This is the second pregnancy for this subject, and that meant it was also her second time as a mom-to-be in front of photographer Meka Hemmons‘ lens. “This particular subject is quite comfortable with trying new things and letting me be creative,” Hemmons says. “She said I could play as much as I wanted for this session”—a photographer’s dream.

Hemmons talked the subject through this pose and showed her how to wrangle the fabric for this movement-filled frame. “I showed her how to gather the fabric from the bottom and toss it out while quickly stepping forward and falling gracefully back into that power stance,” Hemmons explains. “It took a few takes, but we got it!”

In the end, the frame is just how Hemmons envisioned it. “The sunny backlighting makes the royal plum color and her smooth brown skin pop and glow. It’s so regal and strong—just the mood I wanted to create.”

(Captured using a Canon 7D with a 50mm f/1.4 lens at 1/100 of a sec f/4.0 ISO 640 and a lowlight Octabox flash on camera right.)

Photo © Meka Hemmons

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