Maternity photographers constantly try out new techniques to get picture-perfect photos for their clients. It’s hard to find maternity photo clients who want to try new techniques, and who can blame them? They’re investing money in a piece of art that will showcase their entire pregnancy; they want proof that their shots will turn out right.
Unfortunately, my son, Deacon, isn’t a suitable maternity photo model! He just doesn’t have the right curves to pick up the type of lighting I wanted to experiment with. Plus, he’s only 7 and it’s hard to get him to sit still for anything!
Luckily, Karly came to me for help with a tricky situation with another maternity photographer in Austin, Texas. We both were able to help one another out, and the result was this set of devastatingly beautiful indoor studio maternity photos.
Karly had already booked a maternity photographer in Austin and had paid her deposit. She scheduled her shoot, was ready to go, but her maternity photographer ended up ghosting her. She eventually found out he had left town, which meant she had to scramble to find a photographer for her maternity photoshoot before her due date. She reached out to me for a price comparison for maternity photography earlier on in her pregnancy. After losing out on her session with this other Austin maternity photographer, she requested a newborn session and decided to cut her losses and focus on that, instead.
I totally felt for her situation. Here she was with just weeks left in her pregnancy — which is enough to think about, itself — and now she had to deal with the stress of losing out on precious maternity portraits. I asked her if she would model for some experimental studio lighting in exchange for a session, and she agreed!
It was quite the win-win situation. Karly was the perfect model. She posed for several high-contrast maternity portraits, like this one. The goal was to highlight her form, and especially her belly! Pregnancy photos are such an intimate, tangible memory of pregnancy. It’s nice to have a memento to highlight that time.
As you can see, different lighting and shadow work highlights different areas of pregnant bellies.
Karly came to her maternity studio session with her sister. She and her sister are two of six girls in their family! Soon, their family will be blessed with another one. Karly and her husband are expecting a baby girl, as well. They’ve even already picked out her name — Luna.
Karly and her sister were such nice ladies, and so fun to work with. During her maternity shoot, Karly’s sister was her hype girl. She helped with props, including tossing the trains on Karly’s maternity gowns.
Karly and I ended up bonding over our love of crossfit and lifting. I did rowing in college, and though I haven’t done much rowing since college, I have been super into crossfit. It helps both of us feel fit and healthy despite our busy schedules.
I’m convinced Karly’s gained tons of confidence since getting fit with Crossfit — it beams out of her in every single one of her maternity portraits.
I’m excited that Karly got so much out of this maternity photoshoot, even though she nearly missed out on her original maternity session. I’m also excited to meet little Luna once she graces the world with her presence!
Here was a comment she made about one of the sneak peek pics she saw:
“The energy and the love you put in each picture is beautiful and unique. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity ?”
No, thank you, Karly!
Jen Rizy is an Austin Maternity Photographer. Her fully-equipped maternity studio in Cedar Park, Texas helps her make the magic of maternity photos happen.
Take a peek at what your maternity session could look like here.
