Congratulations mumma! You have your gorgeous bump with your precious little one safe inside, you have booked in your maternity session between the ‘ideal’ weeks, so now what?
Good news is that preparing for your maternity session will not make a noticeable difference to your already long to-do list, as it can simply read ‘get your gorgeous photos done’. You deserve to enjoy this precious time as much as possible, so we make it super easy on you since you’re paying us to do an amazing job at capturing this incredible moment in your life! These photos will be so cherished and are something to share with your loved ones now and then later share with your littlies when they grow bigger.
Not everything that we are going to put below will be relevant for you, and that is the beauty of having a complimentary pre-session consulation – you get to tell us what you would love out of your session so we can give you the best experience. Continue reading below for our insight into important things that you’ve been considering for your upcoming maternity session!
Scheduling in your session
The earlier you book your session in, the better chance you will have for getting in for your preferred dates. Generally we see a lot of mums starting to enquire with us around the time of their anatomy scan at 20 weeks. With these first contacts, we often get asked when they should look at scheduling in for. The answer here is that it varies between mums and depends on what their pregnancy is like.
For first time mums, and mums with shy bumps, we look at securing a date between 29 and 36 weeks of gestation. This allows those beautiful bumps to show up to the photo session without mum being too uncomfortable and lessens the likelihood that little one will decide to make an early appearance. For subsequent pregnancies or multiples, we usually look at bringing the date forward 2-5 weeks as those bumps generally like to show sooner. These weeks are all just guidelines and we definitely will work with you to find your ideal date range. In most circumstances we usually keep a little wiggle room in our booking calendars in case you need to bring your shoot forward for medical or personal reasons.
Customising your session
We design our sessions around your individual requirements and preferences. Sometimes something may not be possible to organise, or may not be safe to do, which we will discuss with you at your pre-session consultation. We always send over a short questionnaire to get a glimpse at how you envision your session going. This is your chance to have a think about specific shots and poses, whether you prefer outdoors or in studio, and if you would like fully clothed/partial nude/mostly nude photos. We will discuss all of these points during your consultation so we can better plan out your session.
Pre-session pampering
You’re doing so much hard work growing that beautiful bub and your maternity session makes for the perfect excuse to go get a nice professional treatment like a mani/pedi and/or a facial. This is also the time to think about your hair and makeup preferences and whether you would prefer to book in professional services to take care of these for you.
If you are doing your hair yourself, consider what style you’re wanting to go for. Pinterest and instagram are great places to get your photo session hair inspo from. In most cases, a loose and simple hairstyle is always a winner!
If you are doing your makeup yourself, pay special attention to your eyes and lips to ensure that they are well defined. If you are unsure, there are plenty of youtube tutorials for how to DIY both soft looks and dramatic looks for photo sessions.
The big decisions
Where to go?
Your photographer will have a list of their favourite locations, but will also be open to hearing your suggestions. A lot of people have special places, or discover little out of the way areas in their own suburbs. Consider what look you are wanting for your images and this will help guide you towards location selection. We are quite lucky in Perth to have such a diverse range of environments to choose from! Some locations may come with a cover charge, such as the beautiful Araluen botanical gardens, expansive Kings Park or stunning Orchards like S&R orchards or Raeburn orchards.
Who to bring?
Maternity sessions are primarily celebrating you being amazing and creating your beautiful baby! Some mumma-to-bes prefer to keep their session for themselves as a lovely treat. Other mummas will include their partners for a few cuddle shots and then send them for a walk for the remainder of their photo session. Mummas with older children will usually always bring the family along and get some special older sibling and family shots in. Who you want to include in your session is entirely up to you, if you want to bring along older siblings then we recommend bringing along a grandparent or a friend to watch them after they’ve had their photos done.
What to bring?
Some mummas love to include special items in a few shots, such as beautiful heirloom items, ultrasound pictures, and embroidered baby items. Others do not, it is entirely up to you whether you wish to include anything in your session images.
What to wear?
Your photographer will supply guidelines of their suggested styling choices, information on their client closets, and affiliated hire stores. We have a small client closet and have partnered with Luxe Bumps Australia to secure a 15% discount for all of our clients. You can also jump onto Instagram or Pinterest to check out current trends for inspiration.
Check out our tips for What to wear to your maternity photo session.