How to choose a maternity photographer

The average pregnancy only lasts nine months, however, it is a time in a woman’s life that she will remember forever and ever. When you are deciding who you want to use to document your maternity photography, we encourage you to keep the following in mind:

1. Make sure that you schedule out accordingly. I always recommend maternity sessions occur when a mama is between 28 and 34 weeks pregnant. Don’t wait until the last minute – lock down your photographer as soon as possible to ensure you are not scrambling at the last minute.

2. Decide what style of photographer you are looking for. Photography is truly a fine art, and each photographer has their own shooting and editing styles. Think about if you want glamour, neutrals, earthy vibes, natural light, warm tones, heavily edited images, or true-to-life and minimal editing. Decide what you are drawn to and what styles speak to you, and don’t compromise that vision.

3. Find out if your photographer specialized in a specific genre. For example, a wedding photographer could be incredibly talented and produce beautiful images, but they may not know the nuances to maternity posing, styles, editing, etc.

4. Does their portfolio of work represent what you are hoping to see within your pics? If you are looking at a photographer’s portfolio, and you do not like a lot of what you see, chances are they may not capture your vision and leave you disappointed.

5. Do you need to have your wardrobe provided? Some photographers, like Ashlie Bradley Photography, already have a beautiful, extensive client closet for clients to use. This is both practical and cost effective as you won’t have to worry about purchasing clothing to wear just once.

6. Think about the future. There is a lot to be said about keeping the same photographer throughout life’s big milestones (ie maternity, newborn, first birthday, family photos). When you are doing your research, remember to look at their other photography portfolios for life events down the road so you can consider using them again.

7. Do they provide hair and makeup, or can they refer you to a contact that can help you with this? Having all of these services under one umbrella can be a huge time saver and stress reliever.