A toddler set the pace on the hillside. His parents followed (expecting their second) through a neighborhood park in San Francisco that already meant something to them. Golden hour light caught everything: dust on the trail, the bay spreading out below, his small hand reaching toward his mother’s belly.

A couple holds their young child between them on a hillside, gazing down at their toddler in a moment of quiet connection

Pregnant woman in a black and white patterned wrap smiles over her shoulder on a windswept hillside at golden hour

A family of three crouches together on a grassy hilltop overlooking San Francisco's dense hillside neighborhoods, their bodies angled toward each other in an intimate embrace

Pregnant woman stands on a grassy hilltop overlooking San Francisco's skyline at golden hour, while a couple embraces in the middle distance

Expecting parents embrace on a windswept hillside overlooking San Francisco's sprawling cityscape, golden afternoon light illuminating the landscape

Family of three stands on a grassy hilltop at golden hour, with the man holding a young child while the woman walks beside them, city skyline visible in the distant background

Cass photographed them moving through the afternoon. The child in dark clothes, the parents embracing on windswept grass, silhouettes against the city skyline. There was a backyard garden, dappled shade under trees, a patio with a pink hula hoop. A second expecting mother joined them too (two women together against a rust-colored boulder, the bay soft in the distance).

A toddler in black reaches toward his mother's pregnant belly in golden afternoon light, her reddish hair catching the sun in a backyard garden setting

A toddler in dark clothing reaches toward a woman's pregnant belly in dappled sunlight beneath leafy green trees

A man in a purple shirt and cap holds a toddler while a woman with long dark hair leans in close, their faces nearly touching in an intimate moment

A pregnant woman in a light shirt holds her swollen belly while smiling down at her abdomen, photographed in soft outdoor light with blurred trees behind

A woman in a crisp white shirt stands in dappled sunlight, gazing downward with a serene, contemplative expression as golden light filters through trees

A woman in a light gray shirt holds her toddler son on a wooden railing, both smiling warmly with lush green foliage and ivy-covered structures behind them

The light was generous. The toddler was unhurried. These are the sessions where everything unfolds at its own speed.

Pregnant woman in sheer overlay holds her draped belly against golden afternoon light filtering through foliage

A beaming father and mother guide their toddler down a sun-dappled slide while tree shadows dance across the playground structure

Woman in white laughs joyfully while man in dark jacket embraces her from behind in dappled sunlight

A man in a baseball cap holds his young child while a woman in long dark hair stands beside them in black and white

A man in a purple shirt and cap playfully holds his young child upside-down while a woman in a tan jacket smiles beside them in golden afternoon light

Two women walk side by side on a hillside trail with San Francisco's skyline glowing softly in the distance behind them

Maternity Session at San Francisco — Marin County · December 7, 2023