Sometimes, when I'm in the studio helping behind the scenes, I catch myself pausing for a moment.
I watch Barbara, our photographer, as she focuses on that expecting mother — so present, so open — and I wonder: What is she seeing through her lens right now?
Knowing Barbara quite well, I understand it’s more than just the pose or whether the lighting is perfect. Maybe she’s seeing something that only a heart that loves to tell stories can truly capture. Something like...
I see strength.
The strength of someone creating life, day after day. The strength of feeling everything more deeply — love, doubt, fear, hope — and still showing up with an open heart.
I see softness.
In the way she holds her belly, the way her smile appears without her even noticing, the quiet connection with a tiny being who hasn’t arrived yet but is already her entire world.
I see love.
A love that pulses long before the first touch. A love that grows and transforms her and everything around her.
And above all, I see a beginning.
A brand new chapter, full of wonder and change. A moment worth pausing for, celebrating, remembering.
That’s why she takes these photos.
Because each image is a pause in time. A way of saying, “I was here — whole, pregnant, full of life.” And one day, when her child looks at these photos, they’ll know they were loved long before they were born.
with love,
Nat
Photo: Barbara Crepaldi
