I love working with expectant mothers and fathers to document this very special time in their lives. I strive to show the mom-to-be how beautiful she is and I love to document the intense love that you already have for your unborn child. I know my kids love to look back at maternity photos that I have in albums, one for each of my two children. They think it’s pretty cool that they were once that small and they love seeing how I looked when they were growing inside. Besides having maternity photos to show your kids when they are older, the photos are also to help you remember this exciting time in your lives. The portraits will help you to remember how you looked, and amazingly, they will help you remember how it felt to be carrying a new life in your womb and how it felt looking forward to bringing a new love into this world.
Along with being happy and excited about the upcoming arrival of your new baby, this can also be a stressful time thinking about all the things you need to do to prepare for your new little bundle of joy. If one of those things on your to-do list is to book, plan, and have maternity photos taken, I’d like to share a few helpful tips with you on how to prepare for your outdoor or in-door maternity session.
- Book your maternity session early
- It’s important that you reach out early to book a session and give yourself enough time to prepare. Ideally, you should be photographed sometime between 31-36 weeks pregnant. This is when you will have a big enough of a baby bump for the photos, but you won’t be so far along that you can barely move. Between 31-36 weeks, most women are generally still comfortable enough to get into some of the positions and poses that I will ask you to do, such as sitting or even laying down.
- Wardrobe
- Wear clothes that are comfortable to move around in. During most maternity sessions I usually ask you to sit in certain positions, or even lay on the ground. Be sure the wear clothing that isn’t to restrictive and will hinder your ability to move in and out of a variety of poses.
- Wear clothes that are form fitting to show off that beautiful baby bump! Flowing maternity dresses are also nice. Maternity dresses are generally fitted on the top, and flowy from the top of the belly down. If you decide to wear a maternity dress I will be asking you to place your hands on your belly and hold the dress in a a way that will show off your bump.
- If you plan on being photographed with your partner be sure not the wear the same coloured tops. For example, if you both wear black, or you both wear white, it’s often difficult to see your belly in the photos, as the two matching colours will just blend together. Be sure to wear colours that are different, yet compliment each other. Different shades of the same colour are fine. As long that they aren’t the exact same colour.
- Undergarments matter too. Most maternity dresses are made of thin material, therefore, depending on the colour of the dress, you may want to consider wearing undergarments that are the same colour. For example: if you choose a maternity dress that is light cream, don’t wear black undergarments. They will likely show through. Always try your dress on with the undergarments you plan on wearing to your session to be sure that they aren’t showing through in a distracting way.
- I’m available every step of the way when planning your maternity session to help you decide what to wear and plan your wardrobe. Just ask, it’s my job to help you!
- The End Product
- All my sessions come with an in-person or phone consultation to help us get to know each other and plan your custom photo session. I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s important that your photographer understands what’s important to you and what you expect to get out of your session. Consults help me provide you with the end product and service you’re expecting to get from me, as your professional photographer. Take some time to think and talk to me about what you plan on doing with the portraits from your session. How do you want to be photographed? How do you plan on enjoying or displaying your portraits? Knowing what you plan on doing with your photos helps me plan your session and how I’m going to shoot it. I never want the just guess what you’ll like. I want to know! For example: if you know you want a large framed portrait for a wall space in your home, I’ll be sure that I get a shot in the proper orientation needed for that particular space; if you you know you want a coffee table album, I’ll be sure to grab a variety of shots that will fill up an album and tell your story about this special time in your life.
Lastly,
- Pamper Yourself, Relax and Have Fun
- Why not take this time before your baby arrives to pamper yourself? Go get your hair done, even if it’s just a blow dry and style. Have your makeup professionally done. Get your nails done. You deserve it. Take advantage of this rare opportunity in your life and look your best!
- It’s important to relax and have fun with your partner or family during your maternity session. A relaxed mind leads to a relaxed physical appearance. I’m very easy going when I shoot. I like to joke around and I try my best to make this experience as stress free and enjoyable as possible. My sessions are never rushed. Generally a maternity session can last about an hour, but I never put a time limit on my sessions. I’ll shoot until I feel that I’ve captured what I need to tell your story….so don’t worry!
Here is a small sample gallery of a recent maternity session. Enjoy!
Hello and thank you for visiting my blog! I’m Melissa, the photographer behind the camera at Melissa Maahs Photography, a Durham Region, Ontario, full service family photographer offering custom family portrait sessions. I’m sure you’ve already come to the conclusion that I’m passionate about photography! Besides begin passionate about photography, I’m also passionate and dedicated to the experience I provide to my clients and the process of making pictures into tangible pieces of art for you and your family to enjoy daily. Your art pieces will truly be treasured family heirlooms.
I thoroughly enjoy meeting, getting to know my clients and listening to their family stories. I love collaborating with clients on the endeavour of transforming their family stories into tangible art pieces of moments shared with their loved ones that will be frozen in time – forever in a photograph.
Lastly, I believe in photographs. Printed, tangible photographs that can be held in your hands, enjoyed on a wall, or flipped through in an album. My mission is to help every client create their photographic family heirlooms that can be enjoyed by you and your family for many generations to come!
If you love photographs as much as I do feel free to contact me and we can chat about how I can help you to create timeless photographic art to display and enjoy in your home.
For detailed session information, click here.
To see more of my work please view my portfolio here.
