the nines. She wore a gorgeous  red maternity gown that contrasted beautifully with the yellow flower fields.

Once in Ijams we found a sort of abandoned greenhouse that made for a unique and charming setting for maternity pictures. Scroll down to see a couple of my favorite from Jamilex's session!

Currently I live in Knoxville, TN but for those of you who may not know, I am originally from a small town on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line named Jellico. I only lived there until I was ten, but my ties remain strong. (Several of my family members still lives there.) I love, love, love that so many from my hometown still choose me to photograph them and travel all the way to Knoxville to see me, like Deana who I recently photographed for her maternity session. 

Deana chose to do a boudoir maternity session and then a regular one with her family as well. For the family session she wore one of my maternity gowns I keep in my client closet that is available to rent. We took the family and gown maternity photos at Melton Lake Park in Oak Ridge, TN. 

Check out some of my favorite images from her session below. 

Most of you know I am a maternity and birth photographer in Knoxville, TN , but surprisingly I had never been asked to photograph a pregnancy announcement before. When Jessica and Corey contacted me to take their announcement photos I was so excited! I chose Lakeshore Park because at the time there were really pretty Fall colors still, even though it was already November. 

I had no idea that the couple had struggled with infertility in the past, which they shared with me the day of the photoshoot. It made my time with them even more special, and I felt so honored they chose me to photograph this special moment for them. This ended up being on of my favorite photo sessions from the fall! The photos are gorgeous, but the glow and happiness that just shines through this couple is what makes the photos even more beautiful to me!  To see more of there pregnancy announcement scroll down. 

When Brittany first approached me about taking her maternity pictures she also sent me a photo of the gown she was planning on wearing. You know how I always say an outfit can make or break a photoshoot? Well, as soon as I saw Brittany's gown I knew these photos would come out stunning! 

Her gown was really delicate, light pink and lacey so I knew that I wanted this photoshoot to have those same soft and dreamy vibes. I chose a field in West Knoxville that usually has a ton of yellow flowers. Unfortunately, it rained that week and almost all the flowers were destroyed! Luckily, there were still a few patches of flowers in the field we could use. 

Brittany was a trooper too! The grass in the field was waist high and you could barely see where you were going. At eight months pregnant she still followed me through it all! I love when a client is up for an adventure in order to get some beautiful photos! Hopefully, I made the hike worth it when I fell on my butt not once, but twice in front of her in the field! (My boyfriend will tell you, I am an EXTREMELY clumsy person).

We shot around sunset, and the lighting really made for some gorgeous pictures. So without further ado, here are some of my favorite from Brittany's STUNNING maternity photoshoot! Make sure you comment below and let me know which photo is your favorite! 

   I always say what can make a  major difference in how a maternity session turns out is the gown a client chooses to wear. An outfit can make or break a photoshoot! As all of you probably know, finding cute maternity clothes, let alone a beautiful maternity gown, is not exactly easy.

I decided to put a list together of the best websites to find maternity gowns. This includes where I purchased my dress. Also, I asked a few of my clients who had gowns I really loved photographing where they bought theirs at. First, I want to give you a few tips to choosing your maternity gown for the photoshoot.

1. Avoid patterns. Patterns tend to be unflattering and make you look larger, not just in the belly area. Also, too much pattern in the photo can be distracting. 

2. Order something you are comfortable wearing and can move easily in. Too tight of a gown can be difficult to pose in, and if you're uncomfortable it tends to show in photographs. 

3. A more flowy dress can make for some really beautiful effects in photos!

4. Bright colors set a happier tone, and I think make for more beautiful  photographs. 

So where do you find these comfortable, flowy and bright gowns? Keep reading. 
 

The above photo is from my maternity session. I probably received ten messages asking where I found my dress. Everyone could not believe when I told them it was not even a maternity gown. This dress is actually from LuLu's online, and while they do not offer maternity clothing, you can still find a beautiful gown from there and just order a size or two up. Here are a few options I found on their site I think would look gorgeous in  photos. 

This dress is nice and flowy and will not be too tight on the belly. You can find it here

I love this gown so much! It comes in over ten colors! Check it out here. 

This is the exact dress I wore for my maternity photoshoot. I loved it so much. It's here! 

Another website that is an excellent source for stunning maternity gowns is PinkBlush. You can also find adorable maternity outfits on this site. They have an entire category of maternity gowns labeled "photoshoot" for your convenience. Here are a couple of my favorite dresses from their site. 

I love this color! Find this gown here. 

All I have to say about this gown is YASSS! Click here to purchase. 

Amazon is where several of my clients said they found their dresses, including the one I photographed below. The nice thing about Amazon is Prime shipping of course, and usually it has less expensive pricing.  Find a few of my favorite picks from Amazon below. 

This dress was absolutely stunning to photograph, and it is only $35! Find it here. 

I also really love this dress, and it is a steal for $25 (and it's available on Prime...whattt??). You can buy it here. 

This is probably my FAVORITE dress. Like I said, I love flowy gowns for maternity photography. To find it in more colors and your size click here. 

I hope you all found this blog post helpful in your maternity gown search. None of these sites sponsored this post, and they are where I genuinely found the gowns I like most for photoshoots. If you have questions for me comment below. Thanks for reading! 

OMG! I just finished editing one of the most gorgeous maternity sessions. We shot in a park near Farragut and in a random field from about 3:30-5:30 pm, when the sun set, which always makes for beautiful lighting. It of course helps that my model is so pretty too!

When I first spoke to Carrie about her maternity session we had discusses more of a winter themed shoot. Tennessee weather never likes to cooperate, and she is due in three weeks so we had to make do. I had really been wishing for snow, but alas, I had to add it in photoshop later instead. It was kind of cool for me to practice this style of editing more and be able to see the photos in two seasons. In the photos below I edited both winter and summer/spring styles. They were both shot in the same exact place but just look at the differences!

When editing most of the park photos I was going for more of a fairy/fairytale style. I added more sunlight, softened many of the features and used a heavy blur.  The field photos I just wanted to  show more of my natural photography style. Fortunately, Carrie was open to both of my ideas!

I am just so in love with all these photos so I have to share most of them. Below are a few collages of my favorites! Let me know what you guys think! 

Also, if you are wanting a photoshoot in the winter, don't be deterred by the cold weather because we can still capture some beautiful shots! And remember, if there is no snow, I can always add it in! 

The maternity gown she wore was so beautiful so I wanted to make sure I captured in all in some photos! I also wanted to get some photos that were more "bump-focused". 

Of course, we also had to take some of the more typical maternity photos using props! Her daughter is to be named Parker so that is what the "P" stands for! I know it is such a cute letter so some of you may be wondering where I got it. It actually belongs to her mother-in-law and is an antique.

And I'm going to end on these photos because I just think she look so beautiful in them! 

I hope you guys enjoyed these! If you live in East Tennessee make sure to keep me in mind for your maternity photo needs!