HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PHOTOGRAPHING MATERNITY SESSIONS? how did you get started?
Believe it or not, I first started my photography career 12 years ago as a BIRTH photographer. Yep - I was in the labor and delivery room with couples while mama was in labor and delivering their baby. I got my start with my clients being in one of the most vulnerable positions in life, so very little fazes me. I have seen it all. From there, I segued into natural light maternity and family photography with Lily Sophia Photography, and over the years, I worked with SO many first time moms who felt uncomfortable (and not so beautiful) in their pregnant body, and was able to show them just how stunning they were with their images. I’m often asked if I were forced to only shoot ONE genre, which one it would be… and the answer is without a doubt, maternity portraits!
In 2017, I began to experiment with studio lighting and loved the editorial look that studio lights create. I started offering this through Lily Sophia Photography and worked with many clients over the years. After a lot of thought, I decided to officially separate my studio light maternity work from Lily Sophia Photography since it’s so different from my natural light work, and that is how Illume Maternity Portraiture was born. So… even though Illume may be “new”, it’s actually been in existence for quite a while!
i’m so not a model…What if I’m super awkward?!?!
You can take a deep breath and relax! I will walk you through everything during our time together, and demonstrate everything for you as needed. There will be lots of chatting and laughing throughout, and by the end of our time together you’ll be a pro. I’ll be around for hair and makeup application as well, so you will already know me and feel comfortable with me before we even get started shooting. You should also know that being nervous is COMPLETELY normal leading up to the session and for the first little bit - but by the end of it, you will be having fun and feeling confident and gorgeous.
IS HAIR AND MAKEUP INCLUDED?
Hair and/or makeup is included with your session, and is required as part of your session experience. Don’t worry, if you prefer a super natural look - we will make sure that happens! Studio lighting is very different than natural lighting, and professional hair and makeup is an extremely important part of making sure our mamas look their best!
If you were hoping to use your own HMUA, please be aware that this is absolutely NOT recommended as it’s been disastrous more times than it has been successful which is precisely why we now require that our clients work with our in house HMUA. We do not allow other HMUA’s who are not on our team in our studio for liability reasons. How has it been disastrous in the past? Oh, I’m talking about eyelashes literally falling off five minutes into a session, terrible contouring jobs in attempt to make you look like Kim K, and picking the wrong tone of foundation without consideration to your skin tone AND undertone so you look slightly like Shrek or an Oompa Loompa and your face doesn't actually match your neck. Trust me: Our HMUA, Nadia, is incredibly skilled with all skin tones and ethnicities, understands how to apply makeup specifically for studio lighting, and will not make you look like a clown. She is also on hand assisting and touching up for your entire session and is a critical part of the experience.
Your look(s) for your session will be a collaborative effort between all of us - you are welcomed and encouraged to share images of what you love and are hoping for, and Nadia will look at your inspiration, chat with you about it, and then proceed to craft an absolutely stunning look for you. It will enhance your best features and make you feel absolutely amazing when you see yourself in the mirror. If there are any tweaks requested (which very rarely happens!), Nadia will happily work with you to make adjustments to your satisfaction. Many of our clients report that they feel genuinely sad at the end of the day when it’s time to wash their face and have contemplated sleeping in a chair sitting up in hopes of it lasting another day. PS: we don’t recommend attempting this, but we won’t judge if you try.
WHEN SHOULD I BOOK MY SESSION?
As soon as you know you want to book a maternity session with us! Most of our clients book their session while they are still in their first trimester. We recommend scheduling your session to take place between 28-32 weeks of pregnancy.
Please note that weekend dates (Saturday/Sunday) are not available. Our sessions are available during the week only with a start time of 9:30 AM or 3:30 PM.
Most of our clients take an half or full day off of work (Monday and Friday are popular days so you have a long weekend!) or get a sitter for the day for the kiddos to soak in the whole experience and enjoy themselves! When’s the last time you took a day off work to do something ENTIRELY for yourself?
who will be at my session?
Your maternity session experience is closed event and women only will be present with the exception of your partner if they are participating. When you arrive, you’ll be in the studio with your hair and makeup artist, and I’ll be there as well. Your session is for YOU, so it’ll just be you and the team in the studio together while you are being photographed. Having a guest present often affects the process and makes it harder for YOU to relax (even if you think having someone there will help), so I ask that you do not bring any friends, your mom, children, or significant others (unless they are participating and also being photographed) to your session. If your children are participating, they will only be present in the studio while they are being photographed. Arrangements will need to be made for them to be brought to the studio and then taken home once they are finished. There are absolutely no exceptions to this policy which is in place for everyone’s safety.
HOW LONG WILL MY SESSION BE?
Allow about 1 hour and 30 minutes for the initial prep (us going through your wardrobe options and your hair and makeup) and then another 1.5-2 hours for actual shooting time . Don’t worry - this time is not ALL spent actively shooting! You’ll take breaks from shooting at times to use the restroom, hydrate, change into your next look, etc.
Can I go nude for some images?
Absolutely, you can choose implied nude portraits as one of your looks! I often create nude portraits and they are stunningly beautiful. Our nude maternity portraits are tasteful and are implied with the use of fabric or hand/arm placement across the chest.
During our pre-consult, we will be chatting about what you’re comfortable with and you can let me know the direction you’d like to go with your session. On the day of your session, I typically start you out wearing the least revealing option that you’ve chosen, and we work our away from there. So, if you choose to go nude for some portraits - you’ll be working your way up to that, not starting with it!
I have stretch marks: can you edit them out?
We’ll discuss in detail what kind of editing you would like done. As a general rule, I will retouch your images to remove anything that is not permanent (ie: chapped lips, bruises, acne, etc). We will specifically discuss what you’d like done with things like scars, cellulite, and stretch marks with you. Lighting and posing does quite a lot for images. Photoshop can only do so much: so don’t get a crazy sunburn or try dying your hair a new color at home with box dye, or plan to get a wax/facial two days before your session. (don’t worry, we will send you a list of to do’s and NOT to do’s to prepare!)