South New Jersey Maternity session at Avalon Beach

Anna and Austin wanted a South NJ maternity session.  They are expecting their first baby in June and were excited to capture this special time in their lives in a special place.

Austin and Anna met on a blind date 5 years ago. They were set up by Anna’s mom and her friend, who Austin was working with at the time. One of the first things Anna noticed about Austin was how close he is with his family. He is one of six kids and has 13 nieces and nephews, so Anna always knew he’d be an amazing dad. Austin and Anna got married in August 2018 and are now expecting their first baby in June.  When I asked Anna if she knew if it was a boy or a girl she said they decided to let it be a surprise. It is a tradition on Austin’s side of the family to wait to find out the sex of the baby. How fun!!

A special location

I love when my clients choose a location that is special to them.  Anna and Austin wanted to go to Avalon Beach for their maternity session.  Avalon Beach is just gorgeous so I was excited to meet them there.  They had mentioned that there was a pier that would be a good backdrop so we decided to start there.

Austin grew up in Avalon and moved back about a year into their relationship. They did the long distance relationship for a few years before moving into their first house together in Avalon. While we were walking back to our cars Austin was sharing some of his childhood memories of the area.

Engagement and Maternity

Anna and Austin had some of their engagement pictures taken on the beach and it was special to recreate those memories with their maternity photos. It is so special when the same location is used for many life events.  I hope these two will have a special photo session with baby Johnson at some of the same locations.

The perfect outfits for a south NJ maternity session

Anna and Austin chose the perfect outfits for their maternity beach location.  Anna wore a beautiful maternity dress from Pinkblush maternity. The dress was the perfect color and she looked so beautiful.  Austin’s outfit of a classic white button down shirt and khaki pants were from H&M and his shoes were Sperry. Honestly, the two of them looked like they had just stepped out of a magazine!  I smiled when I first saw them knowing everything was just going to be perfect!

We started out with Anna standing on the dunes.  I personally love the dunes with the sea grass and the ocean in the back ground.  The sun was filtered from the clouds and it was the best light.  I had to stop myself and move them to the next location because it was the perfect situation!  But to my delight the next locations didn’t disappoint.  They stood in the ocean, posed under the pier and we even moved one of the Avalon life guard boats so it faced the right direction.

These two were so sweet and you can tell they are very excited about adding to their family.

Some advice from Anna

“We had some amazing candid photos during the session as well as the posed shots, so my advice would be to relax and have fun. We took pictures on the beach in Avalon and were lucky enough to have perfect weather. Maria was extremely helpful with showing us how to pose and captured amazing photos. I loved how much Austin got into it and even came up with some fun poses of his own inside one of the boats.” -Anna

These photos make me smile when I see them.  I truly enjoy documenting special moments like this in families lives! Anna and Austin, thank you for choosing Memories by Maria Photography and I hope to see you in the future with your little one , whom I am sure will be a beautiful baby!!

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