First Couple's Photo Session

Jon and I went to go grocery shopping one day at the Super Bi-Lo. There are two Bi-Lo's right near our house, and for some reason, that day we decided to go to the one slightly further away. As we walked into the store, Jon got a phone call from his dad that had him slightly distracted for about fifteen minutes as he paced back and forth around the entrance.

Perhaps it was fate that at that very moment, there happened to be a large man sitting at a large desk about five feet from the entrance. He called me over, and being polite, I went to see what he had to say. "Thinking about getting some maternity photos done?" he asked simply.

How did he know? So of course, he immediately had my attention. I have a couple of friends that own rather nice cameras, but for some reason, setting up a professional appointment is so much easier than setting up a date to have a friend take our pictures. Ironic, huh?

He was offering a fantastic deal, only $16 for a photo session, one 8x13, one 5x7, and sixteen mini-wallets. I couldn't resist.

As the week went by, nearing our photo session, I began to worry. How small are mini-wallets actually? (It turns out, they're really small.) Will he only take one pose? Will we get to choose which pose? Can I order more pictures if I want to send more out to family? Who would get the bigger photo?

We arrived (yes, we had our pictures taken upstairs in a Bi-Lo, so sue me) and walked up the steps to the temporary photography studio they had set up. There was an older man, large, very nice, sitting on a stool. He immediately greeted us, had us sign in, and began setting us up for the first pose. It was a generic pose, regular, the first pose every photographer comes up with when they get a couple. Snap.

I knew I'd put on my prettiest smile, but I was a bit worried about Jon. He's a goofy guy and not one for professional photos, but they turned out great. He had even shaved and gotten a haircut that day in order to look more presentable and a bit less like a caveman.

Next, the photographer set us up for the classic maternity pose. My mind began racing again. We were taking multiple poses, would they give us an assortment of photos? Could we choose which photo we got with the package? I should have asked more questions, but I'm the type of person to just worry to myself...probably not the best trait to have.

"Chin a little to the left, sir, hand on her belly. There you go, now you put your hand on top of his. Smile, chin up," the photographer rambled off his instructions and we quickly obeyed.

This is probably my absolute favorite picture. I love everything about it. If I'm allowed to say so myself, we make quite a pretty couple. :)

Next, the photographer asked me to stand to the side. He sat Jon on the stool and arranged him as he saw fit. I couldn't help but smile as I watched Jon stare into the camera. He looked so handsome, so put together, so at ease in front of the camera. I loved getting our pictures taken. If I could have a professional photographer follow us around to capture all of our moments, I would in a heartbeat.

Then, it was my turn. I was a bit nervous knowing that Jon was watching me be photographed. I didn't know how I looked. I always feel like I look too intently into the camera and end up giving it an evil glare. I was nervous that I would look silly in my photo when I knew Jon looked so handsome in his.

The photographer put us together one last time for a final pose. This last one was easy, much quicker, with less instruction before one final, Snap!

"All done!" he announced, and we gathered our belongings. We set up a time for us to come pick up our pictures and walked downstairs into the grocery store.

It seemed like such a long wait in between the photo session and the date we picked up our photos, almost a month. Jon and I headed back to the Bi-Lo and I nervously worried to myself about what the pictures would look like.

I had received a "reminder" text from the photo company that also said they would have a few packages for us to choose from if we wanted more pictures than the original package. I knew I at least wanted a few and was anxious to hear the costs.

A woman stood up and greeted us as soon as we walked upstairs and immediately began to gush about my pregnancy. "I want a baby so bad!" she relayed to us. Then we began looking at the pictures.

"She's definitely a saleswoman!" Jon said later, after she roped me into a $150 package. She oohed and ahhed over all of the photos with us, almost begging us to buy a hugely expensive package. The first one she described was a $500 package and I was incredibly shocked. Who knew that photos would even cost that much?

I was extremely disappointed that I wasn't allowed to just pick individual photos and that I had to settle on a package. Especially when money right now is so incredibly tight. Jon seemed a bit irked that I agreed to buy more pictures, saying, "If I had gone in there by myself, I would have just picked up the ones we paid for and left!"

I knew I would regret that, though, and that these pictures are more meaningful to me than he would understand. These pictures stand for something more than just a short fifteen minute photo op in the upstairs of a Bi-Lo. They represent our lives at this point, my first pregnancy, our youth, our love, and our family.

I'm so excited to be able to send a few of the smaller pictures (thankfully larger than the mini-wallets--seriously, you can't even see us. We're the size of a thumb.) to a few family members. I know my parents (and I'm sure Jon's parents as well) will be elated to have these pictures of us at this time in our lives.

Even though I'm slightly stressed about the fact that the baby could be here any day and we have no money saved and I just (slightly stupidly) spent $150 on photos, I keep telling myself how much they mean to me and how worth it they are. (Even if I'm kind of wishing I'd let my friends with nice cameras give it a go.)