She almost didn’t book maternity photos.
After seven pregnancy losses, this pregnancy was not wrapped in certainty or excitement.
It was hope carried alongside grief. Carefully. Guardedly.
She was incredibly unwell. Counting the days. Just trying to get to the other side.
This was not the pregnancy she had imagined. She didn’t feel like herself. She didn’t feel beautiful. And the idea of being photographed felt vulnerable in a way she wasn’t sure she could handle.
She told me she felt awkward in front of the camera at the best of times. Her words.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to mark a chapter that had already taken so much from her to reach.
It was her husband who encouraged her to book. Not because it felt celebratory. But because he knew she might regret it if she didn’t. Because this chapter, however complicated, deserved to be held.
A maternity session in Mosman, Sydney.
We photographed her maternity session in Mosman, as the light softened and the day slowed. Nothing forced. Nothing performative. Just space to arrive exactly as she was.
She could not see the beauty in her pregnancy.
But we could.
Not the kind of beauty that asks you to glow or perform.
The kind that lives in endurance. In patience. In the quiet strength it takes to keep going when joy and fear exist side by side.
Understanding it later, from the other side
Months later, I arrived at their home to photograph their gorgeous, healthy baby boy. During that newborn session, she said something that has stayed with me:
“I’m so glad I had them done.
At the time I didn’t feel beautiful.
But now I see how incredible my body is for growing him.”
And this is something we do not talk about enough.
When you are carrying hope, joy and grief all at once, maternity photos can feel like the last thing you want to do.
Too confronting.
Too vulnerable.
Too heavy.
But pregnancy passes whether you document it or not.
And sometimes it is only later, once you are on the other side, holding the baby you once just hoped for, that you truly understand what that version of you was doing.
Surviving.
Carrying.
Creating life.
And realising she was far more incredible than she ever felt at the time.
Sydney maternity and newborn photography, with care
I am a Sydney maternity and newborn photographer specialising in natural maternity photography, sunset location sessions, IVF and rainbow baby photography, and in-home newborn photography.
If maternity photos feel complicated for you, that makes sense. There is no right way to feel during pregnancy, especially when your journey has been shaped by loss or uncertainty.
When you are ready, this season can be documented gently, honestly, and without pressure.
Book Your Maternity Session Now
