When to Take Maternity Photos: Tips from a Lifestyle Photographer
If you’ve found your way to this blog, you’ve probably got more important things on your to-do list than to ponder when to take maternity photos. You’ve probably been searching the internet for the exact week or time of year or belly size. What answers did you find?
Do you want my advice? Forget what you read. There is no “one size fits all” perfect timing when it comes to your maternity session. This is YOUR journey. The ideal timing for your photoshoot is whenever you feel you’re ready for them.
Every mama is going to have a different journey, and it will even be different for each pregnancy. Every woman, baby, body, and family is unique. I’ve photographed women who are tiny, first time mamas and aren’t showing much. I’ve photographed mamas who proudly show off their huge baby bellies. And guess what? I’ve photographed mamas somewhere in between. Every single one of those sessions were freakin’ magical in their own ways.
Your maternity photos are about what you are looking to capture of your story. You get to choose how far along you are, what you wear, where you have them. You can have family by your side or it can be just you. Some mamas even bring their pups along.You can have a cozy, in-home session or go out on an adventure. You can be early in your pregnancy or we can capture the last weeks of it (although maybe not too close to your due date or it might turn into a newborn session!!)
To give you an example, one mama decided to have a maternity session pretty early on. It was her third baby and her belly was already popping! She decided that her comfort was what mattered the most and didn’t want to feel exhausted by her session. So we did them earlier and they were beautiful! The best part? She made her plan based on what she truly wanted, nothing else. For me, that’s the most important part.
While deciding when to take maternity photos for myself, I knew that I wanted to have them in a certain location. This location is not open in the wintertime, so I decided to go ahead anyway and take them earlier than what would be the traditional time for maternity photos. My belly bump was a bit smaller, but now I have photos in a place that is so special to me. Worth it, yeah?!
I know you may have come here hoping I’d say “XX weeks is when to take maternity photos” or “you really want them when you are XX far along.” But as a lifestyle photographer, I don’t believe in hard and fast rules because, well, life doesn’t always have hard and fast rules. It’s okay for your photographs to not be filtered, posed versions of your life. They should truly reflect your journey, hold real memories and make this moment in your life feel special, just the way it is.
