Your maternity session is about documenting this incredible version of you.

Your body is doing something wild right now. It may feel beautiful and powerful one day and completely foreign the next. You do not need to arrive at your session feeling confident, glowing, well rested, or perfectly put together.

You just need to arrive.

I will take care of the posing, direction, light, little details and all the “what do I do with my hands?” stuff.

This guide will help you take care of everything else.

Below is a little guide to help you get the very most out of your experience.

Start Thinking About Your Wardrobe

You do not need to have everything figured out before your session.

Start pulling anything you are considering and bring options. We can go through everything together and curate your final looks once you arrive.

Think about pieces that show your shape rather than hide it:

  • Fitted dresses or bodysuits

  • Oversized button-down shirts

  • Bras, underwear and lingerie

  • Jeans worn open below the belly

  • Simple tanks or tees

  • Sheer or textured pieces

  • Robes, fabric and draping

  • A favorite jacket

  • Something sentimental

  • Nothing but your belly and beautiful light

You also have access to pieces from the Dark Moon client wardrobe.

For maternity especially, simple can photograph incredibly well. You do not need an elaborate outfit for every look.

Think About What You Want This to Feel Like

Your session can be soft and intimate, bold and editorial, sensual, minimal, emotional, playful, or a mix of everything.

Save anything that catches your eye, but do not worry about recreating someone else's photographs.

We are using inspiration to understand what you are drawn to so we can create something that feels like you.

THE WEEK OF YOUR SESSION

Hydrate

Pregnancy already asks a lot of your body, and being well hydrated can help you feel your best.

Start being intentional about water in the days leading up to your session rather than trying to make up for it the morning of.

Take Care of Your Skin

Keep your skincare routine simple and familiar.

This is not the week to experiment with a new peel, facial, self-tanner, retinol, wax or aggressive skincare treatment.

Moisturized skin photographs beautifully, so give your belly, arms, legs and chest a little extra love.

Hair Removal

Hair removal is completely optional.

If shaving, waxing or other hair removal is part of your normal routine, give your skin enough time to calm down before your session.

And if it is not part of your routine, you absolutely do not need to start for your photos.

Nails

Your hands will show up quite a bit in maternity portraits, especially around your belly.

You do not need a professional manicure, but clean, tidy nails or a simple polish are perfect.

Do not forget your toes if we may be shooting barefoot.

THE NIGHT BEFORE

Try to give yourself a quiet evening if you can.

Lay out anything you want to bring so you aren’t scrambling in the morning.

Double check jewelry, shoes, undergarments, accessories, and any sentimental pieces you want photographed.

Drink some water.

Eat a good meal.

And please, do not stay up late panic-trying-on everything you own.

We’ll figure it out together. This is your time to pamper yourself, kick your feet up, and do the things that bring your comfort and good feels.

Hair + Makeup

If you are having hair and makeup done with us, unless we have discussed something different for your specific hair type, arrive with clean, completely dry hair with little to no product in it. Come with a clean, moisturized face unless we have discussed otherwise.

Your makeup artist will take it from there.

If you are taking care of your own hair and makeup, then we ask that you arrive ready to create!

THE MORNING OF

Eat

Please do not skip breakfast because you are being photographed.

Your body needs fuel, especially right now.

You are going to be standing, moving, arching, stretching, changing outfits, and using muscles you probably didn’t realize posing required.

Eat something that makes you feel good and gives you energy.

Wear Something Loose

Come to the studio in loose, comfortable clothing whenever possible.

Tight bras, socks, leggings, waistbands, and underwear can leave marks on the skin that sometimes take a while to disappear.

Think comfy.

Honestly, this is your official permission slip to show up looking like you’re headed to the world’s coziest airport.

Give Yourself Time

Try not to stack a million things around your session.

Give yourself some breathing room before and afterward if your schedule allows.

This is an experience. Let yourself have the day.

WHAT TO BRING

You do not need to bring your entire closet, but a few options are always helpful.

Consider bringing:

• Any wardrobe pieces we’ve discussed
• Nude and black seamless underwear
• A strapless or convertible bra if you own one
• Jewelry and accessories
• Shoes if they are part of a look
• Sentimental items you may want photographed
• Any inspiration you’ve saved
• Water
• A snack
• Lip balm
• Anything that makes you feel a little more like yourself

And remember, you have access to the client wardrobe.

We can mix your pieces with mine and build your final looks together.

A NOTE ABOUT YOUR BODY

Your body may look or feel very different from what you are used to right now.

Maybe you love that.

Maybe you don’t.

Maybe it changes by the hour.

All of those things are allowed.

No matter where you are on your journey, you deserve to be celebrated and honored.

During your session I will be communicating with you to make sure you are feeling comfortable, we will have plenty of hydration and bathroom breaks and I will be moving at your pace the whole time. I’ll guide you into positions that photograph beautifully while still being mindful of what feels comfortable for you.

If something doesn’t feel good, tell me.

There is no photograph worth pushing your body past what it is telling you.

IF YOUR PARTNER IS JOINING

If you decide to have your partner and or children join, we will typically reserve 30 mins at the beginning or end of your session for this. This will allow up time to get plenty of meaningful images while also leaving time for up to focus on you and your little one on the way.

The best thing your partner and other family members can do is arrive ready to participate, be present, and lean into the experience with you.

THE EMOTIONAL PART

Sometimes maternity sessions bring up more than people expect.

Pregnancy can hold a lot at once.

Excitement. Fear. Grief. Anticipation. Discomfort. Love. Anxiety. Awe. Exhaustion.

You may look at yourself differently right now.

You may feel incredibly connected to your body or completely disconnected from it.

You may cry.

You may laugh.

You may feel awkward for the first ten minutes.

None of it means you’re doing this wrong.

There is room for all of it here.

This session does not need to be a performance of how you think pregnancy is supposed to feel.

It gets to be yours.

ONE LAST THING

You do not need to practice poses.

You do not need to lose anything.

You do not need to fix anything.

You do not need to suddenly become comfortable in front of a camera.

That’s my job.

Your job is to show up.

We’ll create the rest together.

I cannot wait to create and celebrate with you.

Much Love,

Lisa

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