Most couples and families come to me with the plan to schedule newborn portraits to celebrate the arrival of their new baby. But, not many mamas think about a maternity session for themselves. Pregnancy is a journey – and one that should be documented and captured. While it’s fun and exciting to think about the day your little one arrives, there’s still so much that happens before they ever make their appearance earthside. That’s why I want to share why you should add on a maternity session when scheduling your newborn portraits!

Pretty soon, everything will be about the baby.

It’s important to celebrate this stage where it’s just the two of you as a couple, too. It’s the last time it’ll ever be just the two of you again!

You will positively glow in front of the camera.

Pregnancy hormones may not always be fun to deal with, but your skin & hair has never looked more amazing. Why not take advantage of that extra glow with some portraits celebrating the journey you’re on?

Mamas, your body, your mind, and your heart have gone through so much to carry this baby.

Pregnancy is not easy, but it is beautiful. Honor this moment and capture portraits that you can look back on to remember just how incredibly strong your body is!

These moments are part of your family’s story and history.

If you’re having a little girl, one day she may have children of her own and she will want to look back on these portraits of you carrying her in your belly. She’s going to look at her beautiful mother and identify so much with the woman in the photographs. This is a gift you can give your baby 30 years from now.

Document all of life’s milestones.

Your walls tell your family’s story, and framing your wedding, maternity, and newborn portraits is such a beautiful way to document all of life’s most important milestones for you to look back on daily.

My own journey with pregnancy + maternity portraits…

I’m ending this blog post on a personal note… My #1 regret with my first pregnancy was not documenting it with anything more than cell phone selfies every couple of weeks. I had planned to take some portraits right at the end, but then we wound up delivering a few weeks early and I never got the chance to. Me, a photographer, barely had any photos of my first baby bump.

So when we were expecting our next and last little one, I made sure to capture photographs to remember this season of our lives. I am so glad that I slowed down and made it a priority to step in front of the camera this time around, and I know I will treasure those photographs (and my little girl will, too!) for the rest of my life.

Finally, did you know that adding a maternity session on to your newborn session is only $100? We usually schedule maternity portraits for 28-36 weeks.

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