Maternity

Navarre Beach Maternity Photographer

Soft light, warm sand, and an hour that is entirely about you before everything changes.

When to book your maternity session

Somewhere between 30 and 34 weeks is the sweet spot. You are unmistakably pregnant, which is the whole point, and you are usually still comfortable enough to walk on sand and stand for an hour without regretting it.

Earlier than 28 weeks and the bump often does not read clearly in photographs. Later than 36 and most people are tired, swollen, and no longer enjoying the idea of a beach at all. There is no wrong answer, but if you want the version of these photos where you are actually enjoying yourself, aim for early in the third trimester.

If you are expecting twins, move everything up by about four weeks. Twin pregnancies show earlier and get uncomfortable sooner.

What to wear when you are pregnant on a beach

A long dress that moves. That is genuinely most of the advice. Something flowing in cream, sand, blush or sage will catch the breeze coming off the Gulf and give the whole set of photographs a sense of motion.

Fitted through the bump and loose everywhere else photographs better than something tent shaped. Fabric that skims the belly hides the shape you came here to document.

Bring a second option if you cannot decide. Changing takes five minutes and it is easier than wondering afterwards. I have a full what to wear guide that covers palettes and fabrics in more detail.

Where we shoot

Most maternity sessions happen at Sand Dollar Pavilion on Navarre Beach. There is parking right there, a boardwalk over the dunes so you are not climbing anything, and a clean stretch of white sand with no buildings in the background.

That last part matters more than people expect. Navarre has no high-rise wall along the beach, so the horizon behind you is water and sky rather than condominiums.

If you want the dunes and sea oats instead of open water, we can walk a little east from the pavilion. It is a short, flat walk, and I will not ask you to do anything at 32 weeks that I would not ask you to do at any other time.

Bringing older children along

A lot of maternity sessions here are really family sessions with a bump in them, and those are some of my favorites.

The practical version is this: we photograph the children first, while they still have patience left, and then let them run while I photograph you and your partner. Nobody is asked to stand still for an hour. If there is a toddler involved, plan on the whole thing taking about forty minutes of actual cooperation, and that is completely normal.

Bring a snack and a change of clothes for anyone small. Sand and seawater are undefeated.

The light, and why the time matters

Maternity sessions run at golden hour, the hour or so before sunset. The light is low and warm and it comes across the beach sideways rather than straight down, which is what makes the sand glow and keeps anyone from squinting.

In summer that means starting close to seven. In winter it can be as early as four. When you book I send the exact start time for your date rather than a rough window, because sunset here shifts by more than three hours across the year.

If you want the detail, I wrote a whole guide on the best time of day for beach photos in Navarre.

What you get

A one hour session at golden hour, my direction throughout so you are never left wondering what to do with your hands, and a gallery of edited images delivered digitally with a print release.

Sessions start at $325 with a $100 retainer to hold your date. Full details are on the investment page.