Maternity photoshoot with a toddler
Hello Mum, if you are here, you are probably pregnant with your second one (or more !) and that’s amazing news !
You might have missed the opportunity to have a Maternity photoshoot for your first one, it does happen to a lot of my Mums, and they always tell me they regret not having a photoshoot of themselves when they were pregnant for the first time.
It’s sometimes a difficult decision to take when our body is changing so much, the hormones are all over the place, and you might have a lot of uncomfortable symptoms, making you feel not like yourself.
Please don’t think that you are not photogenic enough or that it is not worth capturing. This is YOUR moment, YOUR body. You are growing a human being inside you and it is just incredible. Be proud, Mama, and celebrate YOU.
Now I get you, if you already have one child (or more) especially toddlers, you might think OMG this is not gonna happen, this will be so stressful and horrible ?! Let me put you at ease right now !
You will never regret capturing these memories of your bump and your little one kissing it.
How do I manage the little people during a maternity session ?
It’s simple, we let them be little !
There is no worse scenario than trying to control them, telling them what to do, to smile or to say “cheese” !
We want them to naturally join in the photo. If they don’t want at first, it’s totally normal, and I will usually start with Mum alone or with your partner. Usually what happens is that they don’t want to miss out so they run to be in the photo too and have all the cuddles ! When this happens, don’t try to control the moment or fix their hair or anything wrong you might have spotted, just BE in the moment with them. Give them lot of cuddles, kisses, hold their little hands and hug each other. This is the best photos !!
If they are still a bit shy, I have some tricks up my sleeves like little stickers I will put on your bump or somewhere else on your body for them to find. They are small enough that it’s super easy to edit in Photoshop after!
I will do simples poses, either standing up, being seated on my little sofa chair and seated on the floor.
I get variety in your gallery by doing lot of angles of each pose. So you don’t need to be a Kate Moss on the cat walk ! Just be YOU, be natural, act like if I was not in the room and you are enjoying the moment with your partner and your little one.
Is there a tricky age ?
Right, now I am not going to lie because there is definitely an age which is a bit difficult one to capture, I am talking about the 2 to 2.5 years old. They are in this phase where they develop their emotions, and everything is a LOT for them. They call it “terrible two” !
So very often, they will be very needy, very emotional, very clingy and just want to be in your legs or arms all the time.
It’s totally up to you and how you think your first child will behave in the photoshoot. If you think they will handle it like little champions, then let’s do it, but I would always tell my Mums to come to the session with no expectations and go with the flow.
If you have more than 1 toddler attending the session, it will be much easier as a big brother or sister will facilitate things !
The alternative to a studio Maternity session then woul be to do it outdoors. It will give your little one so much more space to just be and run around. I will start offer outdoor sunset photoshoot this year, so keep an eye opened !
Any questions? Get in contact with me and we will discuss your dream session.
