Erised texted me as soon as she found out she was pregnant with her second baby. She wanted to be on our calendar immediately because she knows how far in advance we book and didn’t want to take any chances.
This was quite the difference from when she was expecting her first child! She contacted us at the LAST minute to book her maternity and newborn sessions. We were fortunately able to squeeze her in, and she had the baby shortly after the maternity session took place! Erised already knew she wanted to book both a maternity and newborn session for her second baby. Because she had also booked a six month milestone and First Birthday session for her first baby, our First Year Collection was the perfect choice for her! Ask us about this when you contact us if you know you want to document your baby’s entire first year. We have limited availability for the Collection membership each month. The perks are many, and our members love the many benefits they enjoy. What are those benefits? Well, just to name the top two favorites: priority weekend booking, and the fact that you don’t have to do anything once you’re signed up - Caroline (our studio manager) will reach out and get you booked for each upcoming session. It’s a set it and forget it situation, and truly the perfect solution for our busy families!
THE BOOKING PROCESS
Because Erised had contacted us very early on in her pregnancy, we were able to schedule a weekend date for her maternity session and she had a few options to choose from! We schedule maternity sessions to take place between 26-32 weeks, and will make suggestions for where in that timeframe would be best based on your height, if you’re having twins, and if this is not your first baby!
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, our shooting calendar is typically full several months in advance. We have a LOT of repeat clients who reserve their fall family sessions for the following year so they’re on the calendar. Reserving your session early gives you more date options and flexibility!
If we are completely out of weekend dates, our clients just plan to leave work earlier on a weekday. To give you a really good example of what I mean, I’ll share that as of thing blog post, we are 70% booked for fall weekend evenings. There are quite a few advantages to scheduling on for a session during the week though! Sessions on weeknights are much less crowded! It’s important to know that ALL outdoor sessions take place about one hour before sunset. We do offer sunrise sessions at certain times of year (mostly in August/September) but not when sunrise is at 6 AM. You need a fully functioning photographer, and 6 AM is definitely not my best time, ha!
If you’re a planner and you want to know what time your session would start on any given date, run a Google search for “sunset time on X date in Atlanta, GA” and you’ll get the sunset time. Subtract an hour from that time, and you have your general session start time. If you’re booking a sunrise session, we’ll meet about 5 minutes ahead of the sunrise!
Caroline, our studio manager, sent over Erised’s session paperwork to her. Booking your session is handled online, and your information is secure! Once that was submitted, Erised was locked into our calendar and good to go! We then scheduled her maternity fitting to take place about 2 weeks before her session. We also sent over a short list of what she should bring along with her the fitting and directions to our studio location. We’re located right on the Beltline next to two.urban.licks just down from Ponce City Market, and it’s really easy to get to! Free parking is available in the lot and on the street.
THE MATERNITY FITTING
Wardrobe fittings are scheduled 1-2 weeks before your maternity session! We want to make sure that you have ample time to make final decisions as well as coordinate the other outfits for your partner and/or children. Your belly likely won’t grow too much in two weeks to not be able to fit in your selections. If you fall in love with a dress that BARELY fits, we’ll have you choose a backup option for it just in case it doesn’t fit you anymore at your session. Even if if doesn’t zip all the way, that’s not necessarily a problem. I always have fitting clips at the ready and can sometimes rig something to work even if it’s too small. After all, we’re not photographing you from behind when you’re pregnant, so nobody will ever know if your dress didn’t zip up all the way unless you go out of your way to tell them!
Using the studio wardrobe is not required. It’s simply here for you to use should you want to. 95% of our clients do borrow from it and love the convienence of not having to shop for something they’ll only wear once. If you’re planning to work with us past your maternity session, you’ll get a feel for everything we have available and know which dresses you love for future sessions! The vast majority of our dresses will fit both pregnant and postpartum moms (and even those moms who are several years postpartum!).
I highly suggest all new clients (even those who are planning to wear their own clothing) come in to see me in advance of their session so that we are able to meet each other. Clients who have spent some time with me prior to stepping in front of my camera are much more relaxed because I’m not a total stranger they’ve just met for the first time. Virtual meet and greet options are also available via Zoom or FaceTime.
