Maternity Session | Vernon Hills
As a photographer, there are some sessions where you walk away at the very end of the process totally in love with your images. Well, more than usual, I mean. This was the case with the maternity session I did for our friends Jon and Brittany. Ever since the winter shootout I participated in the year prior, I have wanted to shoot more maternity photos. I am fascinated by the ethereal, dreamy portraits that can be created in even the simplest environments. And I am enamored with all of the beautiful flowing dresses.
Not going to lie – when I approached Brittany about her volunteering as a model for me I had hopes that she would wear one of those gowns. But when she said she was going to dress casual because “that’s who they are” I wasn’t one bit disappointed and still couldn’t wait to photograph such lovely people!
PROPS AND PREPARATION
I am a Pinterest addict. I pin to more categories than I can name, and that includes maternity photo inspiration. A common trend for props in photography right now are those removable letter boards, and I knew I wanted one for the shoot.
I also follow several photographers who create stunning imagery on a regular basis. Their photos inspire me and challenge me to try new things. One of these photographers had their maternity model holding a flower, and I wanted to try that and see how it looked. Remember those photos I mentioned being in love with? This shot was one of them. I love everything about it – her expression, the pose, the blurry background, the colors. It’s easily one of my favorite photos.
PUMPKIN PROPS!
It’s usually a staple of mine to bring a blanket to a shoot, especially for ones taking place in the fall, like this one. Those might have been the only props I brought – if it weren’t right around Halloween! Brittany shared an image with me that she really liked and wanted to recreate, but it involved a pumpkin. In classic Lauren fashion of “over doing it”, I didn’t just get one pumpkin, I got several!
I had a vision of a patch of tall, green grass with pops of orange receding into the background. I didn’t want to purchase and carry around 10 different pumpkins, though, so I only got a few. My idea was to photograph them in the scene in different areas and then blend them all together later in Photoshop to create the appearance that they were their own private “pumpkin patch”. This idea didn’t end up getting fully flushed out, but I am 100% okay with how the photos came out anyway!
In the end, this session only increased my desire to shoot maternity portraits. I can’t wait to see what 2019 will bring!