“A new beautiful”: Ashley’s reflective, peaceful maternity boudoir + videography session

I photographed my second boudoir session with Ashley exactly four years (to the week!) after her first session. Ashley’s first session was filled with bright, happy, light-hearted energy. Since that session, Ashley’s life has held a lot of change: she’s gotten married, moved, and now she’s pregnant with her first baby! It was so meaningful to work with Ashley again in this exciting threshold moment of life and capture what has shifted, and remained true, over the years. 

Ashley’s maternity boudoir vision + style 

When planning the session, Ashley reflected on the joys and challenges of being pregnant. She acknowledged how difficult it has been to shift her focus away from the toll this pregnancy has had on her body, yet at the same time she has been in awe of her body’s availability to change and grow this baby. She was so excited to plan a maternity boudoir session as a way to pause amidst the fullness of this season of life and celebrate the profound accomplishment of creating and nurturing new life. To me, this is one of the most beautiful gifts of boudoir: taking intentional time to acknowledge and appreciate yourself and your body.

Ashley had a clear vision for her maternity boudoir session. She wanted her portraits to feel confident, radiant, and peaceful. While her first session featured a ton of bright energy and wide-smiles, for this session Ashley wanted her portraits to capture the quiet joy and inner peace that has marked this time of becoming a mom. Her warm, self-loving energy shines through powerfully in both sessions. 

Ashley kept her wardrobe simple, choosing to wear one rust-colored, cotton bra and underwear set with clean, straight lines for the whole session. For some of the portraits, she paired this set with a cozy textured cardigan, creating a beautiful balance of simplicity and warmth. She started the session sitting by the terracotta accent wall in my studio, creating a series of portraits that felt very calm, reflective, and artful. I then had Ashley stand in front of my silhouette panel, which offered beautiful, soft light illuminating the lines of her body and highlighting her growing baby bump. 

Ashley’s maternity boudoir video + self-loving letter to her body

As one of the participants in my Dear Body series, Ashley wrote a powerful letter to her body captured in the video below. 

“To this strong, beautiful body of mine,

Today I am 32wks pregnant with my first child. As I reflect on what the last 7 months have been like for my body, it’s so easy to jump to thoughts about my body’s shortcomings, vulnerabilities, and weaknesses… And yet, I can’t help but marvel at the absolute wonder that is this body of mine…

Every physical change that I can see and feel is just a beautiful reminder that I am carrying my child into this world. To be capable of such a miraculous feat is something I want to celebrate. I want to say thank you. Thank you for reminding me how strong I am and showing me a new beautiful.” 

Ashley’s maternity boudoir portraits