Larisa knew for certain that she wanted to honor this special and unique time of her life with a maternity photography session to capture the physical and personal growth that comes with welcoming a new life. Larisa's maternity photos showcase her extraordinary experience during out of the ordinary times!
Larisa was not always sure if motherhood was for her, but when the opportunity arose she felt that it was the perfect time. She had no idea what was to come but explains how she coped and what her "new normal" looked like.
The idea of bringing a new human into the world seems like an act of profound optimism
Ani retouching Larisa's maternity photograph
"I was never one of those women who was absolutely sure that motherhood was for them--I came around more slowly to the idea of having a baby and really wrestled with the decision to become a mother. But when my husband and I found out we were pregnant in late December of 2019, I was so excited to be embarking upon this new adventure; it seemed like great timing! Then, just as I was starting my second trimester, the coronavirus pandemic began taking its toll on the United States, and everything about our daily lives changed almost overnight.
I felt ready to embrace the challenges, the small joys, and (let’s face it) all of the weird and unpredictable aspects of being pregnant, but I hadn't exactly signed up for a pandemic pregnancy. All of a sudden, there were a host of new difficulties and restrictions: doctor's appointments were suddenly restricted, my husband wasn't allowed in to my regular ultrasounds, we had to move our baby shower to Zoom, all of our preparation for the baby has been via the internet, and it became a difficult reality to accept that our families probably wouldn't be able to travel to meet the baby. All of the things I had anticipated as an expectant parent had new caveats, were cancelled altogether, or were just different in totally unexpected ways. As we navigate this "new normal," as we've so often said over the past few months, the idea of bringing a new human into the world seems like an act of profound optimism; what a unique chance to embrace a blank slate and all the potential it offers as we welcome this new life.
Given how strange life has become over the past few months as my pregnancy has progressed, it was increasingly important to me to mark milestones as the feeling of passing time in a pandemic seems simultaneously incredibly fast and interminably slow. Having portraits taken was, for me, an incredibly vital way to not only commemorate an exceptional physical transformation, personal growth of many kinds, and a moment on the precipice of immense change but also to create a reminder of this very particular time in our lives and in history. I’m grateful that it was even possible to do these portraits in our current reality—Ani was the perfect choice to capture this truly extraordinary moment."
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