Can January be warm and beautiful?

Can January be warm and beautiful? It is usually a month known for the darker days, cold weather, brown trees, neutral landscapes, and harsh winds. So you can imagine how I was feeling when a sweet mom to be reached out for her maternity session and hoped it to be in January! As a photographer that really leans into the colors of the season, I don’t usually lean super hard into the browns of January. But I was really excited for the challenge and made me think a bit more for our location!

Instead of my normal spots that are flowing with green, creeks, architecture, or grove of trees I took us to a little dip in the valley of Mt Kessler in Fayetteville Arkansas. This place opens up into a large field, surrounded by trees on either side, and gives way to an open sky above. It feels a bit like a dome! But, it also proved to be the perfect spot for a January maternity session.

Everything really just fell into place with this session. The couple’s outfits were perfect, the sun decided to shine for 15 minutes of our session, it was slightly warm, and we were able to get incredible shots! But do you know what made it warm and beautiful? It was the couple. It was their ease together as they took photos to document Elli’s pregnancy and soon getting to meet their baby girl. How were they at ease in the frigid January weather? Well, we talked! I got to hear their backgrounds, childhood homes, how they met, where they fell involve, and why they decided to stay in the NWA community.

They were comfortable together taking about the wonderful life they have in Arkansas and I just clicked my camera at the right time. So, yes. January can actually be warm and beautiful.