What to Expect at your Maternity Photography Session

You've booked your maternity photos.

Now comes the part where your brain starts asking questions.

What am I supposed to do with my hands?

Will you tell me how to pose?

What if I feel awkward?

What if my toddler decides this is the exact moment to completely lose it?

First: you're normal.

Most of the women I photograph are not professional models, and I don't expect you to arrive knowing how to pose.

That's my job.

Before Your Maternity Session

We'll talk about the look you're drawn to and what you want your photographs to feel like.

Maybe you love something soft and romantic.

Maybe you're imagining an Arizona sunset.

Maybe you want something simple where the focus stays completely on you and your belly.

Maybe your partner and children are joining you.

Your maternity session doesn't need to look exactly like somebody else's.

It should feel like your family and this particular chapter of your story.

You Don't Need to Know How to Pose

Please don't practice poses in the mirror for three weeks before coming to see me.

I will guide you.

Small changes make an enormous difference in maternity photography—where your hands rest, the direction your body turns, where your weight is placed and even the angle of your chin.

I'll help position you in ways that flatter your changing body while still keeping everything natural.

And if something doesn't look right?

We change it.

You're not expected to figure that out yourself.

Yes, We Will Photograph That Beautiful Belly

One of the things I love about maternity photography is celebrating the shape of pregnancy.

We'll use poses that highlight your belly rather than hiding it.

That may mean placing your hands around your bump, turning slightly to show your silhouette or creating images that emphasize the connection between you and your baby.

These are photographs about waiting for someone you already love.

That's what I want you to see when you look at them years from now.

Your Partner Can Absolutely Join You

Some of my favorite maternity photographs aren't really about posing at all.

They're the little interactions between two people who are about to welcome a baby.

A hand on your belly.

A forehead touching yours.

Laughing because something felt ridiculous.

Those moments bring another layer to your maternity gallery.

And if this isn't your first baby, older siblings can be part of the session too.

What If My Children Don't Cooperate?

Then they're children.

I photograph families and newborns all the time. I don't expect little kids to suddenly become perfectly obedient miniature adults because somebody brought out a camera.

We'll work with them.

Sometimes the photograph you end up loving most comes from the moment that wasn't perfectly planned.

Give Yourself Permission to Enjoy This

Pregnancy can be beautiful.

It can also be uncomfortable, exhausting, emotional and approximately 700 other things at once.

Your maternity session is a small opportunity to stop thinking about the nursery, appointments, baby gear and everything still sitting on your to-do list.

For a little while, we're simply documenting you and the life you're carrying.

You don't have to perform.

You don't have to know what you're doing.

And you definitely don't have to arrive feeling like a model.

Just arrive as yourself.

I'll take care of the photography part.

Now… What Are You Going to Wear?

This is usually the next big question.

And clothing can completely change the way maternity photographs look.

So that's exactly where we're going next.

Next: What to Wear for Maternity Photos

TAQ Photography provides maternity, newborn and family photography for families throughout Buckeye, Verrado, Goodyear and Arizona's West Valley.