Can maternity photos help fight negative body image?

We cater to each client as if they were our dearest friends and in this case, Sarah and Jeff have in fact become true friends to us at The Shelby Studio. We have photographed their family so frequently at one of their business locations in League City that we now jokingly refer to it as “The Shelby Studio South”. So when I received a text from Sarah asking when we could do her maternity photos I couldn’t help but get excited. I knew she had seen some of our previous maternity photography work and was anxious to have her own moment to shine.

Pregnancy and a healthy body image

Prior to her design and styling consultation, Sarah and Jeff had brought it to my attention that Sarah had been feeling poorly about herself because of a negative body image. This is something many moms-to-be struggle to overcome. He believed that a maternity photoshoot with us might help her to begin feeling better about herself. It was also important to Sarah to show herself and her unborn daughter that not everyone fits the same mold and that’s exactly how it should be.

Maternity photos with a little more drama

At her styling and design consultation, we discussed contrasting this photoshoot with the others, in style, and in color pallet. Previously we had photographed her family in blues and creams with more bright, less dramatic lighting. This time around, Sarah wanted gold and red and lots of drama (did I mention Sarah loves the theater?). I thought it was important to distinguish this session from the others we’ve done with her, changing up the colors and lighting would be a huge step in giving her some of the attention she deserved.

The Shelby Studio South

As mentioned, Sarah and Jeff have a large space in one of their offices in League City in which we have done several of their photoshoots. This presents a bit of a challenge on our end but well worth the effort in the end. Sarah was able to stay close to home and we had enough space to create the style of portraits we are known for.

More than maternity photos

The results of this session were not just a series of beautiful maternity portraits but it did, in fact, help Sarah’s emotional state, in fact she enjoyed in so much she booked another maternity session (read about her shoot at Houston’s Hobby Center soon).

After speaking with her about the experience she mentioned that she didn’t want her daughter to “download her (Sarah’s) insecurities”. I think this is something that all parents can relate to and one all parents would like to avoid. I’m proud that Sarah is taking active steps in preventing this. And I’m honored to have played a very small role in her efforts.