A photographer has shared photos from a heartbreaking maternity shoot with a mother-to-be whose husband tragically died just months before.
Shanna Logan, from the US, shot the photos and explained that the pregnant woman, Amanda, talked about her husband for the whole shoot.
Amanda married Jesse on 10 March 2017. On 27 May 2017, he was cutting down trees on their property when a tree fell and killed him instantly.
The photos show Amanda cradling her baby bump, with a faded outline of her husband placed next to her.
“She spoke about how she felt he was still there with her,” Logan explained, sharing her story on the Love What Matters Facebook page.
Logan continued: ”[She spoke about] how she is so happy for this gift, baby Jameson and that she was going to be the best mum she could, tell him stories of his dad and carry him on.
“She is going to let him know how loved he is and dad will always be there in spirit. We both cried and hugged during the session. I could feel what she was feeling through her expressions.
“We imagined him being there while we got some of the shots where we were adding him in, and you could see her pain while we shot.”
The couple had already chosen the name Jameson William Snyder for their baby, as it has the same initials as his dad.
Logan said after Jesse died, Amanda received a blanket in the post sent by an anonymous person which had the words: “God knew my heart needed you”. Amanda wanted to include this in the photoshoot.
The day after the photoshoot, Logan said there was a huge storm and a power outage.
“The power luckily reset itself, and in the middle of the night while Amanda was walking down the hall, a licence plate decoration in the hallway fell,” Logan explained.
“It said ‘whatever it takes’. She uses that for strength to know, that whatever it takes she is going to make it through this and he is there with her and Jameson everyday.”
The photos Logan shared on Love What Matters were shared more than 16,000 times and had more than 133,000 likes within 48 hours.
“Amanda has really felt the love since this was originally posted and I hope is helping her to heal,” Logan told HuffPost UK.