real families

Meet Shara, the gorgeous mama in this maternity session by Lauren Weeks Photography. You can’t tell from the pictures, but Shara “isn’t a fan of photos,” and she was reluctant to pose for the camera. But there’s an extra special reason why she did it, anyway: love.

Shara’s husband, Justin, was deployed in Afghanistan for much of the pregnancy–and even the birth of their daughter–and he “really wanted” her to get professional photos of her beautiful baby bump.

Pregnancy is a happy time for many couples, but it can also be riddled with anxiety–how will life change? will we be good parents?–and couples who are apart during that time face a whole different set of challenges. These photos created a special bridge between the parents-to-be, who were physically separated by distance, but eternally connected through their growing baby.

Find more maternity photo session inspiration in our 2life Baby app galleries.