“When is the best time for a maternity photography session?” is something my maternity clients ask a lot. As a general rule, most maternity sessions take place between the 28th and 34th week (7th or 8th month) as your belly is nice and round and you still feel comfortable enough for a portrait session.
Hold your maternity session before the 28th week and your baby bump will be less visible. Wait until after the 34 week mark and your belly starts to feel heavy and you’ll be tiring more. Also babies often have their own idea when it’s time to come out and hold the session too late and you risk not having any maternity portraits.
While most of my maternity portraits happen during this period, when we hold the session depends on you, how you feel and how much you’re showing. All pregnancies are different – some women might have a large bump at 6 months while others will barely show at all.
Here are some factors which may influence when you hold your maternity portrait
- If you’re expecting twins or multiples, you’ll want to hold your maternity session earlier, from the end of the 2nd trimester until early in the 3rd trimester (so from the 26th week through to the 30th week) as you will be showing earlier and multiple pregnancies rarely go to term.
- If this is not your first baby, you may show earlier and you may want to hold your portrait session earlier.
- If you have any pregnancy issues you might want to schedule your session early just in case you’re prescribed bed rest or the baby comes early.
- Alternately if your belly just hasn’t popped out yet, you might want to hold off until later in your pregnancy, in the 8th month, to show off your baby belly.
- If you’re looking to use your maternity photos for baby shower invitations, you will want to hold your maternity portrait session before the 28 week mark.
Speaking of your baby shower, why not ask your guests to put money towards a gift voucher to cover your maternity and/or newborn sessions. If they come up with more than the booking fee, you’ll be able to use the extra funds towards gorgeous wall art, albums or prints.
When to book
The best time to book your maternity session is at the beginning of your 2nd trimester (from the 14th week), especially if you’re wanting to hold your session on the weekend as they are very much in demand. While you’re at it, you can also schedule your newborn photography session with the maternity and newborn package, which gives you better value for your investment.
If you decide at the last minute to have a maternity portrait session, I will, of course, try to accommodate you if I have availability.
Reserve your maternity portrait session
While many people place more emphasis on newborn photos, capturing that magical time leading up to the birth of your little one will create memories you’ll cherish forever. If you’d like to get in touch to book your session or have any questions, please feel free to contact me via the contact form or by phone on 06 67 71 65 28.
Next blog article
My next blog which will feature a gorgeous mum-to-be and her outdoors maternity portrait session so come back in a couple of weeks to take a look at it.
No comments yet.