What actually happens at a maternity session

By Deep Arora · Still & Golden Photography · Frankston & South-East Melbourne

A maternity session sits in a strange window: you're far enough along to have a proper bump, tired enough that the idea of "a photoshoot" sounds like an errand, and aware that this exact version of life — the two of you, or three of you, waiting — is about to end. The session is built around all three of those truths. Here's how it works.

When in pregnancy to book

The sweet spot is somewhere around 28 to 36 weeks. Early enough that you're still comfortable moving around and standing for short stretches; late enough that the bump is unmistakably the bump. Most families land somewhere in the low thirties.

Every pregnancy runs differently, though. If you're earlier and feeling good, earlier works. If you're at 37 weeks reading this and thinking you've left it too late — you probably haven't, just get in touch and we'll find the nearest date.

Where it happens

Wherever you're most comfortable — at home, or outdoors on location. By the third trimester, home is often the easiest option: your own couch, your own bedroom window light, a kettle ten steps away, nothing to pack. But if you'd rather be out in the world, a quiet park, the beach, or a favourite spot works just as well — we'll pick whatever feels most like you.

I bring a camera and that's about it. The session runs on natural light and the rooms you already live in — the same documentary approach I use for newborn sessions, just a few weeks earlier in the story.

What the sitting involves

It's slow, and deliberately so. We'll mostly work around two or three spots with good light — standing by a window, sitting on the bed, a comfortable lean against the couch arm. I'll guide you into positions that feel natural rather than posed: hands on the bump, looking down at it, looking at each other. Nothing that requires balance, gymnastics or a fake laugh.

• You, on your own — the bump, the quiet, this exact season of waiting.
• You and your partner — the two of you as you are right now, before the house gets louder.
• The details — hands over the bump, the tiny onesie on the bed, the nursery corner that's finally finished.

Partners and siblings are welcome

In fact, encouraged. For second-time parents, the maternity session doubles as a record of your first child before their world changes — a small hand on the bump, a conversation with the baby through your belly. Partners sometimes arrive convinced they'll be in two photos and leave having been in most of them.

There's nothing for anyone to rehearse. If the toddler loses interest and goes off to play, we follow the light and carry on.

Afterwards

Within two weeks of the sitting, your edited gallery arrives in a private online gallery — ready to download, print and share. Most families tell me it's the last proper exhale before the hospital bag goes by the door.

How Bloom fits in

Most families booking a maternity session are also thinking about the newborn one, which is why the two exist as a bundle. Bloom pairs a maternity or family session while you wait with a newborn session once your baby arrives — two 90-minute sittings, one booking, from $595, at a better rate than booking each on its own. The newborn half runs as a Gathered session, covered in detail on the newborn photography page.

The practical benefit beyond price: we already know each other by the newborn session. Your baby arrives, we confirm the pencilled-in date, and the second half of the story gets told by someone who's seen the first half — the same rooms, the same light, the same you, plus one.

Newborn sessions happen any time within the first four weeks after birth, so nothing about the bundle is rigid. Due dates are rough guesses and the booking treats them that way.