If you’re expecting a baby, you are likely planning to have newborn photos taken by a professional. But have you considered maternity photos too?

I find that some families are certain they want to document their pregnancy this way, while others haven’t considered it or have reasons why they aren’t sure if it’s right for them. 

That’s one of the reasons I offer a Bump-To-Baby package that allows clients to add an exclusive mini maternity session to their newborn shoot. 

Here’s how my Bump-To-Baby package works: 

With this bundle, you can add a 30-minute Petite Maternity session to your 60-minute Newborn session. Your mini maternity session, which takes place between weeks 30-36 of your pregnancy, is laid-back and focused on the love radiating from your growing family. And since it’s a shorter session, you can select as few as eight images or as many as the whole bunch.

This package is the only opportunity to access this discounted mini maternity session with me. In addition to checking two items off your list, there are a ton of other things to love about adding a maternity session to your plan. 

But before I dive into those, I want to acknowledge some hesitations expecting parents have about getting in front of the camera during pregnancy. 

“Do I really need a bunch of photos of me?” 

Here’s the thing. These aren’t just photos of you—these images capture the budding relationship between you and your baby and the “time before” your family adds a member. They are photos that mark the end of an era. In fact, in a lot of ways, they are like the professional engagement photos that you likely took before your wedding. Without getting the “before” of you as a couple, you would have only told half of the story. Maternity photos offer the same sort of gift.

“Wait, but aren’t maternity photos super glammed up and staged?”

You may hear “maternity photos” and imagine a fussy gown or dramatically staged shots. Or the dreaded and cliché hands over hands photos that make it look like an alien is about to explode from your abdomen. As a lifestyle maternity photographer, I can assure you that your session will, in fact, be a relaxed, fun experience and a way to capture a few images that mark this unique time in your life. 

“Why invest in photos when I’m struggling to love my body.”

This one is a toughie. Sometimes is hard to love your pregnant body. You may feel self-conscious about your body or worried about your appearance. This feeling may be amplified if your partner isn’t adept at capturing you from the most flattering angles in your DIY bump photos. My client Morgan had this struggle. She shared: 

“I wasn’t one to take weekly bump photos and didn’t always love the way I looked in photos that my husband took of me while pregnant. But I was thrilled to do maternity photos with Lyndsay. The photos were so flattering and are something I’ll treasure forever!” 

— Morgan

When you have professional photos taken, I can offer wardrobe suggestions and guide you into poses that show you in your best light. And since you’ll most likely have your gallery back before you give birth, you can celebrate the beauty of this time and enter the birth experience feeling empowered. 

“It’s not my first baby, haven’t we done this all before?”

I only have professional photos of my first pregnancy, but then crazy life took over, and we never got around to it with my second or third pregnancies. It makes me so sad that I didn’t do formal sessions with my second and third. I love what my client Betsy had to say about her choice to book a maternity session with her second baby:

“Lyndsay photographed a maternity session for my second pregnancy. A maternity shoot for the firstborn was an easy yes for me. I waffled on booking a maternity session for our second baby. For some reason, subsequent maternity sessions seem less commonplace, necessary, and even slightly indulgent. 

However, my second pregnancy brought a new emotion connected to the knowledge that our tight-knit three-musketeer family would be forever changing in an irreversible way. Those precious days of undivided unconditional love for one child would soon cede to a new family dynamic embracing a collective love for multiple children.

The photo session was a gift to myself, an effort to capture a time in my (and my family’s) life that was beautiful, whimsical, and fleeting. Our expanded family has brought even more magic and joy to our lives, to be certain. But I am so grateful that I will forever have the beautiful photos Lyndsay captured to recall that incomparable feeling many mamas have when three becomes four. That feeling of being beyond excited for your new little one but wondering how, when your heart is full to the brim, will you be able to squeeze in as much love for another child? Until you do.” 

— Betsy

Every pregnancy is different, and it’s a major moment of transition for your entire family. Pausing to celebrate the way it is now before everything changes can be the perfect way to mark the moment.

And now, for the biggest reasons, I encourage you to consider turning your standalone Newborn session into a Bump-To-Baby package. 

Comfort

If you are expecting your first baby, you may not have had professional photos taken since your wedding. A Petite Maternity session is the perfect way to get familiar with your photographer and the experience of being photographed before your newborn session. 

Those first days, weeks, and months with your new baby are incredibly vulnerable, tender times. After you have had a chance to spend time with me during your maternity session, your newborn session will feel much more like a visit from a familiar friend with a camera. As a bonus, if you have other young children at home, they will also be much more comfortable with me and remember me from your maternity session. 

Storytelling 

You’ll have photos from before your baby’s arrival and after, all taken by the same photographer and edited with the same aesthetic. These can be breathtaking in an album or baby book to create a keepsake to share with your child when they are older. I also know many clients frame and hang maternity and newborn photos side-by-side in the nursery.  

Celebration 

Entering into motherhood and adding new children to your family are some of the most significant transitions you will go through in your life. Your maternity photos will allow you to look back and see the time before each of those changes. One client I spoke with commented that she could almost “hear the quiet” when she looked at the photos of her and her husband during her first pregnancy. And trust me, after you enter the wild early years of parenting, this observation will really resonate!

Are you curious about a Bump-to-Baby package for your family?

I’d love to help tell the entire story of your growing family. 

Inquire to learn more.