I don’t bill myself as a maternity photographer, but when my friend Emily and her husband called and asked me to snap a few black and white shots of her big, beautiful belly, I was thrilled to say yes.

Maternity photography depends on a certain intimacy between the photographer and mom. I suppose Emily and I have a leg up in this regard, having been friends for several years. I’ve known Emily and her husband Richard since 2006, when Richard and my wife were colleagues together in Chicago. All four of us moved to Nashville at the same time in 2008.

We like to joke that our lives move in parallel. We got engaged right after one another, we moved to Nashville at the same time, we got married just a few months apart… and now that Richard and Emily are about to be parents, the pressure is on for my wife and I to follow suit, right? Eh, not so fast.

Emily and Richard’s first child is due at the end of this month, and we can’t wait for little baby to arrive. Hopefully I’ll be back soon with some newborn shots… can’t wait.