This blog post will tell you everything you need to know in preparation for your Winter Maternity Photoshoot. I recently had a lovely session where we were surrounded by snow in Storrington, West Sussex. Everything looked magical and very special.
It took a lot of planning and some change of plans from sunset to sunrise to make sure we had some sun shining on the photos. The most important was to capture this special moment but I wanted the photos to be perfect and unique.
The secret for a great pregnancy photo session is planning. As I have a few sessions coming up, I thought it would be important to write all the tips we need to put in practice to make sure the session goes well.
The most important thing is to keep you warm and comfortable. Safety is the most important thing, especially during a maternity photography session. We will be a team, working very closely before and during your session to make sure everything goes well.
Things we need to consider:
1) Safety
Make sure you bring some shoes that have very good grip on them for the outdoors. The floor can be slippery and this can be very dangerous, especially when we have to climb small hills to get to our location.
2) Clothes
You need to dress warmly. I normally bring the dress from my client’s wardrobe and you change in your car, where it’s nice and warm. Then I ask you to bring a really big coat and a nice warm scarf. This should also include some gloves to make sure your hand are kept warm.
Blankets also take part in the photography session. You can use them to keep you warm during the photoshoot if you don’t have many clothes on. They add a BOHO look to your photos while keeping you warm.
3) Hot Water Bottle
I find this one absolutely essential. The hot water bottle will be with you, inside your jacket until we reach our location. Then, in between photos, you will pop your jacket back on and hug the hot water bottle to keep you warm. If you’re doing the photos with your partner, when possible I may ask him to hold the bottle between you both so that you both are warm.
4) Hands and Feet Warmers
When the temperature drops, hands and feet are the first to get cold. This can get quite uncomfortable and quickly make your whole body feels very cold. It is essential that we keep hands and feet warm, so you can buy these that seem to work very well: Decathlon Hand and Feet Warmers . I am happy to use these ones from Decathlon normally used for skiing, but these days you can buy some rechargeable ones and my clients can swear by them: Rechargable hand warmers.
5) Hot drink in a thermal bottle
In between photos, when you have your coat on and you are hugging the hot water bottle, we drink a few sips of a hot drink to keep us all warm. This will help to raise your body temperature. Bring hot chocolate, tea, or whatever you fancy but remember that you still need to smile for your photos so perhaps hot chocolate may be a risky choice. Thermal bottle example .
I hope this was helpful and if you have any questions, please let me know!
Let’s start planning your beautiful winter photography session. I’ve got a selection of locations around West Sussex that will look beautiful in winter, sunrise or sunset.
I will add some photographs as an example of a recent snow/ winter pregnancy photoshoot as soon as I finish editing the gallery.
