Each pregnancy is a unique and special experience in a woman’s life. Nine months is a relatively short space of time and yet, especially towards the end of the pregnancy, it can feel much longer! However, before you know it, your body will give birth to the wonderful new life you have been creating and your own life will never be the same again. It is for this reason that many expectant mothers turn to a professional photographer to document the magic and beauty of her body in the final stages of pregnancy.

A pregnancy photography session captures the iconic beauty of the fully pregnant female form and, if the father is included in some of the portraits, also documents the love between two expectant parents eagerly anticipating the arrival of the new life they have created. To create fabulous pregnancy photographs for a client is both an honour and a huge responsibility for the photographer.

Any woman, or indeed couple, planning to book a pregnancy photo-session would be advised to do plenty of research beforehand. It is vitally important that the woman especially should feel comfortable with the photographer she chooses to mark this special occasion. Naturally, most of the images created will be nude or semi-nude and the pregnant mother must feel safe, happy and relaxed, knowing she can trust her pregnancy photographer to capture the full resplendent beauty of her pregnant body in a natural and flattering way.

Taking a selection of outfits to the pregnancy photo-session will give the photographer the opportunity to advise you upon what items of clothing will help create the kind of image you have in mind. Total nudity is most certainly not compulsory and the clever draping of clothes, wraps and shawls etc can retain the woman’s modesty whilst still drawing attention to the beauty of her pregnant form.

The most important thing to remember is that the pregnancy photographs are about you and for you – make it quite clear to your photographer what you hope to achieve during the photography session and even take along cuttings from magazines and baby books if it helps explain the sort of images you are after. Under no circumstances should a photographer put you under any pressure to allow him or her to capture images that you are not comfortable posing for.

Finally, remember to pay consideration to your hair and make-up for your pregnancy photography session. We would always recommend you use a professional make-up artist as the style of the portraits you will be creating will be simple and natural and whilst you will want to look your best, bright lipsticks and glamorous hair-do’s can look incongruous with the overall feel of the photographs. Creating a “barely there” make-up that brings out the best of your features can be difficult to achieve and we would be happy to recommend any of the experienced stylists we have worked with in the past.