How to Plan Your Maternity Photo Session

April 29, 2022

How to Plan Your Maternity Photo Session| New England Maternity Photographer | New Hampshire Maternity Photographer
Natural Family Photography |Beach Maternity Photo Session

beach-maternity-session-tips

In this post, you will learn about:

how to plan for your maternity photo session
how to make your maternity photo session comfortable
tips and advice from a photographer so that your session can be EXACTLY what you envision:)
this incredible couple who CRUSHED their intimate in-home and beach maternity session
why I believe so strongly in photojournalistic family and maternity photography
how to book a session with me and preserve memories for your fam

How to Plan for Your Maternity Photo Session

The best advice I can give from partnering with so many special couples is to really ask yourself some personal check-in questions:

What do we care about capturing? The candid, in-between moments of us celebrating this pregnancy, us setting up the nursery, or as many formal, maternity, portraits as possible?
What do we plan on using our images for? Do you plan on printing these on canvases for your home, making family albums, sharing them with family, or all the above?
What do we NOT care about? Basically, what would stress you out in the session: getting dressed up formally and smiling for several minutes, walking for an extended period of time, having the “solo” maternity images? This is for YOU, and your preferences matter.
Whose work inspires us and feels “us”? There are SO many talented maternity photographers, and all with different styles. What speaks to you: the natural, stripped-down, in-home moments? The casual couch time in jeans and a t shirt? The adventure moments walking along a beach? The formal, dressed up, portraits? Book that maternity photographer whose style and approach feel most authentic to you.

You are going to see snapshots of this most PRECIOUS, beautiful, couple, who happens to be friends of mine. Since there was such a high level of comfort and trust between them and myself, we were able to apply these steps together and determine they cared about: capturing some images in their NEW home with their fur child Marvin, heading down the road to the beach they are in love with, and taking in sunset together. Because we stayed true to what was authentic to THEM, their maternity photo session was joyful, checked their boxes, and I was honored to capture these forever (and hilariously windy) moments.

How to Make Your Maternity Photo Session Comfortable

Wear what you feel most authentic in and keep it natural : what I LOVE about intimate family sessions is the versatility. Some couples go for the stripped down, natural look, others dress casually, and others dress formally. It’s all beautiful. I recommend trying on a few options a few weeks in advance. Your body is changing and you deserve to feel glorious in whatever you wear. PRO TIP: for my sessions, we usually start in-home and end outdoors somewhere, so I recommend 2 outfits! Your final gallery will have nice variability.
Organize your space– having this DONE before your photographer arrives will put you at ease and ensure no matter where we are photographing in your house, there is no clutter or distractions and the focus can be on you.
Pick a simple, preferred activity: a lot of times couples can feel a bit awkward at the start of maternity sessions, and I find it’s a beautiful icebreaker and memory to do a simple activity that you both enjoy. For instance, this couple has a deep love for music. We spent a few minutes playing some of their favorite records, dancing together, and of course including Marvin in the moment. These images are natural it gets everybody moving, it takes the pressure off of saying cheese right off the bat.
Incorporate nature ( trust me ): I know a lot of times, especially towards the end of pregnancy, there can be body discomfort, insecurity and fatigue. Find a photographer who will plan out the flow of the session that matches your energy levels. Planning a time to get outside, even if just for a few minutes, will always be worth it for the final product.
Tell your photographer your priorities ahead of time: do you want lots of candids, lots of solo maternity moments, are there any insecurities you want them to be mindful of, or anything else? These memories are so precious and capture such a powerful moment in your lives, and they should be exactly what you want to look back on for years to come.

About this beautiful couple.

Quite simply, they are as kind, beautiful, and excited for their baby girl R as they come. We kept things as fun, natural, and “photojournalistic” (my approach) as possible. This looked like:

getting cozy in their NEW home. They are passionate about music (and have flawless taste), so we started things off by playing some records, dancing around with their kitten son Marvin, and breaking some of the “camera” ice by moving and laughing.
their home was already super organized, meaning there was no day-of stress of clearing background distractions. This meant more value in their time and more being present in the moment.
changing outfits to head to their NEW local beach, and taking in the EPIC winds (lol) and sunset together.
Baby girl R is due in June, and having these preserved memories delivered to them before allows the WHOLE family and friend group to be that much more excited for this angel to arrive.

Why I Am a Photo-journalistic Family and Maternity Photographer

EVERY photographer’s style is worthy, valued, and has their ideal demographic. Having spent years photographing families and maternity moments, EVERY TIME I’ve found those in-between, less “cheese” moments, are more comfortable for people. I find they look most like “themselves,” there is more glimmer in their eyes, and the memories of the day are revealed each time they look back through their images and music slideshows. I take this same approach with my elopement photography, and it just feels right to me for capturing the soul of people.