When it comes to finding the absolute best, most amazing clients in the entire DMV, I’ve learned that I need to put out into the universe what I’m hoping will come back to me. And because I want you to ROCK your maternity photos, you can count on me to educate you on what works the best in order to help you get the best!
First, it’s best if you are my people. Every client experience starts out with a consultation phone call. This is where we discuss what you’d like to accomplish, the look you’re trying to achieve, the setting you have in mind, even the nuts and bolts of your personalities (yes, I do ask who the introverts and extroverts of the group are so I can do my best to make everyone as comfortable as possible). It’s during this phone call that we’re feeling each other out and trying to decide if we think we’d be a good fit for *each other* (yes, it goes both ways!). If the conversation is peppered with laughter and we both hang up with big old smiles on our faces, then it’s pretty obvious that you’re my people and I’m yours and that is the first step to ensuring you rock your maternity photos!
Another super important element in fabulous pictures is how you dress. Now. I went full deep into my own history with dressing for photos so I’m not shy about admitting that it took even me a while to understand the importance of this step. I’m a product of the firehouse picture session (am I dating myself?? I think I’m dating myself) where mom signed the whole family up for a middle-of-a-Saturday appointment. We all hated it. We had to come in from playing with our friends, put on a church dress and shoes and go stare at a corny stranger who used a quacking duck prop to get fake smiles out of us. Just no. This is not what I’m about. Refer to the blog link at the top of this paragraph to get more details but just know that dressing to look good will make you feel good. A little later on, I’m going to show you how Vinaya and Mike (ok, but mostly Vinaya because HOLY CRAP) absolutely *killed* their maternity session by choosing the right outfits.
A third element that helps to rock your maternity session is lighting. Sure, location is important and we’ll definitely spend time talking about the perfect setting in our consultation phone call, I promise, but there’s also this —> We could be in the most gorgeous spot with harsh midday sun and get photos that are just meh OR we could be in your run-of-the-mill backyard with perfect light diffusing through the new spring foliage and get photos that are just sparkling with gorgeousness. The location really doesn’t matter…it’s the light that provides the magic. Again, I’ll show you in a minute.
A final key point in how to rock your maternity photos is to 100% relax and trust in your photographer. The first few minutes of your photo session with me is truly a “getting to know you” introduction to the whole experience. I will show you how to stand and what to do with your hands and coach you through a series of different “looks” to get a sequence of photos. Honestly, I’m not even really trying to get amazing photos during the intro phase, I’m really just trying to ease you in to how things will go during the session and help you get out of your own head about any preconceived notions you may have come with. I’ve got a few tricks to help you relax and I’m also a pro at noticing when you’re comfortable and when you’re not – and trust me, I will definitely notice and we will definitely make tweaks until you’re as comfy as possible. These may be your photos but they’re also MY photos and I daresay I feel just as strongly about them being beautiful as you do – we will totally work as a team to get you the BEST result possible and you will walk away feeling confident that you ROCKED your maternity photos. That is my promise to you.
Vinaya, you definitely did rock your maternity photos and I’m SO glad we were able to fit them in before Covid-19 called a halt to all photography sessions. Everyone? Feast your eyes on Vinaya and Mike.
Liz Viernes Photography is based near Columbia, Maryland, and specializes in maternity, fresh 48, posed and lifestyle newborns and first year milestone portraits.
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