About Maternity Sessions | Old Town Alexandria

Pregnancy is one of the most beautiful and unique time in your life. Capturing the miracle, beauty, love and strength that comes with it and encapsulating those memories as works of art to be passed down for generations is a huge reason why I love photography so much. At Mari Harsan Studios we specialize in customizing tailored sessions that will capture not just beautiful portraits, but your vision.

SCHEDUELING

Wondering when is the best time to schedule your maternity photography session? Short answer anywhere between 29-36 weeks. Long answer, it depends. We are all different and have different experiences, so depending on when your belly pops, how quickly it grows and if the pregnancy has been hard on you or not we will decide what would be the ideal time. The idea is to have enough belly for the photos you plan on taking, but to still be comfortable to easily move around and to also enjoy your time being photographed.

CONSULTATION

Be it that you have a precise vision of how you want your maternity photos captured or the slightest idea, I got you. At MHS we work closely with our clients to ensure that expectations are met. An in person or virtual consultation is scheduled with Mari. At that time we will go over your ideas, home decor, preference of how to enjoy the works of art we will create, lighting, backgrounds and of course wardrobe. No detail will be missed and no stress will be involved in this process.

WARDROBE

Here is where your style will come through. You may like simple and clean, dreamy and flowers, colorful or B&W, naked or not anywhere close to it, based on that we will talk about possible outfits you can bring and possible outfits I can offer. But keep in mind that it could be very simple; from a pair of jeans and a shirt, to an oversized shirt alone, to a piece of fabric, a stretchy dress and like in the example above a favorite coat. The possibilities are endless.

PREPARATION / SESSION

Professional hair and makeup is strongly suggested. When needed arrangements can be made to be pampered at the studio before your session. Depending on if you will have your hair and makeup done at the studio or before you get there and the amount of outfits you have, your session will take anywhere from 1-3 hours. As an example, a session with 3 outfits and hair and makeup previously done typically takes 2 hours of studio time.

In preparation for your session we suggest to drink plenty of water the days before, have a good night sleep, have freshly washed hair and moisturized skin and clean/neutral manicured nails.

BRING YOUR PARTNER/FAMILY

Is your partner debating to join the session? I always encourage my clients to bring their partner/family, even if it is for one photo. The importance of that photo could be tremendous down the road. I know just how important that is from personal experience. We tend to think about the photos we take as ours and for us, but the reality is that the memories we capture now are for a later time and for the ones to come. It is a gift you give yourself and others in the future.

RETOUCHING

Every single portrait you get from MHS will be carefully crafted and edited. Furthermore, you will get to see and aprove it before it is “done” and before it goes to print. While I have a natural approach to creating and editing, your portraits will be done when you are satisfied with how they look.

YOUR ART DISPLAYED

Together we have collaborated on big and small details of your session, created some incredible works of art, precisely edited to perfection, and now it is time to have them enjoyed everyday and passed down as family heirlooms. MHS offers a highly curated and tested collection of museum quality fine art matted prints, bespoke albums and a variety of wall art.

Each image you purchase will be accompanied by its corresponding full resolution digital negative at no extra cost.