Katisha came into the studio for her maternity session wanting something a little outside of the ordinary, and that request ended up pushing me creatively in the best way.
Although, before we even made it into the studio, we had to find each other first. 😂
I send pretty specific directions for getting into my home studio because the studio entrance is separate from my main entrance. Katisha apparently decided those directions were more of a suggestion and ended up at my front door instead. So we had a slightly unconventional start to the session while I figured out where she was and got her around to the correct entrance.
Once we actually got her into the studio, we were good to go.
Creating Something Different for Her Maternity Portraits
One of the first things Katisha told me was that she wanted her maternity photos to feel different and a little more out of the ordinary.
That immediately got my brain moving.
The interesting part was that the outfits she had selected from my maternity wardrobe naturally leaned toward a beautiful, fine art maternity style. They were dramatic, feminine, and very much pieces I would normally photograph with some of my classic maternity posing.
But she didn’t want everything to feel predictable.
So instead of completely changing the wardrobe direction, I started thinking about how I could change the posing, lighting, composition, and eventually the editing to give her something that still felt polished and fine art while having a little more personality.
Sometimes creativity happens because I have an entire plan going into a session.
And sometimes a client tells me, “I want something different,” and my photographer brain suddenly has 47 tabs open.
Katisha’s session was definitely the second one.
A Sheer Beige Tulle Maternity Gown
For her first look, Katisha chose a gorgeous beige tulle gown from KH Fabric.
The gown is sheer with layers of soft tulle, which gives it that delicate, almost editorial quality that photographs beautifully in the studio. It also gives me so much room to play with movement, silhouettes, posing, and the way the fabric falls around a pregnant belly.
Rather than relying only on the traditional maternity poses I use regularly, I tried to give this portion of her gallery a slightly more artistic feeling.
That meant paying attention to smaller details, experimenting with how I photographed the dress, and later using the editing process to help separate her images from a completely traditional maternity gallery.
The finished photographs still felt elegant and timeless, but they had a little more edge and personality woven into them.
The “Baby” Bodysuit
For Katisha’s second outfit, we went in a completely different direction.
She chose my nude sheer bodysuit covered in oversized black “BABY” lettering.
And this one is FUN.
It’s definitely not a traditional maternity dress, which made it perfect for the direction she wanted to take her session.
Because the bodysuit is intentionally very sheer, we used coverage underneath so everything photographed appropriately while still keeping the overall look of the outfit. The black lettering against the nude fabric created such a cool graphic look in the photographs, especially with Katisha’s baby bump front and center.
It gave us something modern, playful, and just a little unexpected.
Basically, exactly what she had asked for.
Adding Her Partner Into the Session
Toward the end of the session, Katisha decided she wanted to turn things up just a little.
Nothing crazy, but definitely something more intimate.
We brought her partner into a few photographs without his shirt while Katisha stayed in the sheer “Baby” bodysuit.
Those ended up giving her gallery an entirely different feeling.
They were less about creating a perfectly styled maternity portrait and more about capturing the connection between the two of them during this season of their lives.
I love being able to include both styles within one maternity gallery.
You can have the beautiful portraits where you look and feel like you belong in a magazine, but you can also have photographs that feel more personal and connected to the relationship and family behind the pregnancy.
You don’t necessarily have to choose one or the other.
What Is Included in a Simple Maternity Session?
Katisha booked one of my Simple Maternity Sessions, which gave her the opportunity to choose two different outfits during her session.
Afterward, she selected 10 finished photographs from her gallery.
Each of those selected images is delivered in both color and black and white, so she ultimately receives 20 finished files.
I love providing both versions because there are photographs where the color is part of what makes the image beautiful, especially when we’re using a particular gown or backdrop. Then there are other photographs that completely transform when you remove the color.
Black and white images tend to make you notice expression, shape, connection, and light in a completely different way.
And sometimes the photograph you weren’t sure about in color becomes your favorite in black and white.
Maternity Photos Don’t Have to Look Like Everyone Else’s
One of the things I loved most about Katisha’s session was that she gave me permission to experiment.
She knew she wanted something different, even if we didn’t have every single detail mapped out beforehand.
That allowed me to photograph her maternity session in a way that still looked like my work while giving her images their own personality.
Your maternity photographs don’t have to match the exact session you saw someone else do.
You can love fine art portraits and still want something modern.
You can wear a huge dramatic maternity gown and then change into a sheer bodysuit.
You can want gorgeous portraits of yourself and still bring your partner in for something a little more intimate.
There isn’t one correct way to document pregnancy.
Why Maternity Portraits Matter
Pregnancy changes incredibly quickly.
Your body is doing something huge, your family is changing, and eventually this version of you only exists in photographs.
That is one of the biggest reasons I encourage moms to actually get in front of the camera during pregnancy, even if they don’t normally love having their picture taken.
You don’t have to feel perfectly confident walking into the studio.
You don’t need to know how to pose.
You definitely don’t need to know what to do with your hands because that is quite literally my job. 😂
You simply need to show up.
Years from now, these photographs aren’t just going to be pictures of what you looked like while you were pregnant. They’re going to be part of the story of who you were while waiting for your baby.
And that deserves to be documented.
Katisha ended up loving her final maternity images, and looking back through her gallery, I am so happy with how everything came together. What started with a wrong-door entrance and a request for “something different” turned into a maternity gallery that felt elegant, modern, artistic, and completely hers.
If you’re expecting and want maternity photographs that feel like you, whether that’s classic fine art, modern and minimal, a little spicy, or somewhere in between, I’d love to create something with you.
Ready to schedule your Northwest Arkansas maternity session? Reach out to Chylea Denney Photography to start planning your wardrobe, session style, and the portraits you’ll want to keep long after your baby arrives.
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