Choosing a Maternity Session during a Hard Pregnancy

When people with challenging pregnancies are thinking about getting pictures taken to document a new baby in their life, maternity sessions are usually the bottom of the list. I've heard from so many people that they don't feel like they look their best, or they've had hard pregnancies, or this is just not a time they necessarily want to remember.

I'm here to tell you that it is.

I had horrible pregnancies with both of my kids. With my first, I had undiagnosed pregnancy depression, had hypermesis, and since I was young and none of my friends had kids, I was so freaked out to have a kid. With my second, who was a surprise, and only 20 months apart from my youngest, it was overwhelming to say the least. I hated how I looked, had pregnancy depression again, was still trying to breastfeed my oldest while throwing up all day every day, and was attempting to keep my business afloat while doing it all. The LAST thing I wanted to do was to have pictures taken of myself. But, I'm a photographer and I know how important it it to document things, so I did it anyway.

Now that it's all over, I'm so glad I did.

When you are going through a hard pregnancy, or any pregnancy really, it's all encompassing. You can't think about anything else. Your body is a constant reminder of what is happening. There are so many emotions going through your head and it's hard to just focus and be grateful for this little life that you are creating.

That's where the pictures come in.

I took my maternity pictures with both of my kids in my third trimester. I was so physically worn down and my body had changed so much, but now, many years later, I can see so much beauty in it…and to quote Moira Rose, “One day you will look at those photos with much kinder eyes and say ‘Dear God, I was a beautiful thing’.”I recognize how meaningful that time in my life was and I'm so glad I have a beautiful memory of my pregnancies.

If you are considering a maternity session, but aren't really sure, reach out to me via e-mail or on instagram DM. We can talk through your fears and concerns and I can give you my perspective not just as a photographer, but as someone who has been right where you are.

I offer several options for maternity sessions in Marin and San Francisco. If you are wanting to go full out, we can do a signature 1 hr session, or if you are looking for something shorter, you can book a mini maternity session in Marin County in my Sausalito studio or on-location with your newborn session. If you aren’t feeling up to going out into the world (I didn’t!), we also have the option of in-home, which is truly such an intimate way to document this time in your life.

To see all of your options and book a session, click here.

The images in this post are my own (taken with a tripod in my tiny 500 sq ft apartment that I shared with my family of 4 and was constantly covered in laundry and toys). You can see more of my maternity work of others here, but I wanted to show you mine since this is a topic so dear to my heart.