A maternity portrait session is all about the excitement you and your partner feel for your growing baby and of course the growing bump! The maternity dedicated session is the best way to capture the images of your beautiful round belly and the emotions and feelings you and your partner have for your unborn baby. It is a great opportunity to capture the exciting moments of the final days of your pregnancy. What a better way to remember this time than to look back at these photos and reminisce about creating new life. You will forever cherish these images and remember the true love and passion you had for your baby even before you met.

Most of the maternity sessions I photographed in the past are with a husband or a partner, or with one or more of the older siblings. In addition to your clothing, I usually use a combination of fabrics wrapped around your body to to cover or uncover your belly. Typically several clothing changes allows me to capture a different looks so I encourage you to bring different outfits to your session. For examples you can review Maternity Gallery to get an idea of the type of poses and looks I have done in the past.

The best time during your pregnancy for a maternity portrait session is between 28 and 34 weeks from the start of the pregnancy. This is the time when women have a lovely full and round shape. It is also the perfect time when you not will feel uncomfortable in your body and won’t be too bloated as in the very last weeks of your pregnancy. Having your photo session in this time frame would also give you adequate time to select your favorite photos from the session and order the prints before the birth of your baby.

Having accessories that you feel might be fun to try is always a good idea. However, try to keep the jewelry to a minimum as they tend to be distracting for the photo viewers later. Jewelry adds interest to the photographs but too flashy or too massive one becomes the focal point instead of you and your belly. If you are in doubt, just bring them along. The worst thing that could happen is not to use them.

Makeup should be applied in a light fashion for more and natural look. Applying a light foundation or blush to even out skin tones is perfect for this type of portrait session. Avoid applying too much eyeliner or eye shadow as they tend to appear very dark on your photos later. Make-up should be light and natural looking. Hair should be fixed so you are comfortable with it during the session. We will posing you in different poses so having a stray hair in your face or shoulders would make you constantly clear it away and this tends to be distracting during the photo shoot. You can either go to a stylist before the shoot or fix your hair on your own.

Bringing your husband or partner with you is what most couples do. Posing with and embracing your loving husband or partner helps to communicate your emotions for each other and usually makes a very meaningful portrait. It’s best if your partner brings a dark solid colored top and a white or light colored top. If you plan to bring one or more of your children, having them touching your belly, makes a good interactive portrait as well. Your children could wear simple solid color clothing free of any patterns or logos. I also recommend to consider being bare feet on the beach for a more relaxed and natural feel and look.

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During pregnancy many women develop redness and dry skin. Itchy skin is the common side effect of expanding your skin to accommodate the growth of your belly. To keep you comfortable and add to your radiance, consider applying a quality and super absorbent skin lotion approximately one to two hours before your maternity portrait session. This will allow the lotion to be absorbed by the skin. It also gives a nice glow to your skin and add a pleasant look to it. Avoid any oily lotions as they will first make your skin sticky and also cause glare from the lights in the studio.

It’s important that you select a day of the week that you and your husband or partner are not having many other events or appointments. Having to rush between events or feeling stressed from a busy day, impacts you negatively and it does show in the final photos. Therefore is very important not to rush to the session but have plenty of time to prepare and tune into the moment. I recommend to select a day when your husband, partner or kids are most likely to be well rested and feel relaxed. Being well hydrated and eat light snack before the session would also give you plenty of energy during the time we will spend in the studio or outdoors.

The maternity portrait sessions usually take place in my studio, client’s home (milk bath) or outdoors (beach or park). The location depends on the weather conditions and how comfortable you are with your body and being in public.

For more lifestyle and natural looking images, outdoor locations as parks, open space reserves and urban locations are good choice. You will be seen in public while we photographed although some location offer more privacy than others, but you will have to feel comfortable with the idea.

Lastly, I have photographed many maternity portrait session at client’s private residences in the convenience and privacy of their homes. If you have spacious rooms with plenty of natural light or large size backyard with well maintained landscape, I would be happy to visit your residence, take a look at the location and advise you if this would be a good choice or not.

Each maternity photo session usually last approximately between 30 and 90 minutes. This includes wardrobe and prop changes. I might change the background as well to get different looks for your images and to create both lifestyle and more artistic photos.

It usually takes up to one week after your session to have the images ready for review. The final images will be posted into your private online gallery or send via Wetransfer.

During your session, I will be taking lots of images to ensure there are plenty to select from later in the post-processing. I will capture as many images as necessary in order to present you with a strong body of images for you to review. Out of the entire set of images, I will make a selection of 30 to 50 images and present it to you to make the final picks. Please, look into your package details for the number of images included into your package. You can select additional images on top of your package at extra cost. The additional images will be digitally enhanced and retouched to match the rest of the images style and look.

Retouching —  (Fly away, skin blemishes, teeth whitening, skin smoothing) clean up background; light slimming, is included in your price, however if you would like head swaps, advance detailed editing, composite are extra, including major body shaping or change to the photos will cost $35 per photo.

Absolutely. In case of personal emergencies, illness or unforeseen weather changes we will arrange to have your session rescheduled. To help us accommodate another client who might be looking to schedule an appointment at the same time, we would appreciate if you provide as much notice as possible. This will allows us to reuse the time slot for another client. Be advised that cancellations or postponements less than 48 hours prior to your session may result in a cancellation fee (unless is weather permitted).