Brought to you by: Briar Patch Heirlooms

Photographer Fantastique: Jennifer Loomis
from her passion for photography to her personal style, Sydney scoops the award-winning artist

I recently met the pregnancy photographer at the dark, industrial, and incredibly chic Slow Club near her San Francisco studio. As we chatted over flickering votives and plates of Mediterranean food, I felt like a regular.  And I quickly realized why hundreds of women have traveled across the country to have Jennifer tell their story.  She is passionate about her craft, dedicated to positive change, and has a presence that puts both mind and soul at ease.  Thanks to Jennifer, women everywhere have embraced their blossoming bodies and, in the words of one of her clients, asked themselves, “Is the beautiful 37-week-pregnant woman in those pictures really me?”

Let’s start from the beginning - when did you first pick up a camera?
I first picked up a camera when I was 8 years old. It was an old Kodak camera. (I actually just found an old photo from 1978 of myself taking a picture with that camera!) When I was in high school, my cousin gave me a Pentax camera. However, it wasn’t until I lived in Japan that I got hooked.

So, how did you get from that day to where you are now?
I first became seriously interested in photography during a solo backpacking trip through Southeast Asia, using my camera to meet people and discover different cultures. This led to my first career, in photojournalism. Then I took a class on photographing nudes of women, and realized that no one was really capturing the beauty of women the way I thought they should. That’s when I decided to focus on photographing pregnant women.

Honestly, I never thought I would become a photographer as my profession. It was my art, what I did on evenings and weekends for fun. My family is very business focused and that was the direction they always steered me in. But I gradually steered myself towards my passion.  It has been an arduous road, but I have learned a lot. I have photographed more than 1,000 women, and have three studios - in San Francisco, Seattle, and New York.  I also photograph families because mothers and fathers come back with their babies after they are born.