There is something about maternity sessions at the beach that I will never get over.

Maybe it’s the wind doing half the styling for us. Maybe it’s bare feet, kids running in and out of the water, sandy clothes and the fact that absolutely nobody can stay perfectly posed for very long.

Or maybe it’s because that’s exactly the point.

This Gold Coast maternity session was one of those mornings where we weren’t just photographing a pregnancy. We were photographing a family right in the middle of becoming something new.

Maternity photos can be about your whole family

When people think about maternity photography, the first thing that usually comes to mind is beautiful portraits of Mum and her bump.

And yes. We absolutely get those.

But when this isn't your first baby, pregnancy belongs to this strange little chapter for your whole family.

Someone is about to become a big brother or sister. Your youngest is about to suddenly look enormous beside a newborn. Your family dynamic is about to shift all over again.

I want to photograph that too.

Because years from now, these aren't only photographs of what your belly looked like.

They're photographs of what your family looked like just before they arrived.

You do not need children who stand still for family photos

Especially toddlers. 😂

Please do not look at beautiful family photography online and assume there was a cooperative two-year-old politely following instructions somewhere behind the scenes.

There probably wasn't.

For family and maternity sessions, I would much rather let little people move.

Run with Dad. Explore the beach. Chase the water. Get picked up. Have a cuddle. Wander away from us because apparently a stick 40 metres down the beach is suddenly the most important object ever discovered by humankind.

That movement is where so much of the good stuff happens.

I will guide you when we need it, but your entire session isn't going to be spent standing in a line smiling at me.

Your maternity session is still about you, too

Among all the family chaos, we slow things down.

You get photographs with your babies. Photographs with your partner. Photographs of just you and the little person you're currently carrying around everywhere.

And yes, I am probably going to make you get in the ocean.

Not actually make you.

But LOOK AT IT.

Worth the wet skirt. 😂

What if we're awkward in front of the camera?

You don't need to know how to pose.

You don't need to know where to put your hands.

And your partner absolutely does not need to spend the week before your session practising their Blue Steel in the bathroom mirror.

I give you enough direction that you're never standing there wondering what the hell you're supposed to be doing, but enough room for things to happen naturally too.

Sometimes that's cuddling.

Sometimes it's walking.

Sometimes it's dancing barefoot in the ocean while heavily pregnant.

Sometimes it's whatever on earth your children have decided we're doing now. 😂

Those in-between moments are often some of my favourites because they actually feel like you.

Beach maternity photography on the Gold Coast

Living on the Gold Coast gives us some ridiculously beautiful locations for maternity photography.

Depending on the kind of session you want, we can use open stretches of coastline, rocky pockets, greenery, dunes and quieter little corners to give your gallery variety without travelling between multiple locations.

And the beach doesn't need to be perfectly sunny to be beautiful.

Clouds, wind and slightly wild water gave this session so much texture and movement. Then as the light softened, everything changed again.

You end up with photographs that feel connected, but not like the same image repeated twenty times.

Your family doesn't have to be perfectly behaved to be worth photographing

This is probably the biggest thing I want families to know before booking me.

Your children can be children.

You can laugh. You can move. Someone can wander off. Your toddler can decide they're finished with our carefully constructed plan approximately fourteen seconds after arriving.

We'll work with them.

I don't need your family to perform perfection for me.

I want the way your toddler fits against your hip. Your partner's hand on your belly. Your older child hovering somewhere between being one of the kids and suddenly looking incredibly grown up.

The laughing, the running, the cuddles, the chaos and the quiet bits in between.

Because this version of your family only exists for a little while.

And then someone new arrives. 🤍

Hollow & Hearth Photography
Gold Coast Maternity Photographer
Family & Beach Maternity Photography | Gold Coast, Queensland