Maternity photos are the best way to capture the essence of motherhood.
Like so many moms out there, I live with the regret that I didn't document my pregnancy. My daughter is 21 and I'm 45, which means I had one opportunity and I blew it.
Sure, I have a few images from my pregnancy - which was among the best nine months of my life - but nothing like the beautiful, elegant images I see of my friends who hired a professional photographer to capture this life-changing moment and the glow that we all (well, most of us) feel while we're going through it.
Maternity photos are the best way to capture the essence of motherhood.
Photo by Travis Gauthier
Like so many moms out there, I live with the regret that I didn't document my pregnancy. My daughter is 21 and I'm 45, which means I had one opportunity and I blew it.
Sure, I have a few images from my pregnancy - which was among the best nine months of my life - but nothing like the beautiful, elegant images I see of my friends who hired a professional photographer to capture this life-changing moment and the glow that we all (well, most of us) feel while we're going through it.
Apparently, I'm not alone in my disappointment. "I've had women say, "Oh, I wish I had done it," says Lafayette photographer Travis Gauthier. So for any of you on the fence about this, I'm here to say, "Go for it."
Have your hair and makeup done - though you'll probably want a more natural look - don some heels if you can, and relax. If you work with a pro, you'll love the results.
Photo by Abby Meaux
There is really no right time to take maternity pictures because every woman's body is different, though most women tend to have them done between 28 and 30 weeks - before their belly drops and the real swelling kicks in. For Gauthier, the sweet spot is 7 months. "The belly is nice and round; it's pretty," he says.
Photo by Michelle Fuselier
"It really depends on the woman," says Michelle Fuselier of Maurice, who has been taking maternity photos for the past decade. "I actually had one that ended up giving birth the next day."
Gauthier says maternity work for local photographers has really taken off in the past three to five years. Decades ago, some women tended to hide their pregnancies, even staying inside once they reached the third trimester and it had become obvious they were pregnant. But we've come a long way.
"Today it's just the opposite," Gauthier says. "Women are celebrating their bodies and how they look when they are pregnant."
Photo by Samantha Sylvester Lacombe
Fuselier likes to turn her pregnancy images into works of art, a form she says appeals to women who are uncomfortable taking full body shots. "At the very least I try to get them to come in to do just their belly so I can do an art piece," she says.
Among local photographers offering maternity packages:
Katie Funderburk Hoffpauir (Crowley)
781-0292
[email protected]
katiehphotography.com
Michelle Fuselier (Maurice)
Studio M
523-0273
[email protected]
studiomfuse.com
Robby Bishop (Lafayette)
456-5632
[email protected]
robbybishop.com
Travis Gauthier (Lafayette)
Zoom Photo Studio
781-2036
[email protected]
zoomphotostudio.com
Abby Meaux (Lafayette)
Meauxtography
296-4096
[email protected]
meauxtography.com
Samantha Sylvester Lacombe (Lafayette)
Memories by Sam
337-984-1088; 337-781-2245
Memoriesbysam.com
[email protected]