When to book: the 28-to-34 week window
Book between 28 and 34 weeks, and aim for 32 if you can pick a single date. Before 28 weeks the bump doesn’t read clearly on camera yet, whatever the angle or the lens. After 35 weeks, standing for an hour stops being pleasant for most people, and plenty of babies arrive before their due date anyway. Thirty-two weeks sits in the middle of both problems solved.
Twins move the whole calendar earlier. A twin bump reaches the size of a 34-week single bump by around 26 weeks, so I book those sessions for 26 to 30 weeks instead. For the full week-by-week reasoning, see exactly when to book a maternity shoot.
Maternity photography prices
A maternity photoshoot in London starts at £250. Two options cover most bookings, and the difference is time and who’s in the frame, not editing quality.
| Session | Length | Edited images | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo or bump-only session | 45 minutes | 20 | £250 |
| Partner and siblings included | 90 minutes | 35 | £350 |
Adding a newborn session books at the same time and holds the later slot before labour starts, rather than leaving you to arrange it exhausted with a two-week-old. Shooting at home costs the same as shooting on location, since travel across London is already built into the price. Printed and framed work is quoted separately once you’ve seen the gallery. See full pricing across every service if you’re comparing this against a different type of session.
What changes the price
A second location, a third outfit change beyond the two included, or an October evening slot after 6pm, when I need to bring lighting rather than rely on the window. None of these are common, but I’d rather quote them upfront than add them as a surprise later.
At home or on location
A bedroom with one decent window and the bed stripped back to white sheets photographs better than most hired studios, and it costs you nothing in travel at 32 weeks pregnant. I shoot maternity at home more often than anywhere else, because nobody has to get dressed twice or find a lift in a period conversion with no step-free access.
Outdoors, when it works
Outdoors works well from May to September without needing a coat, and through the colder months with one. Victoria Park, Hampstead Heath and the paths along the South Bank all give me open shade and somewhere to sit down between frames, which matters more at 32 weeks than the scenery does. See recent portrait work across London from both settings.
What to wear when nothing fits
Fitted beats floaty at this stage, whatever the maternity shops are selling you. A jersey dress that follows the shape of the bump photographs better than a tent that hides it, which is usually the opposite of what people pack. A bump band worn under a partner’s shirt does the same job for less money.
- One fitted jersey dress, or a bump band with a partner’s oversized shirt
- One outfit you’d actually wear that day, for the frames that don’t need to look styled
- One backup, in case the first choice doesn’t photograph the way you expected
I wouldn’t buy a dedicated maternity gown for a single afternoon unless you genuinely want one to keep afterwards. They’re expensive, they photograph beautifully in the right light, and they’re also unnecessary for most sessions. Bring three options from your own wardrobe and we decide together on the day, once we’ve seen how the light’s falling.
What a session is actually like
Nobody at 32 weeks pregnant wants to be posed for ninety minutes straight, so I don’t ask for that. Sitting is built into the plan from the start rather than offered as a break once someone asks for one.
- Ten minutes on your partner’s hands against the bump
- Twenty minutes of the two of you together, mostly sitting
- The rest of the time on you alone, standing only when you want to
The photographs people keep from these sessions are almost always the quiet ones, not the posed three-quarter turn every guide recommends. A hand resting on the bump while you’re laughing at something off-camera outlasts a formal pose on the wall.
If a partner or older child is coming along, family sessions from £250 run at a similar pace if you want a repeat later. For the full run-through of timing, outfits and locations in one booking, a full guide to maternity shoots in London covers it end to end.
Booking maternity and newborn together
Booking both sessions in one conversation is the practical choice, not an upsell. One photographer, two sessions roughly eight weeks apart, and the newborn sessions from £220 slot held in the diary before you’ve gone into labour, rather than arranged in a rush afterwards.
The maternity shoot happens around 32 weeks, the newborn session around five to fourteen days after birth, and I hold both dates loosely since babies rarely arrive on schedule. You get one styling conversation instead of two, and one person who already knows how your flat’s light falls at different times of day.
When a maternity shoot isn’t worth booking
If you’re not comfortable being photographed, being 32 weeks pregnant won’t change that. A bump doesn’t make somebody enjoy a camera pointed at them, and I’d rather say that plainly than book a session that makes you miserable for an hour.
A shorter session, twenty minutes at home in normal clothes, often suits people who feel this way better than the full booking does. Waiting for the newborn shoot instead is also a reasonable call, since a sleeping baby gives you something to focus on that isn’t your own reflection in the lens.
Tell me your due date and whether you’d rather shoot at home or outdoors, and I’ll reply within one working day with dates inside the 28-to-34-week window.