Stacey Bode Photography

Holli could be a walking advertisement for pregnancy.  She makes it look so cool, fit, and downright enjoyable.  In these pics, she’s just two weeks from her due date, and she looks amazingly fabulous.  Of course, this is not surprising to me.  I met Holli when I took maternity portraits during her first pregnancy, and she was just as joyful and gorgeous then.

I was thrilled when she contacted me to say they were expecting baby #2.  Woo hoo!  This is such a special family, and Holli is truly one of the most gracious human beings you’ll ever meet.

Oh, I love Mr Sampson!  I can tell he’s been practicing his poses.  He’s also sporting his new summer trim.

Little Smith is so giggly and adorable.

Let’s hear it for real family moments…yay!

Holli, once again, you and your family were a dream to photograph.  I can’t wait to see your little fella once he arrives!

The last few months were all about the weddings. These days, it’s all about the babies! Lately, I’ve met and worked with so many awesome moms-to-be (and dads-to-be). Amy + Brian are about to welcome their first little one into the world. Now, when I say “about to”, I mean he might be arriving as I’m posting this. Yay!

I’m still trying to figure out how Kimberly and Basil make expecting a baby look not just beautiful, but downright hip. Wait, does anyone still say “hip”? At least I didn’t say “groovy”, or “bitchin” or “choice”. Although I think “choice” should make a comeback. I think now-a-days the kids are sayin’ “buck”….or at least Little C does on “So You Think You Can Dance”. Anyway, these two make pending parenthood look way better than I thought possible.

They are both very creative people, and I love collaborating with artistic-minded folks during photo shoots. They were also SO at ease in front of the camera. Then again, I probably would be too if I looked half as good. Seriously, are they not just stunning?

Kimberly and Basil, thank you so much for such a fantastic shoot, and for allowing me to share a few of your images. I know you’re going to be the coolest parents to your little one.

I get so excited when a session allows me to be creative and experiment with new styles or techniques. This is why Jenna was such a perfect subject. We wanted to take photos that showed how she is the same cool, fun person…..she just happens to be expecting. She brought the tub idea to the table, and said that she wanted to take it in a more edgy direction…..like, not tons of bubbles. I totally knew what she meant. Yay! Then we realized that it’s harder than you’d think to find bath products that don’t foam up! We also discovered that the combination of milk, aromatic bath salts, and grape Kool-Aid smells REALLY good. My bathroom smelled lovely for days.

Jenna, you are a total gorgeous rock star. Thank you for your trust and fantastic attitude. I can only post a few of her fabulous images since some were a little too racy for the interweb. Sorry, interweb. Those will be just for her and her hubby to enjoy.

Several months ago when I was taking portraits of my friend Ayesha, I met a sweet, soft-spoken lady named Ragenia…another friend of Ayesha’s who stopped by while we were shooting. She had mentioned that she was expecting a baby, and we started talking about setting up a maternity session.

I always chat with people I’m going to shoot about the mood and style they want to achieve in their photos. Ragenia is a very creative woman, and had wonderful ideas to add to the mix. In addition to her already unique input, a week or so before our shoot, I got a message from her asking if I was afraid of snakes. I thought about it and figured “no” if it’s a controlled situation that does not remotely resemble the scene from “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Then I got really excited about the idea.

Her friend Eddie brought over his pet boa constrictor, Baby. Baby is a beautiful creature and was well behaved the whole time. She worked it for the camera and at no point tried to squeeze the life out of anyone. Good girl.

Ragenia was so at ease during her session, and is one of the most natural, earthy indiviualds I’ve met. Just being around her makes you feel calm. I’m so glad that we got to take these pictures of her in all her gorgeousness. We almost ran out of time since she’s due within the next week.

We took lots of photos and some were without Baby the snake. However, I can’t post the majority of them here because there’s nudity involved. So, those are just for Ragenia to enjoy.

There’s always a fun element of surprise when I show up for a session with someone that I have yet to meet. I’m used to working with unfamiliar locations, but people are a little different than places. I had been communicating with Holli via phone and email and expected to see the word “adorable” tattooed across her forehead. However, until we finally met, I had no idea of the full scope of her awesomeness. She was so welcoming, kind, and has a rare balance of exuberance and calmness.

I could have spent all day laughing and taking photos of Holli. She was such a pleasure to work with, and I know she’s going to make such a wonderful mommy.

