Upper Valley | Winter Maternity and Newborn Session

Here is a look at a snowy maternity session in Hanover, New Hampshire, where my couple and their sweet Australian Shepherd braved the snow to create some maternity images. A few weeks later we met for a cozy, in-home newborn session to welcome their new baby.

I offer a bundled maternity and newborn package for a session each before and after your new baby arrives, marking an important transition in your life and family. 

The New England weather often adds a second story to photo sessions. New Hampshire and Vermont winters feel like something else—something unique that we must endure during photo shoots, especially in outdoor portrait photography. Winter changes how we dress, how we pose and move, and where we can go. I’m impressed each time I have a couple or a family who will venture into the cold with me, especially these new parents! They willingly trudged through ankle-deep snow at Foley Park in Hanover, which overlooks the Connecticut River. I was nervous to keep them out too long, and they were such sports about it! I tried to work efficiently, creating as many special portraits as I could in a short amount of time to keep everyone comfortable.

Playing in the Snow

I love their style. Her green dress and his tan jacket help them stand out against the white, snowy background. In her solo maternity portraits, that gold necklace is a perfect statement, understated and elegant! I felt the images in black and white captured the mood so well here, and I deliver a color version too, to give the choice. I love the images of them walking across the snow, posing with their dog, and the one with their hands around her belly. The portrait of her with the winter berries is one of my all-time favorites. I love to layer foreground and background with soft focus, the subtle pops of color against all that white, and her expression—confident and beautiful!

Meeting Baby

We took plenty of time to create a combo of candid and traditional portraits and to capture tiny details and in-between moments for the sweet little boy in the images below. I incorporated different perspectives and the parent’s hands in the newborn portraits to show scale and connection.

My advice for in-home newborn sessions is to always keep it simple and use swaddles and blankets with neutral tones. They make the images feel natural, light-filled and warm, which is what I strive for in these sessions. The neutral tones introduce an element of quiet, much like hushing a baby, and I just love them. I stick with baby-led posing, where we let newborns do what they do with their bodies, because it’s already cute and it’s safe.

It’s such an honor and I am grateful to capture these intimate, first moments!