By Lora Phillippi (your maternity photographer)

{A note from your photographer ... First of all, I want you to relate to the fact that I understand what you are feeling as you go through your pregnancy and as you come towards the end of it.  I've been there.  I have an amazing little boy who is the joy of my life.  My own pregnancy with him was wondrous, but at the same time it was scary at times and I certainly felt out of control in terms of my own body.  Everybody experiences their pregnancy differently and that is why it has become my passion to capture and document this experience for you.  I want you to come into the studio with me and leave in awe of your own beauty.  I want you to feel wonderful and know that while this experience can be trying at times, you are strong and beautiful and amazing.  I want you to see yourself through my images of you the way that I do when I look through my lens.}

 

What a remarkable time this is for you!  Whether this is your first child or your tenth child, the process of pregnancy and birth is an amazing experience and each time it is unique and wonderful.  Part of that uniqueness is what is happening with your body during your pregnancy.  For some it is a wonderful experience and these are the women who you hear say that they LOVE being pregnant.  They feel good and they revel in all of the feelings and experiences that their nine months with a growing life inside them brings with it.  For others, that nine months can feel draining and while it is still amazing to have that little being growing inside you, it can feel like an alien has taken over your body and you're just not sure what all the hype is about!  And that's OK too.

The one thing that all expectant moms have in common though is that by the time you hit your 8th month, you're starting to feel big and awkward.  You're probably having hot flashes and bumping into something every time you turn around.  Complete strangers keep asking you when you are due and many don't seem to feel any compunction at touching a complete strangers stomach without getting pre-approval.  There's a possibility that you may not be feeling sexy and gorgeous at this point in your pregnancy.  That's where I come in.

We'd like to walk you through what you can expect when you contact us about having your maternity portrait done...

When you contact us

When you contact Life Prints Portrait Design, we'll ask you some questions about yourself and what it is that you are looking for in terms of your maternity portraits.  You'll find our staff to be friendly and personable.  We'll get some basic information from you and then we're going to want to set up a personal consultation with you so that we can get to know each other a bit better prior to your actual maternity portrait session. 

Your Consultation

Our photographer, Lora, will come to your home where she will sit down with you to discuss your upcoming maternity portraits.  What we're hoping to achieve at this point  is to have you get to know Lora better so that you can decide if you'll be comfortable having her as your maternity photographer.  Of course, she's going to ask you lots of questions regarding what style of portraits you would like, what you are comfortable with in terms of clothing, draping or plain 'ol glorious skin, if you have other children or a spouse/partner that you would like to include in the portraits.  That sort of thing.  She'll chat with you.  She'll show you some images from previous clients to help pin point what style you are looking for.  Then hopefully you'll decide that she's  the maternity photographer you're looking for.  When that happens, we'll book a date and time for your maternity portrait session and she'll collect a reservation fee from you to hold that spot open.  Once we've booked your maternity session for you, Lora is all yours for that time slot.  You will have her undivided attention, all of her creativity and skill, and you won't have to worry that you'll get all dolled up only to have us cancel or double book (this would be the explanation of why you'll be paying us a reservation fee.)

Your  Maternity Session

When your scheduled date arrives (the maternity session... not the baby), Lora will arrive at your home or other location which you decided upon during your consultation appointment.  She will bring her camera and whatever equipment is needed for the type of session which you decided upon.  You are going to feel at ease with her and the whole process because you will feel that this special time is reserved just for you.  If you are including the kids in this special time, then Lora will have special techniques that she brings to your session to get the kids involved and interested in amazing portraits.  If it's you and your spouse/partner, then you are both going to have the chance to relax and enjoy this time of documenting your love and relationship in light of this new life that is coming your way.  If you have opted for a partial or fully nude session (which you are NOT required to do) then you will be given a satin robe to change into.  Our goal during your session, is to make you as comfortable as possible so that you can walk away saying what an amazing experience you had having your pregnancy portraits done.  Your maternity session will last anywhere from 45-90 minutes depending on what style we are going for, how many people are involved and their ages. 

The Ordering Appointment

About two weeks after we complete your maternity session, we will come back to your home so that you can view the images that you and Lora created together during your session.  This will be your proof appointment.  We will have prepared the images with basic editing and retouching and have them set up in a slide show so that you can see what you and Lora accomplished together.  We say together because while Lora was the one doing the photographing, it is your beauty that makes the images what they are.  We'll discuss which images you would like to include for prints and for your maternity book if you chose to include this option, and you can let us know what special options you would like such as black & white or sepia toned images, collages, etc.  While it's never fun to talk about money, this is the point during your proof appointment when you'll have the opportunity to pay for all or half of your package balance.  If you decide to pay half, the remainder will be due when your prints are delivered to you.

Your Online Gallery

Within 72 hours after your ordering appointment, your maternity images will be uploaded to an online gallery.  Your online gallery will be a private, password protected space.  This is a great opportunity to let family and friends see your maternity portraits, especially if they live out of town.  They will also be able to order prints directly from the online gallery if they wish.  Many of our clients have expressed that this has been a great time saver and cost saver since they do not have to decide on what to send to grandma, and Aunt Jill can order the prints she likes using her debit or credit card.  The gallery will be left up for 5 days as part of your maternity package. 

Receiving Your Finished Prints

And finally, within two to four weeks after your ordering appointment, we will have your finished prints ready for you.   If you have ordered prints on canvas or custom framing, it may take slightly longer but the products you receive will be well worth the extra time.  For us, this is one of the best parts of working with expectant moms.  We love to see the look on your face when you pull that portrait out of it's package and see your beauty through the eyes of our photographer and what she saw through her camera.

So, maybe you have thought about having a maternity portrait done because you think it would be cool to document your pregnancy for your child to see when they are older.  Maybe you've seen some really great fine art maternity portraits and think that it would be a beautiful piece of art to hang in your master bedroom.  Or maybe you're just curious and found our website and something in here resounded with how you are feeling... you want to feel beautiful and amazing but aren't convinced that big and pregnant can look or feel like that.  Whatever your reason for contacting us, you're right.  And we look forward to doing all of the things we've talked about in this article.  We'll document your pregnancy.  We'll create a beautiful piece of artwork.  And whether you believe it or not, you will feel like the beautiful pregnant woman that you are.

We look forward to being a part of this time in your life and hope that you will trust us with this once in a lifetime moment.

~Your Life Prints Portrait Design Staff