Why have a maternity photoshoot at home with your toddler?
The thing with young children is that they're just so unpredictable. Today I came out from the nursery pick up and a child was crying because her mother had brought the wrong sized rice cakes as a post-nursery snack. Yes, you read that correctly - the wrong size. The rice cakes themselves were approved as a snack, they were just TOO SMALL. My boys happily gobbled them up, and then the little girl would finally eat them (because someone else wanted them) but some days kids can just be absolutely baffling. My point being? You can put all the controls in place that you like, but toddlers will find a way around them if they feel like it (and my own one very often does!) So you may as well plan your shoot the way YOU want it for yourself.
Your home is a wonderful place to document your pregnancy and family life, because it is where you spend so much time when you have young children. If when you look back on your photos in a year, two years, ten years, and you want to see real family moments - the determination of your son to not sit still on the bed with you; the silliness in asking him to stroke your belly but instead he tickles you; your laughter as he slips off the bed and plays peekaboo with the camera; a tender moment as he leans in for a cuddle - then my motherhood sessions are for you. If you long for someone to slip into your life for a few moments, for an hour, or maybe even a day to capture your motherhood in all its messy glory - well, here I am. The photographs you gift to yourself are your own love letter to your motherhood. A gift your children and future generations will treasure as heirlooms and as a record of their own lives.
This beautiful at home pregnancy photoshoot with Emily was the second of three shoots in a year with her family, all based at their home in Hackney.
And whilst J may have brought all the toddler energy and chaos to the first half of our photoshoot, we had a great time together with lots of laughter which resulted in these joyous, natural images.
In between all the silliness, we made sure to make time for some quiet moments just for Emily too. There is a hint of that here, but some images are kept back just for her; your privacy and comfort is of the utmost importance to me, and trust is key to creating the images you want to treasure. I feel very privileged to be trusted by mothers time and again, and to be invited into their lives to capture their motherhood stories. I will always make time during pregnancy shoots to capture just you, and honour your motherhood journey in the beautiful way it deserves.
I cannot recommend Amy highly enough... [our photoshoot] was a really fun experience and she was so good at getting our usually reluctant toddler to join in. We were beyond delighted with the results. Just wonderful, soft, natural pictures that we'll treasure forever. Everyone we've shown them to has been blown away. Thanks so much Amy!
Thank you Emily and your lovely little family for having me back to document you all, just as you are.
