Maternity shoots are my favourite!!! There is something so magical about the energy a woman holds in this space. Even if they can't feel it.

I photograph maternity images somewhere in the last month of pregnancy. Yep that time when nothing fits you anymore, you're uncomfortable most of the time, you've had heart burn or morning sickness for 8 months now and you're soooo ready to be done. Not to mention you've put on a lot of weight. No one tells you before you get pregnant it's not just the belly. Nooo, it's the face, the ankles and basically everywhere in between.

So of course most mummas-to-be are in a love hate relationship with the idea of getting photos of themselves at this stage in life. I'm here to tell you, that in 20 years time when you're looking back on those images of when you were young and glowing with the anticipation of having your child - with your now-grown son or daughter - all those worries won't even cross your mind. The awe of seeing yourself through their eyes will be what you notice.

Creating magical images of you, in ways you could never have dreamed of is what I do. Ain't nobody got time for double chins! So cast off your insecurities and capture this moment before it's too late, because there are no re-do's on this one!

Here are my top 3 tips to preparing for your maternity session

Plan your outfits

I know, I know, nothing fits you anymore. Clearly it does, unless you've been walking around naked everyday! Please don't stress about having "the perfect outfit". However, here are my tips for you. Think about the colours of your home. Do you have a theme to your décor? Is it neutral tones, Manhattan style or pops of mustard? Perfect, use that colour pallet when deciding what colours you would like to wear. Think about your shoot as creating designer art specifically for your home, you want the colours to go with your home so when it's hanging on the walls it works in with the rooms perfectly.

Do's

• Try to match your families clothes in the same tonal range for eg. earthy tones, pastels or winter colours. I usually say, chuck it all on a bed together and if it all goes together nicely then it's perfect.
• Make it comfortable. Stretchy fabrics are great. However, elastic bands will mark up your skin so try and avoid these in areas like the belly.
• Think about your home décor and find something that goes with your home.
• Keep it simple. Block and neutral colours work best.

Don'ts

• Fine lines or stipes - These tend to look funny when they are photographed, like magic eye or photographing a computer screen.
• Lots of different coloured patterns - Too much pattern on your clothes can be distracting in your images.
• Everyone wearing white shirts - I know this was a thing in the 90's but it is actually very hard to get definition in your images and it just looks like one big blob of colour. Break it up with creams, light greys etc and it will still all go together beautifully.
• Avoid words, logos and numbers, they will look like advertisements when printed on your wall and they can be distracting.

Think about where you want to hang it in your home

Why do you need to do this before your shoot? Discussing this with your photographer prior to your shoot means that we can shoot specifically for that area.

Are you thinking three horizontal images down the hallway, one feature image above the couch or a collage of images telling a story of your family? If I know what area you have in mind I can make sure that I am shooting the perfect images for that space.

We can discuss if you would like a big family picture or individual images of the kids with mum and dad in the middle for example. This means I get to tailor your images to the specific spaces you have in mind and again, we are creating bespoke art just for you.

Don't Over Think It!

Ultimately this is just a way for us to capture who you are right now on this amazing journey. Just chill out. Whatever you wear will be perfect. However the kids turn up is perfect. Photography is more beautiful when it's real. You are coming to a professional that will direct you to get the best possible images out of your session. The more you relax into that and trust that I've got you, the better your images will be!

Some of the best images I've taken of mummas are when they have just woken up in the morning, haven't even had a shower, smell like breast milk and have unruly hair. There is a beauty in all of it.

Have breaky, drink some water. Bring snacks if you need them. Whatever it is, we'll sort it out. Take a deep breath mumma, we've got this!