Family Portraits in Winnetka and Wilmette
An unhurried hour outdoors, photographed the way your family actually is.
Maternity Portraits in Winnetka and Wilmette
Not a pregnancy announcement, but a portrait of the woman you are right now. Most women almost don’t book this, and nobody has told me they regret it.
Winnetka · Wilmette · Kenilworth · Glencoe
There’s a short window where this version of you exists, and it closes faster than anyone tells you. Most women I photograph say some version of the same thing afterward: they almost didn’t book. It felt indulgent, or they didn’t feel like themselves, or they meant to and then it was thirty-nine weeks.
Nobody has ever told me they regret it.
What I’m after isn’t a pregnancy announcement. It’s you, at a point in your life you will not be able to return to, photographed well enough that the child you’re carrying looks at it in twenty years and sees you.
How I Photograph
No props. No fabric draped over anything, no oversized hats, nothing that will date the picture to a particular year. Those photographs are about the concept. I’d rather the photograph be about you.
We schedule around your day rather than around the sun. Mornings, mid afternoon, before dinner, whenever you have the most energy, which in the third trimester is not usually six in the evening. Good light exists all day if you know where to look, and knowing where to look is most of what twenty years is for.
I’ll give you something to do rather than a pose to hold. Walking, sitting, leaning against something, hands wherever hands naturally go. Standing still and holding a shape gets uncomfortable within about forty seconds, and it shows.
We’ll take breaks. There’s no version of this where you push through.
When to Book
The sweet spot is between thirty and thirty-four weeks. You’re unmistakably pregnant and still comfortable enough to walk around for an hour.
Earlier than twenty-eight weeks and it doesn’t quite read yet. After thirty-six, most women would rather be sitting down, and with twins or a history of early delivery I’d move the whole window up by three or four weeks.
If you’re past that already, book anyway. I’ve photographed women at thirty-eight weeks who were glad they didn’t talk themselves out of it.
The practical note: reach out around twenty weeks. That gives us room to pick a date that suits you rather than the last one available, and if you’re planning newborn photographs too, we can hold a window around your due date at the same time.
What to Wear
Bring two or three options and we’ll decide together when we see the light.
What tends to work: anything fitted through the bump rather than draped over it, long lines, fabric with some movement to it. Solid colors. Your own clothes, if they still fit and you feel good in them, are almost always better than something bought for the occasion.
What tends not to work: busy patterns, logos, anything stiff, and anything you’re wearing for the first time.
We’ll talk it through before the day, so nobody is standing in front of a closet at four in the afternoon.
Who Else Is in the Frame
Your partner is welcome, and I’d encourage it. So are your older children, and those frames are often the ones that end up on the wall, because they’re the last photographs of your family at its current size.
That said, some of the best images from these sessions are the ones where it’s just you. If you’re bringing everyone, we’ll do both.
If your older child is two and has opinions, that’s fine. It’s built into the hour.
What You End Up With
About two weeks after the session we sit down together and go through the images, and I help you decide which ones are worth keeping and what to do with them. Most people are surprised by how much they enjoy this part.
Then albums and framed pieces arrive finished. Wall artwork I bring to your home and hang myself.
And I keep your images archived permanently. Fifteen years from now, when your daughter wants a copy, it’s still there.
Where We Photograph
Most sessions happen at Gillson Park in Wilmette, Crow Island Woods in Winnetka, or along the lakefront. Open water and beach grass at Gillson, oak canopy and quiet at Crow Island.
Your own home is always an option, and it’s the better one if you’re far along, if the weather is bad, or if you’d simply rather not be photographed in public. Your bedroom in morning light is a real setting, not a fallback.
Winnetka · Wilmette · Kenilworth · Glencoe · Northfield · Highland Park · Northbrook · Glenview · Deerfield · Evanston
How It Works
1. We Talk
You tell me your due date, we pick a window, and we sort out what you’ll wear.
2. We Meet in Good Light
About an hour, at whatever time of day suits you, outdoors or at home.
3. We Choose Together
Two weeks later we sit down and go through the images and decide what’s worth keeping.
4. I Deliver It and Hang It
Albums and framed pieces arrive finished. Wall artwork I bring to your home and put up myself.
Investment
Sessions begin at $500. This covers our time together, the editing, and a private appointment where we choose your images.
Most collections fall between $1,500 and $3,000. Your session fee is credited toward any of them.
If you’re planning newborn photographs as well, we can arrange both together, and that’s usually the better way to do it.
Nothing is decided before you’ve seen the photographs.
In Their Words
Questions People Ask
How far along should I be?
Thirty to thirty-four weeks for most women, earlier with twins. If you’re already past it, book anyway.
I don’t feel like myself right now.
Almost everyone says this. It’s the most common reason women put it off and the most common thing they’re glad they ignored. Part of my job is making the hour comfortable enough that you stop thinking about it, and it usually takes about ten minutes.
Can my partner and children come?
Yes, and I’d encourage it. We’ll get frames of everyone and frames of just you.
Do I need to buy a special dress?
No. Bring two or three things you already own and feel good in, and we’ll choose on the day.
What if I go into labor early?
We move it, or we photograph at your home on short notice, or we let it go and focus on the newborn session instead. This happens and it’s never a problem.
Can we do maternity and newborn together?
Yes, and most people do. Book the maternity session and I’ll hold a window around your due date for the newborn photographs.