I had to snap a few shots of Holli getting ready in her fabulous blue curlers. I’m so glad that I got to meet her talented makeup artist, Alyson. Her company is called Authentic Beauty, and I LOVE her philosophy. She’s all about acceptance of who we are naturally, which she and I discussed a bit. I’ve been wanting to start a project working with people who have body/appearance issues to discuss them, photograph them, and learn to appreciate them. Alyson is working on a similar project. Now I know there are probably some folks reading this who are like, “wait a minute, makeup artists and photographers are in the business of making people look good….isn’t that the opposite of ‘natural’?”. I won’t speak for Alyson here, but I feel that there’s a huge difference between making someone look different to look good, and making someone look like themselves to look good. My job is never to change, always to enhance (more by using light and angles than photoshop tricks). So, there’s my 2 cents….or maybe more like a buck and some change.

It’s so cool when people’s personalities come out in their photos. If you don’t know Mary and Dan, hopefully you’ll feel like you know them after seeing these images. They are good friends of ours, and they have a little fella on the way. I mean, of course they do, since pretty much everyone we know is currently pregnant with a man child. I really need to check my mail more carefully, because we obviously missed some sort of notification from the government.

They are both Atlanta actors and are truly two of the funniest people walking the Earth. Head to the Switchworks site and check out “Simpson and Snatch”. For realz. Mary makes me laugh so hard (I mean….so haaaaaawwwwdd) that I spit, snort, and scream like a pterodactyl. So, I knew this would be a maternity session like no other.

Mary and Dan, thanks for “letting” me take these shots. Can’t wait to meet that tiny guy! Until then, here are some pre-baby pics…

Dan had an idea to take a series of shots with Matt invading their moment. Sorry it had to be so small to fit on here, but you get the idea. Matt pointed out that you can’t go wrong with crossed eyes. I agree.

I’ll probably be doing a “full” post on this tomorrow, but I couldn’t wait to put up a sneak peek from Mary’s maternity shoot. For those who know her, don’t worry, there are PLENTY of funny shots. However, this one is choc full of how gorgeous Mary is.…without the cut-off shorts and novelty teeth.

I had the pleasure of meeting Crystal a few years ago at our local YMCA. We would both attend Z’s hip hop class religiously, and I was so glad she was there to share a laugh when I occasionally forgot the difference between “right” and “left”. I was so used to Crystal doing the routines next to me, that when she wasn’t there, I felt like I was trying to learn the steps blindfolded! Even though we were both faithful attendees of the class, there was a big difference between my work out routine and Crystal’s. She usually put in another hour before or after class of weight and machine training! I don’t know how she did it, but I can only strive to be as fit as she is (even when she’s 7+ months pregnant).

I’m so happy that I got a chance to spend some non-gym time with Crystal, meet her family, and take some maternity shots for them. We had the shoot at Crystal’s mom’s home, which is one of those houses that makes you say “wow!”. When I first got there, I met Kendall, their little girl. We began a marathon game of chase/hide-n’-seek, and became fast friends. She is about the cutest gal you’ll ever lay eyes on.

Then playtime turned to that of the camera variety, and here are some of the results…

Q: What could be more exciting than the anticipation of a new baby???

A: TWO NEW BABIES !!!

That’s exactly what Scott and Sloane are eagerly awaiting. The arrival of Logan and Sawyer. A month or so ago when Sloane first told me the names of the boys, I had a little trouble remembering, and kept calling them Lawyer and Soupy. Part of me hopes that they’ll use my versions when the time comes.

Sloane and Scott are two wonderful people that I’ve known for years through our Atlanta theater family. These are two very talented parents-to-be. Sloane can also give you the best massage of your life. You will be shocked at how powerful her teeny hands are! Check out her site at Atlanta Body Retreat. Some of my clients may also recognize her name since she’s also a skilled hair/makeup artist. Perhaps she will also run for president this year.

Since Sloane and Scott are both extremely creative folks, I knew this would be the best kind of maternity session. The kind where we all exchange ideas and play, play, PLAY! And we did.

I couldn’t be more thrilled for them and their exponentially growing family!

Here’s one of Sloane’s brilliant ideas. You know that famous pic of Janet Jackson where she’s topless, but has her chestal area covered by a man’s hands? They wanted this version instead. Scott has done some brilliant puppeteering and had these awesome monster hands. YAY!!!