Planning A Mountain Maternity Session
These are the times where I absolutely ADORE being a Cheyenne maternity photographer! Not only is Noel stunning, but she is truly one of the kindest, sweetest, and most gentle souls I’ve met in the years I’ve been a photographer. She works at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center as a labor and delivery nurse, and after posting their maternity photos on social media, I had multiple people reach out to tell me how much they loved her and her gentle nature while they were patients of hers.
While maternity photos are not something you can really plan around, we managed to hit the late summer wildflower season just right!
Side note: her dress was absolutely perfect! I’ve started recommend Baltic Born dresses to all my maternity and family clients. (I promise that’s not a sponsored link) Reasonably priced, flexible sizing for pregnant bellies, and every single one of them has photographed like a dream! I also recently started using an online styling service to help clients put together outfits, and it seems like it will be perfect for gorgeous maternity sessions.
My tips for planning a successful maternity session:
Let me know your thoughts on session location.
We have so many options for maternity session locations in Cheyenne, WY! I’ve photographed maternity sessions everywhere from the Wyoming State Capitol building to Cheyenne Botanic Gardens to the Medicine Bow National Forest. If you have a particular “look” you’re hoping for, let me know during the planning process and I can come up with a location that will work both for your vision as well as the unpredictable Wyoming weather.
Plan for golden hour.
Plan for a late in the day session. Golden hour really is the best for gorgeous maternity shoots. During the summer, this can mean starting as late as 7:30 pm, or as early as 3:30 pm in the winter.
Bring shoes you can walk in!
Noel wore some adorable ankle high boots, but they were clearly shoes she had worn quite a bit before. If you’re too swollen to fit into shoes from pre-pregnancy and need to buy a new pair of shoes, make sure to try them on and wear them around before our session. If you buy a dress that’s long enough to cover your feet, you can wear pretty much anything!
I’ve had clients bring two pairs of shoes – one to wear while walking (usually slip ons) along with the shoes that go with their outfit.
Wear an ankle length dress.
I know, not everyone is a dress person. But I really, really love dresses for maternity sessions. Your body is changing so much, especially at the end of pregnancy, and you might be feeling self-conscious about your new shape. Dresses, especially flowy ones like Noel wore, give me the ability to work around the features you may want to minimize during your session. I suggest wearing at least a midi length dress, but recommend ankle length if possible due to swollen ankles. If you aren’t loving your arms, look for a dress with flowy sleeves, even in summer.
Bring water.
I’ve started telling my maternity clients to bring a bottle of water with them for our sessions. The weather is dry here, and if we’ve headed up to Curt Gowdy/Vedauwoo, the altitude change can be a bit tricky when your lungs are already squished. You may also want to bring chapstick/lip gloss for touch-ups!
Keep your spouse’s outfit simple.
An untucked button up shirt and jeans is perfect, almost every time.
Let me know if you have any questions!
For a lot of families, this is their first photo session since their wedding. I am more than happy to help you find outfits and the perfect location for your session!
Noel and Josiah decided to book a maternity + newborn package, so look for sweet baby C on the blog soon!! As much as I love maternity sessions, there isn’t much better than getting to see the result of that gorgeous belly.
If you’re wanting to book your own maternity session, head to my contact page and send me a message! You can also find more information on my maternity sessions on my session info page.
