Photoshoot Archives - Photographic Synergy

Firstly, Congratulations! This is a time to celebrate! Pregnancy is an incredibly unique (and quite short) moment in a family’s life. You’re preparing for a precious life to enter the world and you might only be really ‘looking pregnant’ for 3 or 4 months. Your baby will be here before you know it, and as soon as your baby is born, you’ll likely forget a lot about your pregnancy. Right now, you’re forming a special bond with your baby. Even if it’s not your last baby, you will never have this exact moment again.

You’ve probably already been on a journey to get to this point. Perhaps you have just had your 12-week scan or maybe you are counting the weeks as you enter your third trimester? Maybe you are full of hope, excitement and anticipation? Or perhaps sitting with feelings of anxiety, fear or cautious optimism? However, you arrive here, welcome, we are so glad you are considering capturing your pregnancy.

Thinking about a maternity photoshoot?

Photography is considered by most people an essential part of a wedding day, making sure you have all the memories captured and don’t forget any part of it. It’s a wonderful time filled with love and family, and it is a huge moment in a couples life. It isn’t any different for pregnancy!

Depending on how you feel at this stage of your pregnancy journey, you may be unsure about whether you want to invest your time and money into professional maternity photos. If you’re not sure about whether to do it, all we can say is don’t do it if your heart isn’t in it. But if a part of you wants it, then know that if you go to the effort of having a session like this, you will have this moment captured forever. And you will hopefully love them forever; your children will also see and hopefully love them when they are older too.

Your journey to parenthood could have been easy and unproblematic, beautifully unexpected or a rollercoaster through endless doctor appointments and tears of joy! Every journey is special and your maternity photo session will tell your own unique parenthood story.

When to have your Maternity Photoshoot

There’s no right or wrong when it comes to a pregnancy photoshoot. The best time to come is when you feel it’s right for you, but as a guide, to get the best photos we normally recommend around 30 weeks. By this time you will usually have a lovely round bump, but you (hopefully!) won’t be feeling too weighed down and uncomfortable.

We have sometimes heard women being put off by seeing lots of women who look completely naked for their pregnancy photoshoots, and although we are happy to work with you if this is what you’d like (we have clever ways to make sure you’re never completely exposed!), we also understand that not everyone wants to bear quite as much skin. We have plenty of women who keep their bump covered at all times during the shoot, with just as beautiful results. It really is a personal choice as to how you want to show off your bump and your body, and we will always take guidance and direction from you on this.

A Maternity Photoshoot with your Partner

We also offer baby bump photo shoot with partner in tow, which always makes for a great first family portrait, and we often get couples coming back once the little one has arrived for a ‘before and after’ style shoot. Alternatively, you can bring the whole family along and involve them in the family photoshoot too. We love to see your little ones captured bonding with their soon-to-be sibling. A truly magical moment!

If you want to find out more about our maternity photography, please give us a call on 01727 809 140 and we’d be happy to chat through.

Find out more and Book!

Your photo session is an investment and a special event. It’s not just an appointment booked to take a couple of photos, but a day when you will create vivid memories for you and your family to look back at in years to come. Making sure that everyone is happy and relaxed allows the unique personalities of your family to shine through so that your portraits capture the magic between you.

We hope this Guide will help you through all the major steps to get well prepared to your session, so that you can enjoy your experience at Photographic Synergy, and create some truly special photos for your family.

Clothing

Your photographs will be unique to you, reflecting your personality, moods & connection, and your clothing is one of the things that helps expressing it all to capture in photographs. Try to coordinate colours as much as possible, and avoid anything too patterned or any large logos. If one person is wearing something exceptionally bold it can be distracting, or throw off the balance of the finished photograph. Given that these photographs will live in your family album and adorn the walls of your house, you may also want to give some thought to whether the clothing choice is timeless and if the colour of the clothing would work well in your home, generally speaking the simpler the better.

However these are only rough suggestions, and depending on your personality and preferences you may wish to choose something more expressive giving a better statement to your family’s character.

Maternity

If you are getting ready for a maternity session then rest assured we will have a variety of beautiful maternity dresses prepared for your arrival at our St Albans studio. The only thing we ask is to make sure you have two sets of underwear with you. One set in nude shades and strapless bra, and one in black. This way we will be able to match the dresses perfectly creating a perfectly balanced composition. And if you’ve already prepared something special for your maternity session, please bring it along! It will make for a wonderful keepsake adding a personal touch to your gallery.

Newborn

We have to say newborn outfits and accessories are our absolute favourite to collect and after several years of photographing newborn babies, we now have an impressive stash of props! So when preparing to your newborn session, please don’t stress too much, we will discuss all the details regarding your preferred colour palette and we will work around your baby’s needs, choosing poses and props comfortable for our little model, to create some truly stunning compositions!

Family

When preparing to a family session we always recommend to bring at least one extra outfit for each family member. Having an extra outfit at hand means we can be so much more creative with the number of set ups and capture some truly special photographs for your family.

We have a changing room that opens straight up into the studio for your convenience. And note our studio is air conditioned so we’ll always get it at the right temperature for you, whether you wear shorts and football tops, karate kits, ballet costumes, smart casual or go fully dressed up.

Your family photos will stay with you for many years to come. Some will be displayed on your walls and some will create pages of your family album. Don’t rush with your decisions and give yourself plenty of time to plan the colour palette of your gallery.

Morning of the Shoot

Before heading to the studio, make sure everyone is well-rested and fed to avoid crankiness (this goes for adult members as well as the littles!)

If you’re getting a haircut or any beauty treatments before your shoot, it’s best to do those at least a few days before your scheduled portrait session to make sure you’ve got to grips with styling the new cut and that your skin isn’t blotchy from a facial.

If you choose to wear makeup, it’s often best to go with a pretty natural look. The camera will enhance the contrasts on your face, so avoid anything too heavy. And if you’re not used to it now is not the time to go experimental with makeup as you want to feel and look like you. Remember that small blemishes can be easily edited out with Photoshop, so don’t stress too much if you have a rogue pimple or two, or the kids have a bruise from the latest playground fall.

Make sure you arrive at the studio on time or even a little bit early so that no one feels rushed since this doesn’t lend itself well to natural, relaxed photos. To make sure you’re not in a rush, give yourselves some extra prep time before heading out.

How to Prepare the Kids

With young kids, the key to a good family photo session is getting them excited for it. Kids usually prefer knowing what lies ahead, so best not to surprise them with the studio visit as you’ll want to avoid any tantrums when you arrive at the studio. Tell them about the photography session well in advance and remember that an excited, enthusiastic attitude is often contagious!

It’s important kids feel relaxed and not under pressure to perform when they’re in the studio. Being able to be a little silly means their real personalities shine through in the resulting shots and they’ll be something you’ll all love to look back on in the future.

Packing some yummy snacks and drinks is also a good idea. Favourite treats also make for excellent bribes and rewards to get them to stay in zone for just a wee bit longer. Avoid anything messy like chocolate that could end up down their shirts or smudged all over their little faces. For adults, we’re always happy to provide copious amounts of tea and coffee to help chill it all down.

Finally, planning something fun for after the shoot, like a visit to Willows Activity Farm next door or to get some ice cream gives the kids something fun to look forward to the entire day so that they don’t look at the photo session as an annoying chore or something to be nervous about. In fact it becomes part of the perfect family day out.

For further details, please do get in touch! We are always happy to help!