Mama in full bloom
The ULTIMATE fear release and empowerment tool - Maternity Photography Sessions
Maternity photos aren't just happy snaps of your bump - well, my maternity photos aren't.
My beautiful best friend said to me "Oh I don't know if I'm going to get maternity photos done this time around," this was baby #2 for her and with a toddler at home, her third trimester had crept up on her.
"Trust me," I said "you need and deserve to have these photos taken. It's not just to document your bump - my maternity sessions are different."
She knew my style - raw, nude, in nature... she was hesitant.
"I've never done anything like that before, I don't know."
"Trust me."
We wandered down to South Maroubra Beach and started with some conservative shots - a white linen shirt, unbuttoned with jeans. These were the warmup. After a few minutes, the jeans came off and then the shirt for a few more photos.
She had fears about "extra weight" and stretch marks, her pregnancy service stripes, but was ready to step out of her comfort zone.
We moved to a more secluded part of the beach and the bra came off too. Her long hair draping over her shoulders and breasts, framing her beautiful body and grazing the top of her bump. Perfectly.
This was her body in full bloom.
In these moments she realised that her fears, her criticisms about her body were all in her head. She wasn't a mum or a wife in this moment. She embodied all that it meant to be a woman.
There was no fear, no self-judgement.
Just acceptance.
She was just a woman, in nature, connecting to her daughter within.
After receiving the photos she said "I can't stop looking at them - that's me, that's my body. I feel feminine and sexy and powerful."
And that's exactly the point.
We get very caught up in what we should be doing in our pregnancy - working till we pop, spreading ourselves thin to partners and toddlers and big kids too, doing the stretches, taking the vitamins...
There is a LOT of thinking happening here when there needs to be more FEELING.
After her beautiful daughter was born, she told me she still looked at those photos when she needed a boost.
Many women fear birth, or resent their changing body - maternity photos are an incredible way for women to step outside their comfort zone, embracing their femininity and personal power.
They can be an incredibly powerful tool in helping you break barriers within and ascend into a birth space that is strong and calm and full of self-love.
If you are based in Sydney and would like to book a Maternity, Newborn or Family Photography session, contact Maria directly on 0481 574 442. Sessions are held in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs area.
