Intimate.
Raw.
Captivating.
Do you think about the emotional message you want to convey before you approach each session? What do you want your clients to feel when they look at their photographs? Asking myself these questions is always a part of my thought process when I’m envisioning a session, and is a huge reason why I always set up a consultation prior to my sessions- to connect with the client and have a better picture of what the emotional message of their session is going to be.
Maternity sessions are one of my absolute favorite sessions to photograph. It’s a time in a woman’s life that is bursting with emotion. Coaxing out that emotion and capturing it on camera is when you know you’ve hit the sweet spot. Here are some tips I like to use during my maternity sessions:
Capturing connection: This speaks to both the connection between the couple and the mother/child connection. I like to have my poses in mind ahead of time, but I don’t want my clients robotically moving through them. I put them into a simple pose then give them some open ended direction. “Place your hands on your belly. Now close your eyes and imagine you’re holding your new baby”
Her face will instantly fill with emotion. I like to do the same thing with couples. I put them in a pose where they’re looking into each other’s eyes and ask them how they fell in love. It will put them back in that moment and the connection between them will be tangible.
Story telling: Along with the feelings my photographs will convey, I like to think about the story I want the session to tell. For this session, I wanted the story to be romantic. This was very much a couple’s session AND a maternity session, with a big emphasis on their love story. Not all of my maternity sessions are like this, but for these clients it was perfect. Again, consultations are critical for knowing the story I will be telling.
Location and details: This flows hand in hand with the other two points- location helps to set the stage for the story I’m about to tell and the emotion that will be portrayed. I knew I wanted this session to be more organic so a natural setting worked best. I worked with a local flower garden to have her beautiful floral crown made. We experimented with different areas of the park to give us different lighting. The forest area gave us lower, moody light that was quite different than the golden bokeh of the open grass setting we switched to later. I like to think about the mood of each spot we’re shooting in and try to make the emotion match that mood. It gives my sessions more variety and helps capture a range of emotions from my clients.
About the photographer: Ashley is a photographer at Bluebird Photography where she has been delighting clients for nearly two years by capturing their genuine, real life moments and preserving them as treasured art for years to come. She has a background in engineering and business and is mommy to two sweet (but crazy) toddlers. Photographing children and families is her passion as well as delivering a personalized and full service experience. Find more of her work on the Web.
