Tempi - A Rainbow Baby Story
Rainbow babies have an incredibly special place in my heart. The redemption that they bring to the whole dynamic of life after loss is beautiful, trying, and hopeful. Tempi’s story is one of those redemption stories and I feel so honored that I got to follow along and document her family’s journey.
I remember the day that my friend Mandy messaged and told me she wanted to do pregnancy announcement pictures. I knew she had been through the pain of miscarriage before and I was cautiously excited for her. Not because I thought she would lose this baby, but because that’s instinctively the reaction that loss creates in a person. Just the fact that she was choosing to have pregnancy announcement pictures felt like a big deal because I know there’s so much fear that accompanies that first trimester. But what a gift it is to have these milestones recorded and celebrated!
A few months later, I was offering fall mini sessions and Mandy messaged me about getting some pictures of her sweet baby bump. Y’all—she was one radiant expectant mama. And Gabe is always such a good sport when we have all these cute photo ideas. We had so much fun and loved how the smaller session fit the need perfectly: getting a few more pictures of Tempi and them before they would get to meet her face-to-face.
A couple months after their bump session, we got a tentative date set up for the newborn pictures and stayed in touch as baby girl took her sweet time coming out to meet her family. A couple of days before Christmas, I got to meet Gabe and Mandy’s beautiful baby girl. It was just so cool having been a part of each of these milestones and then finally to hold and photograph her. What a precious little gift she is.
When Mandy’s mom found out she was expecting, she made Mandy a colorful blanket in honor of her rainbow baby. With that and a few other pops and elements Mandy had picked out, plus a few I brought, we styled each shot and had a blast. We also recreated a couple pictures we’d done at their pregnancy announcement session and I thought that was a fun way to bring this chapter of their story full circle.
Love you, Burton family. <3
The #glowup shot
P.S. Showing a side-by-side of pictures I’ve taken in the past vs. recently always reminds me that I’m growing and learning. Sometimes it makes me want to go back and edit everything, but I don’t. Why? Because just as there’s an authenticity and realness to your story and the season you’re in, that dynamic is also seen in my art and those photos and edits are true to the season that I was in too.