There are as many different ways to photograph a pregnant belly and the anticipation of a new baby as there are moms- and dads-to-be. And, since I just photographed one of these newborns this morning (and the other isn’t far behind), I thought I’d better get on the ball (or, in this case, the belly) and get these blogged. The first set is an example of an on-location, natural light maternity session. The second is one of my recent mini-maternity sessions held in-studio. Maternity sessions are best held during the period between 32-36 weeks pregnant and are scheduled in conjunction with a Signature Newborn Session or Baby’s First Year Program. As always, I let mom decide how much or how little belly/body to show during the session. I love them all – be it in-studio or on location – and I get even more excited thinking about those perfect little beings I’ll get to meet in the weeks ahead.
Kansas City Maternity Photography , Sneak Peeks
Bohemian mama or “How to look simply amazing while pregnant in the heat of a Kansas summer”
I shot their family photos last fall and was delighted to get the call that they were expecting baby number three in late summer. Almost immediately, my brain was working overtime on several visions I had for the maternity session and I spent the last three months looking for the perfect shabby white bed and spread, and then, the perfect spot easily accessible from the road with any remaining wildflowers blooming. In my quest for to match what was in my head, I enlisted the help of my amazing creative friend, Kimberly Thomas. (She’s just begun refinishing vintage furniture for photographers and consumers and I can’t wait to share more of that with you, too). Without so much as a simple promise of instant fame right here on the blog (LOL) or even a great lunch, she jumped right in and became an assistant/designer/stylist/babysitter all rolled into one fabulous framework. Did I mention it was nearly 100 degrees the morning we shot this? Or that the boards that support the box springs didn’t quite fit the frame and required a last-minute “fix”? Did I mention I was going on my second consecutive week of very late nights and was hosting house guests that week, too?
Add “keeper-of-my-sanity” to Kimberly’s list of talents, too.
In the end, we had a bed full of color, a belly and two beautiful girls that truly helped us take our “bohemian mama” vision and make it reality. It certainly didn’t hurt that mom could easily be modeling designer maternity wear. Stunning almost seems too inadequate a word to describe her.
I can’t wait to meet their newest family member – we’ll be doing a newborn session in about three weeks. In the meantime, enjoy some of my favorites from our session:

Kansas City Maternity Photography , Sneak Peeks
Haute mama l Kansas City maternity photographer
Some of my favorites from a very recent maternity session. To say she is stunning would be an understatement – I think she looks like she stepped right out of the pages of a magazine ad. She gave permission for me to post the third image which we both love. Worth mentioning: Each custom photography session is unique and maternity sessions are no different. I tastefully and artfully show as much or as little of the belly and body as mom is comfortable with and I always, always let my clients dictate that part of the vision. If you search maternity sessions in the Archives here on the blog, you’ll see a variety of ways we’ve crafted these images, from fun outdoor sessions, to more boudoir-like maternity sessions in-studio or on location.
The truly amazing thing here: She had the baby just four days later.
I love that these images (and the rest of her gallery) will forever mark the milestone of those final days of pregnancy. In about a week, you’ll see newborn session peeks – the end result from that trip to the hospital – all ten fingers and ten tiny toes. I’ll leave you guessing as to whether it was a boy or girl.
Those of you who “read” bellies … feel free to leave your guess here on the blog.




















I like this one in black and white almost as much as I love it in color!







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