Maternity is by far one of my favorite sessions.
There’s something so special about documenting a beautiful, powerful time in a woman’s life. All the anticipation and excitement of the little one to come. There is a certain quiet calm before the inevitable storm that is motherhood. The entire session as a specific undertone, a deep understanding that this moment is special: it’s before everything changes
Maternity sessions are always a completely different feel and pace than an engagement session, couples session or wedding. Partly, because when my clients are 6 or 7 months pregnant the last thing they want to be doing is running around in a field or changing positions all the time (which are a lot of what my other sessions consist of).
So, we take it slowly. Usually I put on some music, find a quiet spot wether it be in a corner of their home, like this cozy tiny home maternity session or outside in nature somewhere secluded and safe. For this session, we rented a gorgeous natural light studio through Peerspace, which is one of my favorite tools for finding great studio spaces in the area. I was so excited that Chuck + Tori were open to having their session in a studio. It gave the shoot a more unique and editorial feel.
Working indoors, especially in a studio, is both challenging and empowering. I find that the ‘restriction’ of there being less in the frame – no lush scenery or views – to be really stimulating to my art. The phrase “limitations foster creativity” perfectly sums up this maternity session, as at a point we were working with a literal blank canvas. We had some area to play around in the studio but then we decided to create in front of the white paper backdrop and that’s when things started to come alive.
When there is no background, the eye has no where else to go but the subject of the frame. From there, there is more power to communicate through the photo. Emotions seem to be more palpable, little touches, glances, nuances more noticeable. That’s what I love about taking out the background. The simple and sometimes overlooked becomes the center of attention.
This editorial studio maternity session was laid back and fun. Tori tried on different outfits, played with the sunlight and showed off her belly. We took special note to make sure that her body and all of its strength was being seen and celebrated. We spent the time chatting about pregnancy and being a mom and all that was to come.
Just a handful of weeks later, she welcomed her son August earthside. I’ll be forever grateful for this time we spent together and that I was trusted with telling a little bit of her story of motherhood.
