winter maternity session

A Narnia Inspired Winter One Year Session with Luna in the Evergreens

I know that winter is not necessarily the ideal time for family photos but I had been wanting to photograph a session at this location full of tall evergreen trees for a while and was looking for an excuse. I believe that there is beauty to be found in all seasons, even the cold and barren ones. This winter family photo session turned out beautifully and we lucked out with a warmish December day and beautiful golden light.

I convinced my dear friend Drea and her husband Dani to model for a family session and it also worked out as one-year session since their daughter Luna turned one in December. And wouldn’t you be surprised to know that it also turned out to be a pregnancy announcement because Drea is expecting a baby in June! So of course it was an opportune time to announce that Luna is going to be a big sister in 2022!

I am slowly growing a client closet of mostly dresses for women, children and babies and so I was motivated to photograph Drea in this beautiful blue velvet gown that I had just purchased from Baltic Born. I also found a coordinating velvet flapper style dress with fringes for Luna that I love (thanks to Etsy!). And last of all I recently added a faux fur coat from Joyfolie to my client closet which I think will be fabulous for winter maternity sessions. I made a winter flower crown for Drea using mostly plants and herbs (rosemary!) that I found growing around our yard. The fur coat definitely gives this session a Narnia vibe and if only we had some snow covering the ground it would have been perfect!

If you are considering a winter photo session I’m happy to recommend some magical locations and figure out ways to be creative and keep the littles warm.

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!


Lancaster Maternity Photography: A Winter Maternity Session at Overlook Park

Lancaster Maternity Photography session at Overlook Park in winter time

I adore meeting first time parents for maternity photography sessions because I get to ask them all about their plans for their soon-to-arrive little one. “Are you finding out the gender? What does the nursery look like? Where are you giving birth?”, etc. etc. Yes, I admit I’m a little nosy and I probably offer some unsolicited advice but I have such fond memories of being pregnant with my first child and remember the anticipation and excitement about becoming a mom. I am a firm believer in photographing baby bellies so that moms can look back and remember that for those fleeting 9 months they carried and grew a tiny human. There is something pretty darn incredible and beautiful about pregnancy in my opinion!

Sarah and Joe’s winter maternity session at Overlook Park was one of my first photo shoots of 2019. These two braved the frigid temperatures to get some beautiful photos in the fields and the pine forest. I was excited to play around with some double exposures for this session as well. They will be welcoming a little girl into their family before too long!

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!