Today, Odessa, who is 5, made a birthday card for her cousin Paprika, now also 5. Paprika is my sister’s eldest child and they all moved across the country in August and now live a short walk from us. Oh how we love having our family so close by now. Dessa described her drawing to me like this: “That’s Paprika with the curly hair and me with the straight hair and we’re wearing sunglasses [laughs] and that there in the middle is a heart. It’s exploding with love.”

I was surprised at my own reaction when I first saw the images. I did that thing that my clients sometimes do, typically the mamas over 40: I barely noticed the mood, the light, the everything, and instead went right to the details. My sunspots, and holy smokes I knew I had wrinkles but oh, and the unruly skin, and is that the makings of a double chin–while lying down? I was a little ashamed for thinking it, especially since I’m the first to council my photo subjects that that isn’t what we all see in the image, it’s more about the energy there, we’re our own worst critics, etc., etc. Let me just say it’s good for me to get in front of a camera once in a while and experience that little thing called empathy.

As much as I really want to say and believe that I truly don’t care about this stuff, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. But it’s not at all a melodramatic kind of thing, more of a quiet noticing, simply recognizing that heading towards 42 looks like this on me. It’s far from bad, and honestly I rather like my wrinkles and grey strands. It’s more that I don’t really feel this age, or what I thought this age would be. Or maybe it’s just that I’ll probably feel spry in body and a bit confused in mind about numbers and time moving so swiftly from here on out.

The next time my clients sigh and maybe disregard what I think of as a stunning image of them, I’ll let that space between their thoughts and mine linger a bit longer. I get it. But then I do want to reassure them.

Meanwhile, these pictures that Brian took grow on me. This is how we look in the morning, my kids and I. Playful, thoughtful, just happy to be together on this new day. Would I want to look untouseled and planned out, no. It wouldn’t show the us in us, and that is what I want my family to have a chance to peek back on down the road.

Earlier this month Kari, Dan and I got to play with the cameras in one of my favorite settings, a trail along the Crane Estate. Open fields and tangly brush that lead to a beach. Making pictures like these, casually, is a great way for my clients and I to get to know one another better before the big day.

If you are in the vicinity of Salem, MA (and I definitely recommend going out of your way) and if you have a burgeoning belly or want to treat someone who does, head on over to Mighty Aphrodite for some gorgeous duds that’ll keep your glow on high. Gently worn, gently priced and happily reused. Makes me want to do it all over again. Well, almost.

In other exciting news, I’m offering a belly portrait special for Mighty Aphrodite aficionados: Two 8×12 favorite prints with every paid maternity photo session. That’s a whopping $190 savings you can put towards more clothes down the street. Book your session before September 15 and my offer is good any time during your pregnancy. Gift certificates available of course! kim@kimindresano.com 617.820.6919