Crystal Springs Maternity Session | Chou Family

3 months. It’s been 3 months since my last session and well, I was nervous. More like nervous-excited. It’s not as if I had spent the past 3 months watching Netflix and doing nothing else. (Ok, that’s only partially true). Admittedly, during shelter-in-place, I felt pretty uninspired to photograph anything. My sweet little camera had been lonely and sitting on my desk, collecting dust, waiting for me to pick it up. But then, my lovely friend Vi reached out about a maternity session because she was pregnant again. Yay! It was going to be my first session back and for the first time in 3 months! And so I packed my trusty little backpack, ready for adventure once again, which brings me to this beautiful Crystal Springs maternity session!

The Family

I parked my car and took in the view. The weather was 58 degrees and partly cloudy, with winds in the 10-15 mph range. It was a little bit chilly, but I found a little patch in the hillside that would block the wind. Ah, it was a beautiful day for a Crystal Springs maternity session.

As I approached the Chou family in the parking lot, I couldn’t help but smile at the beautiful family. Vi looked gorgeous in a beige, floor-length cap sleeve dress. Howard was dressed handsomely in a grey collared shirt and dark pants, but the star of the show was none other than their beautiful daughter, Jojo, who was dressed in a baby blue and white polka dot dress!

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The Session

I should mention, that Vi is a fellow photographer herself (Vi Chou Photography) herself. So it’s no surprise that she knows exactly what to wear and what outfits to pick for her family I stopped myself from squeezing a hug on them when I first saw them, knowing that under the new CDC guidelines, everyone has to maintain their distance (safety first guys!). Despite that, I made sure to pull my mask down for a quick second, so that Jojo was able to see my face and know that it wasn’t just a random stranger/ninja barking orders at her from behind the camera.

As we began the maternity session, it was such a joy to see this family interact with each other. Jojo is a spitting image of Howard, goofy and playful, and just a fireball of energy. The Chou family lives in Pacifica, so a Palo Alto maternity session was a bit of a drive for them, so when we wrapped up, it was well past dinner time. Still, the blustery wind was every bit worth it because it created such a beautiful effect on Vi as she looked down at her belly. Because she was about to embark on the beautiful journey of motherhood, once again.

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For more maternity sessions, feel free to check out my portfolio.