Digital and Film Photography for a Playful Maternity Session
Studio maternity photos offer such a unique opportunity to strip away the distractions that seem to be everywhere during pregnancy. You get to step outside of your hectic day-to-day life into a calm space. I documented Nicole’s studio maternity session on a mix of digital and film photography. These images creatively tell the story of a loving, playful afternoon in the studio. They’re a great mix of spontaneity and stillness to commemorate the weeks leading up to the birth of Nicole and Ethan’s second baby.
Studio Maternity Photography for Nicole
I met up with Nicole and her family at Studio North MKE for this session. This rentable studio is located in Milwaukee just about a block from Hubbard Park. It’s so dreamy for photography sessions. It’s bright with natural light and has so much space to play. Give me an excuse to photograph there, and I will take it!
Studio North MKE offers a variety of furniture and props. For this session, we decided to forgo furniture other than one chair. Instead we kept the space as minimalist as possible to keep the focus on the interactions between Nicole and her family. This approach helped me get creative with a mix of posed and documentary-style photos. Both styles bring out different elements of this family’s story.
Both Nicole and Ethan are creatives themselves. Nicole is a photographer, and Ethan is a graphic designer. I was lucky enough to document their first maternity session when Nicole was pregnant with their daughter. Being a photographer, Nicole was excited to incorporate film photography and explore different ways to do maternity photos.
Mixing Digital and Film Photography
These days most photographers use digital cameras to document maternity sessions. I love incorporating film photography as well. For Nicole’s session, that included 35mm and Polaroid film.
Film photography is so wonderful for maternity and family photos because of its intimacy and nostalgia. Looking at these photos, it’s easy to imagine Nicole and Ethan sitting with their kids and recounting the story of this day. You can feel the joy radiating from these images.
When I’m considering which types of photography to use for each image, I think about what emotions I want the photo to convey. Digital is great for giving that clean, crisp feel for modern studio portraits. 35mm film brings a more timeless, candid feeling.
Because Polaroid film develops on site, it delivers some instant gratification. It’s fun to be able to show you how everything is going with photos you can actually hold in your hands. Years from now, Nicole and Ethan’s kids will hold these Polaroids and feel connected to their family’s story.
A Playful Maternity Session with the Whole Family
Like I mentioned before, this is the second maternity session I did with Nicole and Ethan. Bringing a toddler to the session definitely added something different to the mix! The session started out with her zipping around the studio while her parents laughed.
If you decide to bring your older kids to a maternity session, I highly recommend bringing an activity for them. Nicole brought flowers similar to the bouquet from her first maternity session. She turned them into an activity for her daughter.
I appreciated that everyone was really intentional about the experience we created together. Everyone let the session unfold. I prompted Nicole and Ethan a bit to help them settle in. We tried a variety of standing and sitting poses with plenty of movement for their daughter.
Mostly, though, I just let the family be together in the space. There’s no need to force a “perfect” moment. The photos that came out of Nicole and Ethan just being present with their daughter were so much more meaningful than any stiff, posed portrait could be.
Would you like to see more studio maternity sessions that incorporate film photography? Check out these blog posts:
Are you ready to book your maternity session? I’m a Milwaukee photographer, and I create authentic, artistic images of your family as it grows. Inquire with me!
