Maricica wanted to do something fantastic and whimsical for her last maternity session, so she decided to turn herself into an expectant mermaid and invited me to take the photos! I mean, when a mother (and a dear friend) calls you up and says, "I made a mermaid costume and I want to take pictures as a pregnant mermaid by the beach;" there's definitely a huge level of excitement and elation involved.
She created the costume herself from a shimmery spandex material and a netted top, her makeup and accessories were also put together by this mom-to-be during the first days of her maternity leave. We decided on a Windansea Beach as the location so we could be both safe and get some support from the natural sandstone cliffs since she was at about 35-36 weeks along.
Maricica is a wonderful NICU nurse at a hospital in Southern California and was thrilled to have her first baby, a boy, in the weeks after this session. Her dream was to leave a fairytale record of her pregnancy for her son and with this being her final session (out of 4 total sessions), she went all out on the fantasy and she is absolutely beautiful! I'm still so much in love with these photos... makes me miss her and my home. 

Her little boy is now 1, his name is Tom and he's absolute perfection... just like his mom. Miss you Maricica <3