My Best Compliment to Date

Yesterday I had the great privilege to take some pictures of my friend Mandy and her little Ramey. It's always a privilege, but yesterday was even much more so. Those two have been down one heck of a rough road since Ramey's delivery a few weeks ago. At one point it looked as though we could lose them both. I even headed to the hospital with my NOw I Lay Me Down to Sleep badge at one point. That was the first night that I met Ramey. One teeny, tiny little girl amongst more equipment and tubes and doctors than I had ever seen. Fighting desperately to breathe. That was a rough day. The first time I saw Mandy after she got home from a VERY long hospital stay I was shocked by how hollow and gray and frail she looked. It really brought home to me just how much they had been through. A couple of weeks later, little Ramey finally joined them at home. And yesterday, I got to see them both here in my little studio. And I have to say that they were just BEAUTIFUL! It was the first time I had seen Ramey without tubes and IV's and all sorts of medical paraphrenalia! She was so gorgeous and healthy and strong looking. And Mandy was positively glowing. She looked so amazing. And as I took their pictures my mind was spinning back through their journey and remembering how precarious both of their situations were and I was just so thankful to be sitting there with them and capturing THOSE images. Happy, beautiful images of a mother and her sweet baby. It was precious to see her all nestled up in Mandy's arms.

Now, I should tell you that I was practicing some new stuff on them. Mandy has been my number one guinea pig since before I actually started my business. She was the first to come and sit under some ridiculously hot stupid lights. Then when I got the new lights...the first to come. Then...I went to a conference that specialized in newborn and maternity photography and that brought on yet another set of lights and a COMPLETELY different set up so different than anything I have ever used before. And so Mandy came and once again helped me run my first test. The images were great lighting wise...though there is still much work for me to do on that front. Later, after she had looked over her gallery, she called and said she liked the pictures. Whew! That was good because Ramey had gotten a little fussy on us and those last 4 out of 5 poses just didn't come along like I had hoped that they would. But then she said the nicest thing ever...my best compliment to date. She said that in 75% of the pictures she actually liked the way SHE looked. Liked it enough that she wanted to come back with her hubby and do another set with the three of them! WOW!!! I happen to know that Mandy doesn't often like pictures of herself. So that was huge. But that she would like so many and want to do them again...well that was the ultimate compliment. Now watch the next set just turn out awful!! Just kidding!

Anyway. That was the highlight of my day yesterday! Seeing those two so happy and healthy there in front of the camera and knowing in the end that they felt beautiful when they looked at them! On a side note I will mention that Mandy IS stunningly beautiful and is one of my VERY favorite new moms to photograph because she glows so fantastically when she looks at her little ones. My dad always said "The camera can only take what it sees!" And yesterday it saw beauty defined on many fronts!