Erised looked through the wardrobe and settled on one of our favorite dresses - an off the shoulder cream lace dress with a nude lining. She had purchased a blue dress of her own from a boutique and decided on that as her second option.
MATERNITY SESSIONS WITH TODDLERS: WHAT TO EXPECT
I always shoot my sessions with an efficient flow. Outdoor couples or family maternity session should take NOT take 4 hours. When a young toddler is involved, it becomes even MORE important to not have a crazy long session because toddlers don’t have the attention span or the patience for that.
So…. we are going to knock out ALL the images with your toddler right off the bat so that we get those. The average toddler will be the most cooperative and interested for about the first five minutes before they’re over it. There are some toddlers who break the mold, but this is RARE.
When you show up, be ready to move quickly. I’m going to direct you and literally tell you what to do and when to do it with your toddler. My focus is on the emotional connection between my subjects, and the interactions that you see in my images is 100% authentic. Small children don’t follow direction well (or at all), so I just let them be themselves and have the parents be the ones working around their toddler. I’ll give you simple instructions and you’ll interact with them just as you normally would. There is ZERO stiff and formal posing where everyone has to be perfectly still for twenty eternal seconds. Sitting still for that long is NOT possible (or realistic) with toddlers and I refuse to set my families up for “failure”.
YOU as parents have a huge impact on how your session goes. Come to your session ready to have fun and play with your little one. Have a willingness to try unorthodox things to distract and delight your toddler. Keep the expectations for your toddler at ZERO and never let them see you sweat. ;) A session with toddlers will feel frenetic and chaotic at times, but just keep going and trust that I’m getting gorgeous images regardless of how impossible that might feel in the moment.
Your dynamic with your family is unique, and we will capture images that showcase it!
MATERNITY SESSION FLOW
I plan for an hour for outdoor portraits - and once the sun is gone, we’re done. We aren’t actively shooting for that entire hour - some is taken up by changing to your second look, walking to our next spot, or just taking a short break to hydrate and take a breath. It’s important to be on time to your session. While I shoot efficiently, I cannot prevent sunset.
If you’re a repeat client, you’re likely going to feel very comfortable right away and have zero warm up. If you’re a new client, it’ll take you a bit longer, which is 100% normal! Most of my new clients get there in 10 minutes or less. Remember: you will never be left hanging or wondering what to do next. I will be helping you every step of the way.
Most of what I take at the very beginning of a new client session gets tossed. The initial few minutes of every session is pretty much a warmup designed to get you used to being in front of my camera. You’ll also catch on to my direction for how to move and position your bodies throughout. Don’t worry, it’s all shockingly simple, and I’ll demonstrate and adjust as needed!
HOW IT WENT
On the day of the session, it was cloudy and overcast. This is never a problem at this particular field location because of how wide open it is and makes for some really pretty skies in photos. Unless it’s raining, we shoot sessions regardless of sun or clouds. Overcast skies have a different look than a sunny clear evening, and they’re both equally beautiful in their own way.
As predicted, Benicio was wiggly and active, and we started off with family images that included him. Once those were done, dad strapped him into his stroller with a snack so we could get some couples images. Bringing a stroller is not possible at our mountain location, but for the field and park locations it is. Having a safe place to keep your child from running off when they are not in the photographs is ideal - and for many families, a stroller is perfect.
After a few images of Erised alone and with Dan, Erised changed into her own blue dress and then we moved to another area of the field. Erised and Dan didn’t have high hopes for Benicio continuing to participate, but I did. I knew that playing some games and distracting him by putting him on daddy’s shoulders had a pretty good chance of drawing him back in, and I was right!
Enjoy a few of my favorite images from this family’s field maternity session below - I can’t wait to share the images from baby boy #2’s newborn session!
PS: If you’re reading this and considering booking a maternity session, YAY! Firstly, a BIG congratulations!!! This is an incredibly important and special time in your life. I would love for you to contact us to discuss what we offer and how we can serve you!
If you're expecting a baby or already a parent and looking for a newborn, maternity, or family photographer, I would love to work with you to create images that you will love for a lifetime. Watch this video to hear about my philosophy and see how I work in the studio so you can determine if I'm the right fit for you. I can't wait to meet you!
Lily Sophia Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, and family photography in Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding areas.
