Preparation for your perfect maternity session

{Your Maternity Session Guide}

Creating Life
The perfect time for portraits with your family - available year round.
​​We never shoot in rain, in the event of a rainy day we will move your session to a new date as soon as possible.​
Before Your Session

​Before your session, I will ask you to fill in a form of your preferences, to help me get your session just right for you.
​{Your Maternity Session Preferences Form}
Preparation

Your maternity session is an opportunity to capture your growing baby bump at this most magical time. You are welcome to bring along a partner and children to take part in your session. Please dress in loose clothing before your session to avoid marks on your skin and try to get a good night sleep and drink plenty of water the day before your session to hydrate your skin and eyes. Clean & tidy nails or a manicure are recommended for those close up bump shots.​
What to wear

As a general rule, the most appealing styles of clothing for sessions are vintage, timeless items in neutral or earthy toned colours.

​Wear clothes that will show your beautiful bump, that you feel comfortable in. In the warmer months, fitted tops, skirts, and dresses are fantastic. An open shirt with a crop top underneath is also a lovely look. If you are worried about lumps and bumps, I am able to help with this during editing. I have a range of gowns that you are welcome to use - see Maternity Attire & Props. You're also welcome to have naked or partially naked images taken if you're comfortable doing so.

In the warmer months, you are welcome to bring an outfit change of your own clothing to add more variety to your session, but please bear in mind that changing will eat in to our session time. ​

​Things to avoid

As for all sessions, I recommend avoiding very bright, clashing or neon colours. For maternity sessions it is important to show your bump, so try to avoid clothing that hangs - fitted is best.

​Please remove keys and other items from your pockets as these will show in the photographs.

​Your Session

These sessions are roughly 1-2 hours long, although there are no strict limits and you will not be charged any additional fee for longer sessions.

Sessions always take place in the few hours approaching sunset when the light is soft and there are no harsh shadows, the sun is low in the sky which makes the surroundings look rich, golden and vibrant.​​ The time of your session will therefore depend on the time of year.

Location

​The ideal location will depend on the time of year. This is often decided nearer your session time, so that I'm able to check out different areas of the countryside nearer the time and see what's happening. Different locations vary year-to-year and it can be impossible to know exactly what will be growing or how a location will look in advance.​​
Picture
{See Pricing & Packages for Snow Editing Fees}
Things to Bring

♥ A strapless bra and a crop top
♥ Anything you have bought for baby and would like to include, for example, a pair of shoes or a name plaque
♥ A scan picture
♥ Any shawls or wraps you would like to use, to wrap around you and show off your bump (I do have a selection of these)
♥ A shirt to wear open & show off your bump (doesn't have to do up!)
♥ Snacks & drinks for yourself
After your Session

​Your private proof gallery will be sent out to you within a week of your session. This gallery contains the best images (around 35) from your session as unedited proofs, with a selection of edited examples, so that you can see how your images look when finished.

​The gallery will remain open for 1 week for you to choose your package-inclusive images/products, upgrade your package, or order additional items separately.

Each of your chosen images is lovingly hand-edited; first processed from its Raw file, before skin touch-up, colour cast removal, natural teeth whitening, detail enhancement, natural eye enhancement, shadow & highlight correction, removal of any background or foreground distractions and beautiful, natural colour enhancements. For some sessions, there will be some extra editing such as magic faerie lights, fairy wings, or falling leaves.

​Hand editing is the only way to get the very best results for your portraits. I don't batch-edit or cut corners, so it is a time-consuming process; I advise clients to allow a month to receive their orders, although this will often be sooner.

​I will let you know when your order is ready, and you can choose to either collect in person or sent via post.

Winter Wonderland
Snow Editing

Snow editing is available for Winter sessions - see Pricing & Packages for snow editing fees.
Useful Links:
​| Maternity Gallery | Maternity Dresses & Props | Booking & Session Process |