Cheyenne Canon Maternity Session, From a Surprise Gift to Baby Sawyer

A Cheyenne Canon maternity session wasn't supposed to happen for Erin. She had tried to take her own maternity photos, set up the camera, posed in front of it, and when she looked at the images afterward, they weren't what she'd hoped for. They didn't hold what she felt. And so she let the idea go.

Then Bobby reached out to me.

I'd photographed them before, back when they celebrated their marriage at Garden of the Gods after a quiet pandemic wedding that never got a party. That session was full of laughter and golden light and the kind of easy joy that comes from two people who are exactly where they want to be. So when Bobby's message came through asking if I could sneak in a maternity session, I said yes before I finished reading.

He wanted to surprise her. He'd watched her try to capture this moment herself and come away disappointed, and he wanted to give her what she hadn't been able to give herself. We met at a Starbucks so he could hand off a gift card, the whole thing planned without Erin knowing. And then we waited for the right evening.

The Session

We met in a quiet corner of Cheyenne Canon, one of the spots I've returned to for years because of the way the mountains rise close and the light softens as the sun drops behind the ridgeline. Erin arrived not quite sure what was happening, and then she understood.

She wore a dress from Reclamation Design, flowing and timeless, and she wore it beautifully. The kind of dress that catches the wind and moves with you. The kind that makes you feel like yourself, only more so.

We walked slowly. We talked about the pregnancy, about Bobby, about what was coming. There was no rush. She leaned into him and he held her close and the light wrapped around them both the way it does when everything is exactly as it should be. I photographed them laughing, holding each other, standing quietly with the mountains behind them.

It wasn't about getting the perfect pose. It was about giving Erin the gift of being seen.

Baby Sawyer

A few weeks later, I drove to their home to meet Sawyer.

By then we'd already talked through a video call, going over the details, making a plan for the session. But the real gift of booking maternity and newborn together is the relationship you build along the way. By the time I arrived at their door, it didn't feel like a session. It felt like visiting friends.

Sawyer was brand new and soft and perfect in the way all new babies are. I photographed her in their arms, in her nursery, wrapped in the blankets they'd chosen for her. Erin looked different now, the same but changed, the way all new mothers do. And Bobby, who had planned a secret maternity session because he wanted his wife to feel beautiful, held his daughter like he couldn't quite believe she was real.

These are the moments I want to be trusted with. Not just the big celebrations, but the quiet ones. The gift given in secret. The baby asleep in the morning light. The way a family changes shape and keeps growing.

Why This Matters

I've been photographing families long enough to know that some of the most important sessions almost don't happen. Erin nearly let her maternity photos go. Bobby stepped in because he saw what she needed and made it happen for her. And because of that, they have images of this chapter, the waiting, the arrival, the very beginning of Sawyer's life, that they'll carry with them forever.

If you're thinking about booking your maternity and newborn sessions together, this is why. Not just for the discount (though that's there too). But because it gives us time. Time to plan, to talk, to get to know each other before I show up at your home with your brand-new baby in your arms. It makes the newborn session feel less like a stranger walking through your door and more like a friend coming to meet your little one.

And if you're wondering what to wear for your maternity session, I can help with that too. The right dress, the one that makes you feel like yourself, makes all the difference.

Let's Tell Your Story

I'd love to be the one who photographs your family through its changing seasons. From the early days of just the two of you, through the waiting, the arrival, and all the years that follow. That's the kind of work that fills me up.