Capturing the joy of expecting Rainbow Babies with a group photography session in Pensacola, Florida
Pregnancy is a special time, full of excitement and anticipation for the journey ahead. But for some families, it’s also a reminder of loss, of heartache, and of strength. A Rainbow baby — a baby born after the loss of a baby due to miscarriage, infant loss, stillbirth, or neonatal death —is like a rainbow at the end of a storm. In October 1988, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed October as National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month stating: “When a child loses his parent, they are called an orphan. When a spouse loses his or her partner, they are called a widow or widower. When parents lose their child, there isn’t a word to describe them. This month recognizes the loss so many parents experience across the United States and around the world. It is also meant to inform and provide resources for parents who have lost children due to miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, stillbirths, birth defects, SIDS, and other causes.”
For mothers expecting rainbow babies, the pregnancy journey is full of mixed emotions: the joy of a new life intertwined with the memories of a past loss. It is my hope that capturing this journey through a maternity photography session with other pregnant mothers who have walked the same path can be both a celebration and a tribute to their resilience, love, and hope. To that end, each year, starting in late summer I’ve put out a model call unlike any other - one looking for mothers who have experienced pain and come out the other side looking at a rainbow. Each September I meet up with however many women pregnant with their rainbow babies and mothers with their infant rainbow babies who answer my call for a group “Rainbow Maternity and Mama and Baby” Photography session in the Pensacola, Florida area. Here’s a look at 2024’s heartwarming and empowering maternity and motherhood photography session that perfectly captured the essence of pregnancy, motherhood, hope, and new beginnings.
The location I chose for this session couldn’t have been more perfect: an east Pensacola park, with its lush green spaces, sprawling live oaks, and calming coastal vibes from the bayou in the background. The soft, golden light of the northwest Florida sunset added a magical touch to the photography session, highlighting the beauty of the mothers with their babies and the pregnant mothers with their radiant baby bumps.
The Most Meaningful Moments...
The most meaningful moments of each session come when the mothers interact with one another. There’s solace in knowing you are not alone in this chapter of your life. They laughed and shared about their pregnancies and the baby’s first years. Seasoned moms supported and offered tips to first-time mothers. Expecting mothers helped entertain the babies of the mothers who already had their rainbows in their arms.
The photos taken that September evening in Pensacola were not just images; they were a celebration of new beginnings, of love, of the journey that had led these mothers to this moment. It was a tribute to the babies that had come before, and to the babies they were about to welcome into the world. It was a tribute to the strength that comes from enduring unimaginable heartache and still finding the courage to hope and love again. As photographers, so much of our job is about telling a story. Not every story can have a happy ending, which is why I feel it’s especially important to take the time to share stories as beautiful and significant as expecting a rainbow baby. For these mothers in Pensacola, the session was more than just a collection of beautiful images—it was an opportunity to honor their strength, their journey, and the love they carried in their hearts. Each year as I plan this session and bring it into being my strongest desire is that is serves as a reminder that even after the storm, there is beauty, there is hope, and there is light.
As a thank you for taking time out of her day to participate in this session, each model had a few individual pictures taken after the group photos. For fun, an extra set of hands, and to mix things up, this year, I asked my friend and fellow photographer, Amanda, with Memories by Amanda Lee to come over from Crestview to photograph alongside me. In the individual photos below, the maternity photos were taken by Amanda and the motherhood photos (mothers with their babies) were taken by me.
