{Ariel & James} – Maternity Photographer | Skagit County, WA

It’s not every day that a photographer gets to capture maternity photos of her own daughter and son-in-law, but that’s exactly what I was privileged to do recently. I met up with Ariel and James (and their sweet dog, Nick), for a late afternoon shoot. Of course, we had to include Nick in their family photo as well.

James and Ariel began their courtship making videos together, so being in front of a camera doesn’t throw them at all. They spoiled me by not having to give many posing directions at all! It seems that every time I was busy changing a setting or a lens, though, they spontaneously did something I wanted to catch. In one of the photograph collages below, you’ll see James plucking a flower from a nearby tree to place in Ariel’s hair (totally unrehearsed and heartfelt). Ah, young love!

James and Ariel said that they had a hard time agreeing on a name for their daughter, but the one name they could agree on was Dorothy. Dorothy means “gift of God” and it is certainly an appropriate name for the precious child we are all thrilled to welcome to our family.