Guide to: Maternity Sessions
Alright, this might ruffle some feathers, but at least hear me out. When you're someone who has photographed all types of people and events during the most celebratory or intimate moments of their lives, you start ot pick up on patterns and trends. And one thing I have said time and time again is that a Maternity should be 3 things. Quick, simple, and ideally highlighting you or you and your partner. The hot take being that it should have little to do with your unborn baby.
Pictures are there to serve as memories to look back on. Most importantly, they are there to aid us in remembering a time we would otherwise forget, lose track of, or blur the details of. In this case, we are not looking back on the memory of what Baby was like, because well.... obviously they weren't born yet. We are looking back on the time that your body was changing and doing amazing things! We are looking back on the time that you and your partner prepared for the biggest event of your life together!
Now, I know, I know, you must be thinking, this girl is annoying and trying to reinvent the wheel over here. BUT, let me tell you, when I book maternity and newborn sessions, I observe two patterns from soon-to-be parents.
Parents, and especially soon-to-be moms, tend to get VERY excited about their maternity sessions. Which is SO valid, but more often than not they forget that this most precious exciting thing of their life is not even there yet, theres little 10lb cutie smiling at the camera, there's no funny faces, there's no giggling, there are no chunky rolls or sleep yeyes. There's just YOU, your big'ol belly, and your partner!
New Parents spend SO MUCH money, time, energy, and effort during labor and the introduction of their first baby into the world, that they may often regret spending EXCESSIVE amounts of money, time, energy, and effort in their maternity session. Leaving them spent and drained and unable to commit or rally themselves for a newborn session.... ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THEIR LIFE!
I hope I'm becoming clearer. It all boils down to one question: If you only had so much money, time, energy, and effort to do one photo session, would you rather do an hour photo shoot of Maternity belly pictures? OR an hour of you and your partner with your beautiful, amazing, little miracle front and center of the camera? PERSONALLY, one is the clear winner here. Of course, I am not saying that maternity isn't important or special to capture because it definitely is, and I have many clients who cherish those photos. But I am saying that one is more important than the other, and unless money is no problem and your labor and new parenting skills are at the top of their class, it may be easier to prioritize one over the other during this chaotic period of your life.
I always encourage new parents who contact me for a maternity session, to book a 30-minute session instead of an hour. 30 minutes is a perfect amount of time for us to do quick, easy, and beautiful maternity pictures at any location you'd like. If you are on the fence about even taking maternity pictures and asking yourself, "Do I need maternity pictures?" or "Are maternity pictures even worth it?" then I would say skip them. Have someone in your life document your baby bump journey via iPhone or point-and-shoot camera. Do not, however, skip that newborn shoot. Many photographers will also offer a bundle price for newborn type sessions, so it's always worth inquiring about if you want to document the best milestones for your babies' early life.
I know it goes without saying, but the weeks and months will fly by so extremely fast that if you think too long about booking a maternity session, your baby will be on their way to walking and talking before you even know it. So plan ahead! And ask your photographer how they can advise ways to make the process nice and easy, so the whole family can enjoy the session.
