fall maternity session

Lancaster Maternity Photography: A Fall Maternity Session at Muddy Run Park with Drea and Dani

A fall maternity session at Muddy Run Park in Holtwood, PA by Melissa Engle Photography

One of my besties is having a baby! Drea and Dani are taking on a some huge life changing milestones in 2020: getting married and having a baby. They got married on 3.14.2020 (pi day) just in the knick of time before our world shut down due to the Covid19 pandemic. About a month later they found out they were expecting a wee ‘quarantini’ baby.

I have known Drea since we became roommates the year I graduated from college and moved to Lancaster for my first real adult professional job. I only knew a couple people in Lancaster at the time so she became one of my first Lancaster friends. We eventually started our own jewelry making business and traveled to Morocco together and for the past 8+ years we have lived just a few blocks apart in the Cabbage Hill neighborhood of Lancaster City. My kids call her “Tia” (auntie in Spanish) and we adore her (and Dani too of course).

Because she is so dear to me, of course she and Dani’s maternity photos had to be epic so we went to Muddy Run where the fall foliage was in it’s full glory in mid-October. I can not wait to meet their little baby boy or girl Rodriguez in December!

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!


Lancaster Maternity Photography: A Fall Maternity Session at Chickies Rock

A fall maternity photo session along the Susquehanna River at Chickies Rock

This fall maternity photo session at Chickies Rock almost did not happen because it had been raining for most of the day. We decided to still go for it since the rain was slowing down to a drizzle and I am so glad we did. It has been a while since I’ve done a photo session at Chickies Rock and I forgot about the variety of beautiful locations and backdrops it offers.

We did not hike the popular lookout trail; instead we started at the Chickies Rock Day Use Area which has a barn and stone walls as backdrops. Kayla and her husband Andrew were real troopers since it was still raining when we began the shoot. If you look closely at the photos in front of the barn you can see the rain drops falling.

If you venture over to the Furnace Road Day Use area, you will discover a parking lot with access to the Susquehanna River. Before venturing down to the river however, there are some amazing concrete ruins with ivy growing all over them and I think these turned out to be some of my most favorite photos from this session. It also runs along the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail which borders a beautiful field where we took some photos as well.

I will let the images speak for themselves. I think this is one of my favorite fall maternity sessions to date and I can’t wait to photograph their newborn baby girl when she arrives this December!

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!


Lancaster Maternity Photography: Sam & Taylor's Fall Maternity Session at Historic Rock Ford Plantation

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If you know me, you know that I love hearing birth stories as well as sharing my own. Becoming a mom and growing a human is one of the most incredible journeys I have ever been on. Of course it would make sense that I love doing maternity and newborn photography for families. I get to play a small part in telling the story of growing families as they welcome their precious new babies into their hearts and their homes.

This fall maternity session at the Historic Rock Ford Plantation in Lancaster is full of joy and smiles (other than the vicious mosquitos attacking us near the end). The light was golden, Sam was glowing, and I think the images speak for themselves. Baby Eck is supposed to make his/her appearance right around Thanksgiving and I am so looking forward to meeting (and photographing) their new little one.

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!