Round enough to be obvious, early enough to still enjoy it. That is the window, and it is short. You do not need to feel photogenic to be photographed well — that part is our job, and we do it every week.
“I don’t feel attractive right now.” That is the point.
Almost every woman who walks into this studio says some version of it before we start. Swollen, tired, not sleeping, nothing fits, the face is not the usual face. We hear it constantly, which should tell you something.
This is the only version of you that will ever be carrying this particular child. In eight weeks the body doing this work will be gone and you will have nothing but a bathroom mirror photo taken sideways in bad light. That is what women regret. Not the session — the absence of one.
And you will not be left to work out what to do with yourself. We direct the entire time: where to stand, where the weight goes, what the hands do, where to look, when to breathe out. Nobody is asked to pose. You follow instructions for an hour and the photographs happen around you.
One more thing worth saying plainly. Every family we photograph has a mother missing from the pictures, because she is the one holding the phone. This is the session where that stops.
No surprises, no standing around wondering what happens next. This is the shape of the day from the first email to the wall.
01
The planning call
Before the day we talk through wardrobe, colours, whether it is studio or outdoors, who is coming and what you would like to end up with. Send photos of your wardrobe if it helps — most people do.
02
Wardrobe and settling in
Gowns are here and ready in a range of tones. You change, we talk, you stop feeling watched. This part is never rushed.
03
You, on your own, first
We start solo while the light and your energy are best. Simple shapes, hands, profile, the quiet ones. You are told exactly what to do at every moment.
04
Then everyone else
Your partner, then the older children, then all of you together. Children come in last on purpose — they have a limited attention span and we spend it wisely.
05
The reveal, two to three weeks later
You see everything at real size on a real wall, and choose there. Then we print, frame and hang it.
The single most common question, answered: you do not need to buy anything.
A studio wardrobe of maternity gowns in neutral and deep tones, ready to try on
Bring two or three of your own pieces as well — we will help you choose on the day
Plain, solid colours photograph best. Skip logos, slogans and busy prints
Fitted knits and stretch fabrics read the bump most clearly; flowing fabric is for movement
A partner in a plain shirt, and children in soft solid colours, keeps the frame about faces
Bring the shoes you can actually stand in, and something warm for between setups
Who else comes
It does not have to be just you.
Some women want the whole session alone, and that is a perfectly good choice. Most want at least a few frames with the people this baby is arriving into.
Your partner
They will say they are terrible in photographs. Everyone says that. They are told exactly where to stand and what to do, and it takes about fifteen minutes.
Older children
A toddler with an ear to the bump is one of the few genuinely funny frames of this pregnancy, and it is also the last portrait of them as the youngest.
Your own mother
Three generations in one frame, one of them not yet born. We suggest it quietly to everyone. It is the picture people cry at, at the reveal and again years later.
Maternity + newborn
Two sessions, one story.
If you are already planning a newborn session, the honest answer to “is maternity worth it as well?” is yes, and for reasons that have nothing to do with selling you two sessions.
They photograph different things. Maternity is about waiting, weight, anticipation, a body doing something extraordinary. Newborn is about arrival and scale. Hung together — the bump on the left, the baby on the right — they read as one piece, and that pairing is one of the most requested things we frame.
There is a practical argument too. By the time the newborn day comes you will have met us, stood in front of these lights, and learnt that being directed is easy. You will arrive with a five-day-old baby already knowing how the room works, which matters more than you would think when you have had no sleep.
Book the maternity session at 28 to 34 weeks and reserve your due-date month for the newborn at the same time. One conversation, both dates handled.
The session fee covers the photography and the design consultation. Artwork is chosen afterwards at the reveal, once you have seen your images at real size.
The maternity session
Up to ninety minutes, studio or on location across Sydney. Planning call, gowns and full direction included.
Session fee$395
The Wall Collection
A framed statement piece plus a matched pair for a second room. Matching digital files included.
Most chosenfrom $3,200
Heirloom album
Hand-bound, linen cover, twenty spreads. Ideal if you are pairing maternity with a newborn session.
Add onfrom $1,250
Most families invest between $1,800 and $4,500 all in, and there is no minimum spend. See wall art for what the finished pieces look like in real rooms.
Questions
Before you email us.
Not necessarily, but ring rather than email so we can move quickly. Past 34 weeks it comes down to how you are feeling and how long you can comfortably be on your feet. We shorten the session and sit you down more.
Both work. The Epping studio gives complete control over light and temperature and gives you somewhere private to change. On location we shoot across Sydney — Northern Beaches, Inner West, Sutherland Shire, the Hills, Ryde, Hornsby, Eastwood and the North Shore — usually in the last hour before sunset.
Every image you choose is retouched by hand. We tidy skin, stray hair and distractions. We do not reshape you into someone else — you should recognise yourself in ten years.
Sessions book four to six weeks ahead, so enquire around 24 to 28 weeks to land comfortably inside the window. We reply within one business day.
Then we move you straight into your newborn session and sort the rest out afterwards. Nobody loses anything for going into labour.
Also worth reading
What usually comes next.
Newborn, 5–14 days
Reserved by due-date month, enquire at 28 to 34 weeks. Heated studio, spotter on every posed shot.
