Family: Ciaran & Tia, Charlie
Scenes: Rustic Gate, Pond’s Edge
Time of day: 6pm
Season: Summer
Atmosphere: Bright and sunny (in both weather and personalities)
You don’t recall asking for an excuse to enjoy your husband, just desiring one.
The True Measure of Maternity Portraits
Nate and I understand that the true measure of a maternity portrait session lies in near-miraculous feats of intuition. In knowing not only when to lead you into a pose we know you’ll love, but when to invite you to be yourselves.
Over time (and multiple photographers), being told to “be yourself” can leave you feeling clueless—and underwhelmed. But we make being yourself entirely possible here, even if you don’t know where to start.
You long for portraits that help you understand and enjoy your family more deeply. Portraits that notice your favorite features, call out your personalities, and invite a dose of reality into your home décor—so your home is all the more beautiful because of the portraits. The soft baby cheeks. The warm snuggles. The giggles that bubble up after the best one-liners. A memory passed from photographer to mama to child. Heirloom moments are your long-held dream.
This is the language that portraits speak—a perfect match in every season for that unsettling feeling that these are the best days of your lives.
Tia’s Maternity Portraits: A Second “First Look”
Ciaran and Tia are close friends with AJ and Robyn, who nudged them to come out for pictures. They joined us this summer to help us demonstrate for St. Michael’s Options for Women | Cornerstone what maternity portraits on the Eagle Ridge acreage could look like. This was Ciaran and Tia’s first maternity session in a formal setting, having had pictures taken before by friends who were becoming photographers, but never for something as intimate as maternity portraits.
Ciaran and I haven’t seen each other very much recently. Ciaran was making me laugh and I got to stare into his eyes a while. Being apart and then being able to literally just stare at each other felt like a first-look on our wedding day—a real gift.
Tia
Ciaran has a very dry sense of humor and loves making jokes. And Tia loves laughing. High school sweethearts, they’ve been friends since they were 12 and got married at 18. Ciaran’s a chef and Tia is a baker. The logical conclusion: they both love food. Their two-year-old son also loves food and cooking, so it’s no surprise to the rest of us that they spend a lot of time making meals in their kitchen or going to places with fantastic food.
On the evening of their session Ciaran told us he’d just recently learned how to smile and isn’t photogenic. After an hour with him, we beg to differ!
Lighthearted Maternity Portraits
The Attitudes & Outfits
Without hesitation Ciaran and Tia let us steer them toward a couple great scenes for a sunny summer evening. Tia told us, “I know a few photographers and have learned to respect the work.”
She wore a light and flowy gown from a previous pregnancy “because I feel lovely in it.” Ciaran, who usually wears black and did incorporate black pants into the session, changed into a light blue short-sleeved button-up for the occasion. Little Charlie wore overalls in a natural color scheme that matched his bunny (all of which are colors Tia liked).
And the giggles. So. Many. Giggles! Cheerful amusement spilled out of each of them on a perpetual basis—because that’s what their life normally looks like. The giggles pulled them through the usual awkwardness at the beginning and propelled them into a good-natured hour of play.
Together they were bright, indulgent, easily entertained, and comfortable in their own skin. Only minutes into their session, we all agreed we were thrilled they’d taken us up on our invitation to spend an hour outside in a lovely place.
Photographer’s Favorite
This first image shows Ciaran and Tia nuzzling each other, glad for the excuse to be close.
They lit up the camera with a captivating expression of masculinity and femininity
My personal favorite is this one. It illustrates Tia’s loveliness in such a sweet way.
Maternity Portrait Highlights
Browse the highlights of Ciaran and Tia’s evening session.
Read another maternity session recap, also in preparation for our work with Cornerstone, right here.
Kind Words
While waiting in the front entry as they took turns changing into their official portrait outfits, I asked about the length of their drive. I knew they were coming from Minneapolis and the drive would likely be long. Tia’s answer: “Yes, it was about 45 minutes. It was great! My husband and I have both been really busy and it was so nice to have a big chunk of uninterrupted time together. We really appreciated it.”
