Back in May I got a sneaky little e-mail from Christy with the subject line “question” and the first line read “can you keep a monstrous secret???” – immediately I was all ears! She had recently found out that she was pregnant, and since this came as a surprise, she was scheming up an awesome idea of a photo session where she’d surprise her husband with the news all while having the whole moment photographed. I was so in!
It took over 2 weeks to plan and nail down a date for the photo session, and after sitting on this secret for that long, the time had finally come for Christy’s big reveal to Byron. I can’t believe she managed to keep the secret from him the entire time leading up to the photo shoot!
As is common with most guys, their idea of fun on a weekday evening is not a portrait photo shoot where you get all dolled up for the camera “just because”. So it was no surprise that Byron, though polite, looked slightly uninterested in the photo shoot when they first met up with me at the park. The way we got him to come was by telling him that I wanted more 1st anniversary photos for my portfolio. And seeing as they had just celebrated their first wedding anniversary, it worked on him. The poor guy! How kind of him! Little did he know the reason we had him there was for a much bigger and better cause!
At first, we took a few photos just for the sake of it, and about 10 minutes in, I got Christy to pull out some props she had brought. With their two chalk boards, I told them to write something they cherish about each other, being careful not to show what they were writing just yet. While Byron was busy with his message, Christy was descretely writing the exact 5 words she had waited so patiently to tell him: “We’re having a baby”. I got them ready for the camera, told them to slowly reveal their chalk boards to each other… and the rest is history!
The pictures show it all: Byron dumbstruck at the message and speechless and motionless for a good 25 seconds! (yes I checked my camera’s counter!) After the initial shock, he quickly went over to Christy for a big hug and they stayed close together as the reality of the moment set in. It was such a priceless and amazing event to capture on camera! As they continued soaking it all in, I continued taking photos and the rest reveals one of the truest, most real moments of love and togetherness between a married couple.
I’m so happy Christy had me involved in this amazing pregnancy surprise photo shoot and that she was able to plan it so flawlessly. These photos will forever be with them as part of their growing family’s beautiful story and I couldn’t be more thrilled for them. Congratulations you two! Words can’t describe how happy I am for you!
