Documenting change, celebrating love: Elizabeth’s maternity boudoir session
It's a time of year when we celebrate love in all its forms, and I am so excited to share Elizabeth’s maternity boudoir session portaits! Elizabeth reached out to me during her pregnancy to schedule a session before she delivered her baby. She wanted to document the meaningful changes that her heart and body were going through during her pregnancy.
As we worked together, Elizabeth shared with me that she's been reflecting on love as a theme in her life. She hoped her portraits would capture the many forms of love she was nurturing in this season of life as she anticipated and prepared for motherhood, including love for her baby, love for her spouse, and a growing reservoir of self-love!
Elizabeth’s boudoir portraits
Elizabeth began her session wearing a bright, red bodysuit with delicate lace details. The high neckline and long sleeves created a bold, romantic energy, balanced beautifully with the serenity she radiated throughout the whole session. You can feel how full her heart is. I love the portrait where she holds her belly and smiles - it feels so loving.
Elizabeth also brought this incredible, flowy fabric skirt with the same bold red color as her bodysuit. One of my favorite portraits shows Elizabeth standing still with such calm composure as the skirt billows dramatically behind her. It feels like a testament to the groundedness she brought to a season full of transition and transformation.
For the next series of portraits, Elizabeth chose to wear a blush-colored bra and underwear set with detailed, floral embroidery. These portraits feel very feminine and light, and they create this stunning contrast to the bolder colors and dramatic portraits she started with. Taken together, these portraits capture the “both-and’s” of Elizabeth’s maternity journey, exuding an energy that is powerful and gentle, bold and laid-back. I love the portraits that show Elizabeth gazing in the mirror. She has this look that feels self-assured, attuned, and totally at ease- an incredible balancing act for a mother to be.
Elizabeth wanted to finish her session with a series of implied nude and fine art nude portraits. These portraits show her wrapping herself with a sheet and then with her own hands, documenting a moment of radiant self-love. In this series, I also captured Elizabeth in several striking poses- she holds her back, plays with her hair, reaches her arms above her head, and lays across the floor. These portraits are full of confidence and contentment. You can feel how much she is loving life in this chapter of her pregnancy!
In her own words
It was such an honor to get to help Elizabeth celebrate the many expressions of love she was experiencing as she witnessed herself and her family expanding. Here are Elizabeth’s final reflections about her maternity boudoir session:
"Right now, love is a motif I have been acknowledging in my life. Love for myself, love for my husband, love for the life we are building. I’m so happy I took the time to document this season of life, and will forever be able to look back at these photos."