Recently we had the honor of photographing a party that was designed by my very favorite hostess….The Hostess With the Mostess….Jennifer Sbranti! I always look forward to the events I get to work alongside Jenn, because she tends to every single little tiny minute detail. And I love to shoot the details! The coolest part is that she puts it all up on her blog and tells you exactly how to do it (where to buy everything, how to fold the paper, lots of how to diagrams) yourself. If you’re throwing any type of party you should definitely go check it out, she’s really detailed about it. You can even download the personalized paper party tags and accents that she uses here.

The shower was to celebrate the pending arrival of (a different) Jen’s healthy and adorable bouncing baby boy! With all the feathers, rhinestones, giant butterflies, flowers, champagne, monkey statues, loads of candy – the party was definitely a happy place to be (: Catch our 3 part Feature on the Hostess Blog by clicking HERE.

Shelley found me about 2 months ago and insisted on having her belly shots done BEFORE Thanksgiving and all of the holiday feasting began. She was convinced that she was going to swell up at any moment. Embarking on her 8th month in these photos, I have a feeling Shelley stayed just as cute up until the day of her delivery as she was on the day we captured these bubbly images of her.

I love photographing pregnant women. My preference is to photograph in the 8th month – the camera likes how round the belly is….you really get the full effect. And I get the full effect of a mother who has endured 8 long months, she’s about to pop, and she’s finally to the part where she’s planning all the details of the birth. I love to dish with them about all the details. How bad their back hurts – how great their husband has been – what kinds of food they crave – how cool it is when the baby flips around – how fat they feel…haha.  The whole thing is always a really special experience for me – knowing one day that I’ll be a mom too.  It’s like doing research.

I got word just days ago that Shelley gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Stay tuned for pictures from our follow-up newborn sitting! ~J

Last week I did my very first shoot for a magazine….a modest spot for Pregnancy teaming with Spa Luce in Hollywood.  If you watch the show Private Practice, you may also recognize Amanda Detmer. She got pregnant on the show first, and now she’s preganant in real life! Be sure to check her out Thursday nights at 10/9c….ABC.