The Setup
Where do I even start on this adventure? Maybe let's talk about Susan... She's not only one of my longest-standing clients, but also one of my dearest friends. So when she casually dropped the news—while we were standing in line for a Costco hotdog, no less—that she and Kevin were expecting, I basically screamed internally and maybe a little externally (sorry, not sorry, to the Sunday shoppers around us).
Naturally, we had months to plan the ultimate baby announcement photoshoot. I asked what vibe she wanted, and without skipping a beat, she looked me dead in the eyes and said:
"Make it weird."
Challenge accepted.
I immediately turned to my go-to source for all things bizarre and brilliant: the internet. Reddit gods, Pinterest witches, and Tumblr gremlins, I summoned them all. The mission was clear, the deadline was baby, and the theme was "Make it Weird." Here's how it all went down.
Photoshoot 1: The Face-Off
(and not the cinematic classic with Nick Cage)
We kicked things off with something close to their hearts (and honestly, pretty mild on the weird scale): hockey. Kevin, a true northerner who grew up playing on frozen lakes in North Dakota, and Susan, a proud Denver native who bleeds Avalanche red and blue, brought the heat.
They showed up with matching jerseys, full of team spirit and just the right touch of chaos. To top it off? Pit Vipers. Aggressively stylish. Painfully perfect. We staged a dramatic face-off at center ice (okay, a studio stand-in), and the result was pure slapshot magic.
Photoshoot 2: Denim on Denim
Next up: a nod to the glory days of JC Penney family portraits. I'm talking 90s mall photo studio energy. Canadian tuxedos (yes, full denim looks), overly enthusiastic smiles, and poses that screamed, "we own a minivan and we’re proud of it."
It was camp. It was cringe. It was iconic.
Susan and Kevin absolutely committed. If awkward posing were an Olympic sport, they took home gold. Only thing that would have made it better was if we had some fake wood paneling in the background for that extra touch of nostalgia. Chef’s kiss.
Photoshoot 3: The Bathtub of Chaos
Now, for the grand finale—our pièce de résistance of weird.
We pulled out the golden bathtub that lives in the studio (yes, that’s a thing), filled it with rainbow-colored ball pit balls, added a wig, boots, and unexplainable accessories, and let the weirdness run wild. Was there a theme? Absolutely not. Was it completely unhinged? Yes. And that's what made it so perfect.
It was weird. It was wonderful. It was peak Susan.
Mission Accomplished
From hockey hijinks to retro cringe to pure chaotic joy, we hit all the milestones. We celebrated Susan and Kevin’s growing family in a way that felt totally them—authentic, playful, and just the right amount of strange.
Baby Podvin, you're already surrounded by love, laughter, and two people who know how to have fun (and don’t take themselves too seriously). What a way to enter the world.
And to Susan: thank you for trusting me with this. It was weird. It was wild. It was perfect.
