She called him "Bear"

My remarkable client was a mom of three with one on the way, but now a widow.

The story is sad, as it was an unexpected sudden loss of her husband, yet she forges on with incredible strength.

She had the wonderful idea to get a maternity image that included her husband as a bear - since she used to call him Bear. She said he was he was "so strong and macho" and described him as a provider, protector and the best dad her children could ask for. She wanted to create an image of herself and the new expected baby with a bear and hang it above the the baby's crib.

Unlike in Russia, where some photographers actually photograph with real bears(!), I didn't have a real bear for this photo session. So she hired me specifically to make this composite image for her.

It Starts With a Base Photograph

We did some in studio and some outdoor. She brought a large stuffed bear so we could have some texture and shadow to work with against her skin.