A Grand Adventure is About to Begin--Maternity Session with Heather

I have always dreamed of doing those gorgeous Maternity sessions--perfect lighting, adorable family, great location. Every time a friend has been pregnant, I have offered to do a session, but time has never allowed for it. Until just recently, that is. I was able to convince a friend to do a session.

I wont lie, at first we were both pretty nervous (I'm pretty sure we were both anxious about the session itself, neither of us having done one before, as well as the photos for similar reasons). I did a ton of searching on Pinterest, saved quite a few pins to my Maternity Board, and got inspired:

As usual, I arrived at the location quite a bit early in order to scout for the perfect spot and adjust my settings for the lighting. I knew I wanted the green grass, the Golden Hour sunlight, and some trees in the shots. I was a bit out of sorts with the flow of the shots--mummy first, family, the siblings? Because it was getting late and there seemed to be storm clouds on the horizon, I opted for mummy first so we could at least get those shots out of the way.

When the family arrived I was awe-struck--mummy Heather was so gorgeous! One of the first things her wee ones told me was that mummy looked like a mermaid! And she definitely did look like mermaid as she walked through the grass. Her dress shimmer in the sun and was just perfect for this session, and for her.

We chatted for a bit, I let her see some of the ideas I had (I actually pretty much staid with The Dating Divas maternity pose concepts). Once we finished that, we got right to shooting. I was able to get some amazing shots of mummy, and even a few with daddy!

We both--mummy and myself--wanted to get some special shots of her and daddy. It is essential to include daddy in this session because even though mummy is carrying baby, daddy is still a big part of the experience.

They were precious! 

Mummy had the kids dressed in adorable plaid shirts, which was perfect! I remembered to bring my chalkboard, and we wrote Big Sisters and Big Brother on opposite sides:

All three of the kids seemed to be super excited about their baby sister. Also, about pictures and being at the park. Obviously, they mostly wanted to run and play, but we got a few great shots of them!

We ended the day with a great family shot and some silly pictures. 

I love shooting sessions at our local parks--they are easily accessible by most people, they are generally well maintained, and they are familiar. There is only one downside to shooting in a populated area--there will likely be cars or people in some of your best shots. We can stress about Photoshopping a cleaner background in, removing the subjects, or trashing the shot all together. Each avenue has its advantages. But we also have one other option--go with it. For most of the shots that had a less than ideal background, I pretty much just went with it. Mummy has a big family, and she is constantly on the go--even with only a couple of weeks till Baby Charly arrives. 

I do think that the next time I do a Maternity session, I'll suggest Carr Canyon or the San Pedro, as neither are surrounded by busy streets or a city backdrop. *shrugs* Each session, and each client, is different.