Maternity and newborn sessions make my heart happy and when I'm able to document both for a family it fills my heart with such joy. I absolutely love capturing a woman during her last few weeks of pregnancy, it really is such a magical time in ones life. I love the feeling of anticipation and excitement that exists while waiting to meet your new baby for the first time and to be able to see that same woman holding her sweet baby after giving birth is such a beautiful thing to me and I will be forever grateful for those who invite me into this very special season of their lives.  

The first part of this post is from a maternity session with the ever so beautiful Elina, they were taken when she was 34 weeks, just one month before she gave birth to her gorgeous little boy, Zoryan, who's birth I also photographed which you can see here! Being blessed to live in the beautiful New Forest we decided to spend the first part of our session out in the woods. We met up early in the morning so that we would have good light and It was such a magical time, we had lots of fun exploring good locations and sharing laughter and soulful conversations while I snapped away and finally sipping warm tea in the car before heading back to her house to continue the second part of our shoot: the in-home maternity session. Here are some of her own thoughts about our time in the woods: "The maternity photoshoot felt very special and it was an enjoyable morning out in the woods with Ann. She made me feel very relaxed and I loved her vision of what would work and look good. She was saying all the right things to make me feel at ease and comfortable. In fact the session in the woods was a very important moment for me in my pregnancy-it made me realise how special this time was, my bump and my body, and that I should celebrate it more, it was truly a very needed therapy for me."

We used the session outdoors to just focus on her and her new baby but during our in-home session the whole family was involved and it couldn't have been a better time! This session was so special, I didn't want it to end, I could have kept photographing them for hours! I love the unpredictability of toddlers and I love how the session just unfolds in the way that it is meant to, there is never a need to worry about a thing during my sessions, I will help you feel relaxed and I promise you will have a great time. In Elina's own words: "Everybody had fun and felt at ease with Ann being there. She is great with children and they felt comfortable and playful, Ann was so wonderful with them and understanding that sometimes/often children just won't do what we perhaps ideally  would want them to do, but she just captured all the moments that were natural for our family. And it was a special time for me and Ollie to hug and kiss, and the children loved seeing it and joined in. Ann captured it all so well and created wonderful memories for us."

And now we have reached her newborn session, these were take just 5 days after his arrival. My heart was overflowing with love for them as I photographed so many sweet moments between them all. Excuse the overshare but I'm notoriously terrible at culling images! 

A few words from Elina, "Our newborn photoshoot was just so much fun! Ann made me feel very comfortable with what I was wearing as I was worried about it. Again, the children loved having her over and it was just lovely for all of us just to have cuddles with our precious baby with Ann just capturing it all and suggesting different ways to hold Zoryan, so the result was again beautiful photos and wonderful memories."

Whether you are welcoming your first baby, your second or your third child, this time in your life deserves to be remembered and one of the greatest ways to do this is to have a photo session! If you are interested or have any questions, I would love to hear from you!