Rachel Ludwig Photography | Abbotsford Portrait and Wedding Photographer

One of the things I love about photography, is that it has allowed me to meet some pretty amazing people. Andrea and I connected over email, and as we went through all the pre-session stuff, we found out that we have a lot in common. Especially our love of reading, and we discovered that we have read and enjoyed many of the same books. When Andie (as her family and friends call her) agreed that the pumpkin patch would be a great place for some of her pictures, I was looking forward to meeting her and her husband even more! I always love it when clients are up for something a bit different.

We started the session at their beautiful home. Andrea has an amazing eye for design, and has created a cozy and stylish home that had me drooling! We discovered we also had a mutual love for interior design (although she’s much better at the actual execution part of it all…I just plan, and dream and never actually do the decorating. LOL). Well, you can see for yourself some of their gorgeous home below:

Meet their adorable dog Kingston (who is going to be in for some changes when baby makes his/her arrival!).

He’s the tiniest dog I’ve ever met…a little Yorkie weighing in under 3lbs if I remember correctly

Andrea looked positively amazing. 37ish weeks and glowing! What a beautiful mama.

Kingston loved being in on the action…he was a total ham

Then we headed off to the pumpkin patch. Andrea’s belly sized in at $5 on the pumpkin measuring chart!

I had to break it to her that babies are much more expensive than pumpkins…but fortunately, they are also much cuter!

Thanks again for such a fabulous session Andie and Derrick! I will be in touch soon with your slideshow…I can’t wait to meet your new little one!

It’s always a special treat to have the opportunity to work with family. I love that I get to share in some of the most special occasions of their life, whether it be wedding pictures, family pictures, newborn pictures, or in this case, pregnancy photos for my younger sister Marg. I was pretty excited when I found out Marg and Jake were expecting their first child. I know they are going to be amazing parents, and that this little one is very very lucky to have these two as mom and dad. And, for my own personal reason, I love it when my kids are lucky enough to have a cousin close in age that lives nearby!
The other bonus of shooting family, is that I get to try out some new things and ask them to do some crazy stunts all in the name of art. Case in point…asking a 36 week pregnant Marg to lie down on the driveway of their apartment’s parking garage (I’m sure we had more than a few people looking out their windows wondering what in the world we were doing!) You know your sister loves and trusts you when she doesn’t even hesitate to say yes. Thanks for being such a great sport about it.  I also happened to have Hudson along with me, so also included in my shoot, free of charge(!), was some advance parenting practice for Jake. I know he’s going to be a pro in no time with his own little bundle.

because I love focusing on the belly, here are a few that showcase Marg’s teeny-tiny bump

(and yes, those are her regular jeans that she’s fit into her entire pregnancy!)

this one feels so peaceful and introspective to me with the boat picture included in the shot:

my fave of the two of them as they wait for baby to arrive. And this look on Marg’s face is just so her.

Some adorable (gender-neutral! for anyone trying to figure out if this little one is a boy or girl) boots they picked up on their recent European travels:

This baby already has quite the little library…I think he/she is going to arrive knowing how to rhyme a la Dr. Seuss:

One happy and beautiful mama, who can’t wait to meet her little one:

I can’t get over how fabulous she looks:

Check out Marg’s adorable dimple in action here…she’s even smiling while lying on the driveway of the parking garage

This is completely inspired by one of my very favorite family photographers, Tara Whitney from Orange County, CA: