There’s so many things I want to say about this project, like how honoured I am to be able to create work like this with Stacy, like how when we finished this shoot we hugged, both welled up and realized that these images don’t really exist yet. You don’t see many mothers that are pregnant that also have a disability in the mainstream media and so these images are not only beautiful but they act as a visual representation of what has rarely yet been shown.

Stacy openly talks about how she’s had over 70 surgeries on her leg and how a part of why she had her leg amputated was so that one day she could carry a baby. The magnitude of that story gives me as the photographer such a responsibility to get it right, to create something so beautiful. To carry Stacys narrative, not my perceived narrative. This shoot was about Stacy and her pregnancy, but also was about the journey Stacy has gone through to get to this point in her life. Note the order of those two.

So when it came to the creative, I chose a speckled lighting effect for the background so that Stacys scars weren’t the only shape and shadows in the scene. This allowed the focus to be first about her pregnancy and then second about her story. Notice the way the matching underwear also matches the prosthetic? Again the focus becomes her pregnancy and not her disability. The poses were led by Stacy, the creative was led by me. Together what we created presented the narrative that stayed true to Stacys story.

Stacy thank you for trusting me to create these with you.

@stacyyhughess
Hair and Make up @xenia.r_artistry
Clothing @milafranovic