Picture this: it’s Spring or Summer, you’re newly pregnant and SO excited. Once the fog of the first trimester wears off, you start thinking about the fun things. How should I decorate my nursery? What outfit should my baby wear home from the hospital? I should probably book a maternity and newborn photographer! Wait a minute…I am having a Winter baby! How on earth will I get maternity photos taken in Boston in the Winter?! With average temperatures ranging wildly from the teens to the low 40s, it can be hard to imagine!

How to Navigate Winter Maternity Pictures in Boston

The In-Home Lifestyle Maternity Session

The easiest option, yet often overlooked, is to do an in-home maternity session. Yes, in your home! Oftentimes pregnant couples think there are only two options for Winter maternity photos : outdoor sessions and studio sessions. Your own home is a great option for a lifestyle maternity session in the same way you would use it for a lifestyle newborn session!

Guess what the best part is? You don’t have to coordinate outerwear, shoes, or worry about the weather! We can even pop outside quickly to your yard, front stoop, or deck and then scoot back inside for warmth.

The Outdoor Winter Maternity Session

The second lifestyle maternity option is to brave those Boston Winter temperatures and commit to doing an outdoor Winter maternity shoot. Here’s a little secret from one Boston Maternity Photographer to my pregnant mamas….the sunsets are the MOST golden from November-March! It’s really true. I don’t know if it’s the tilt of the Earth or our proximity to the sun in the Winter months but golden hour is the best this time of year. It’s like a small reward for braving the cold!

Outdoor Tip 1: Let Your Photographer Choose the Location.

My first tip for a successful Winter maternity session is to trust your photographer on the location. This seems like a no-brainer but photographers look for things a little bit differently than the average person. In the Winter, when we don’t have the beautiful Spring blooms, Summer lush forests, or Autumn foliage, we are looking specifically for texture. I look for long dead brown grasses and flowers, the location of the sun, and small pops of color like Evergreen trees.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked: does this dead stuff really look good?

Outdoor Tip #2: Light is King.

My second tip is that timing is everything. I know you hear photographers blabber on about golden hour light all year round. I am here to tell you that golden hour is even more imperative in the Winter months. Golden light changes those long dead grasses and trees from….well, dead….to magical.

The great thing about booking me for the slower season (December-March) is that I have more flexibility to shift your date if our original evening isn’t looking like we will get that beautiful golden light.

Outdoor Tip #3: Dress for Success

My third and final tip is to dress for the weather. Of course, this seems like another obvious tip but it isn’t always as obvious as you’d think. We Bostonians don’t often spend a lot of time outdoors in the Winter in our nice clothes and a chill can set in quickly. Dressing for the weather can mean any/all of the following:

• outerwear that you actually like
• A fur vest or warm shawl that compliment your outfit
• layering of undershirts, shirts, and sweaters
• wearing long johns under a long dress
• rocking some nice tall boots with wool socks

When it’s very cold, we keep heavy-duty outerwear on between shots and while moving to new locations. This means that the time without coats on is very minimal and easier to bear! Throwing some hand-warmers into your coat pockets and bringing a travel mug of hot tea never hurts either.

Follow all these tips and you’re bound to rock your next maternity photo session– whether that’s one in your home or out in the cold!