Family: AJ & Robyn, Jubilee, Judah
Scenes: Rustic Gate, Pond’s Edge, Fence
Time of day: 9am
Season: Summer
Atmosphere: Easy-going & generous
Parents carry a sacred burden—we’re conduits of God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness. At once forward-thinking and intimately aware of the past, each day we wrestle with how to reconcile what we want for our future with what we suspect (or sometimes clearly know) God wants for us. And we resonate with the stories of others who have chosen one thing, only to later find that a different path—one they didn’t choose—held something better.
Robyn’s Maternity Portraits: A Story of Grace & Mercy
In their words, AJ and Robyn’s story is one of severe grace and mercy. And as many of us can relate, their recent history has included lengthy conversations about the growth of their little family.
In the summer of 2022 we invited AJ and Robyn to our home for fresh maternity portraits. We were loosely acquainted at Buffalo Covenant Church and were in search of couples to join us in our preparation for an upcoming maternity portraits partnership. God willing, we’ll soon begin offering free maternity portraits to women at St. Michael’s pregnancy resource center, Options for Women | Cornerstone.
Here’s a portion of Robyn’s story, the first time she found out she was pregnant:
I remember feeling embarrassed when we got pregnant with Jubilee because we weren’t planning to be pregnant at that time. I was really sick. I had the extreme form of morning sickness. I’d just come off a year of physical healing working with a naturopath on a few things we were trying to work through—fertility things so we could become pregnant—but as soon as we got the all-clear from the naturopath we found out we were pregnant.
Robyn
I was finally feeling good for the first time I could remember in years and then I couldn’t stop throwing up. It was a really confusing, intense time for me. Telling family was hard because I didn’t feel excited about being pregnant and everyone else was excited for me. I had a hard time, mentally. This is happening to my body—you don’t have to experience this. I don’t even know how this is going to work. I had other things I thought I’d be doing in this season of life. It was a whole paradigm shift.
Four years later, and now pregnant with their third, Robyn says, “AJ and I were very excited and grateful that you approached us to help you prepare for your work with Options for Women | Cornerstone. This has been one of the hardest seasons for us financially … in obeying God, in getting the reversal that had been really costly—and there are still implications of that. Things have been really tight. Maternity portraits aren’t something we would have pursued. I’ve felt seen by God … and really loved.
“So it’s a really big deal to us that you’re working with Cornerstone to offer maternity portraits to women in difficult circumstances. I hope their portraits can be a little piece to change the narrative for some families, turning pregnancy into a celebration, and emphasizing the hope and the goodness that is happening.”
That Beautiful Morning of Maternity Portraits
The People
On the morning of AJ and Robyn’s session, Nate and I knew our kids would want to play with their two littles while I snuck away with Robyn for one-on-one maternity portraits. We parked the trailer near the front door and loaded up extra snacks and bubbles. Then we kicked off whole-family pictures after a trailer ride to the orchard and about 20 minutes of chatting.
(Does it surprise you that we never start taking pictures right after a family arrives? We always leave room for at least 10 minutes of check-in time. The extra time at the beginning, before the camera comes out of the bag, helps all of us relax.)
When really little ones are involved, like AJ and Robyn’s nearly two-year-old, we often encourage snuggles and normal family chatter at the beginning of picture time. “Look at Nate and smile!” doesn’t work for that age group regardless of their comfort level, and is much more likely to turtle a child than relax him. Sweet little Judah relaxed into AJ’s familiar lap and finally cracked a smile as he followed a series of prompts to find his nose and Daddy’s nose … his cheeks and Daddy’s cheeks.
AJ & Robyn love to snuggle, a posture they adopted without our prompting. We alternated inviting them to look toward Nate and encouraging them to simply enjoy each other’s company. Sometimes we throw out a curveball prompt, but during a session that involves people who genuinely like each other and are glad to be together, we gravitate toward easy encouragement.
What does that sound like? This: “AJ, rest your hand on her knee while Robyn sweeps her hair back with her fingertips…” versus “Show us how it looks when you hug each other after a day apart.”
The Outfits
Their family wore predominantly blue, with a lovely touch of pastel pink to offset the rest. Robyn wore a deep blue maternity dress well-suited to showing off her little one, and very complementary to the rich greens and bright colors behind her once the sun came out. (Wondering what colors to choose for your session? Deep blues are always a great choice.)
Maternity Portraits: A Break for the Kids
After large-group pictures, Robyn and I gave the kids and dads a ten-minute break. I led her to the path between the tall pond grasses and the orchard for some one-on-one maternity portraits. The bright morning sunshine filtering through the tallest grasses added an unparalleled brightness to the scene. We all agreed it was a perfect complement to the depth of color on her dress. (And we were especially delighted by the vivid colors after early morning rainstorms threatened to delay the session.)
For a precious portion of time that day she and I were in our own little world, enjoying the shape of a growing baby and each other’s undivided attention.
AJ and Robyn’s little ones had warmed to us considerably by the time we rejoined the large group at the fence. We worked through a few group pictures, then transitioned again. When we handed a bag of mini marshmallows to our 8-year-old daughter and asked her to drop feed the marshmallows to the littlest ones, she took us at our word and started dropping them into the grass. Nate, AJ, Robyn, and I could barely keep it together. We’d set ourselves the task of incorporating the fence in ways that mimicked their engagement pictures, but we broke down frequently to giggle and stare in awe at the unending willingness of the two-year-olds (our own included) to go wherever the marshmallows went.
Photographer’s Favorite
Our favorite maternity portraits? Nate and I agree that there’s something so lovely about Robyn’s figure in the sunlight near the pond. Her elegance, particularly unique to this season of life, is a reminder that each of our children is an exceptional gift.
Maternity Portrait Highlights
Browse the highlights of AJ and Robyn’s morning session.
Threatening rain clouds dissipated half an hour into the session. We welcomed the sunshine!
Read another maternity session recap, also in preparation for our work with Cornerstone, right here.
Kind Words
At the end of each session Nate and I speak life into the hearts of the parents who joined us. We know it’s no small job to simultaneously lead your family through pictures with potential strangers. And properly manage your expectations of the kids so you don’t find yourselves frustrated with their feelings and decisions. Especially when you’re also working to incorporate maternity portraits for mama. AJ’s reply? “It was our pleasure to be here. Camry, you and Nate have been so streamlined, engaging, professional, and compassionate. This has all felt perfectly natural. We’ve been so impressed and we’ve enjoyed every step.”
