My niece's MATERNITY PORTRAIT sesh

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, prepare for some repeats. 

My niece Sasha & her hubby recently had twin boys. I insisted she let me do her maternity pics the instant she told me she was prego. She.obliged.me.of.course. 
Who passes up F*R*E*E*S*T*U*F*F?! 

First the pics, then a few tips from this backyard wannabe photographer. ;-) 

My dad cut the wooden blocks for me and I just slapped a little paint on em. I made the letters on my Cricut with scrapbook paper and Mod Podged em on there like a champ! 

I plan to keep these around for engagement pics, couples, etc. The Cricut cartridge I used was Don Juan.

Stole this idea straight off Pinterest. Made the banner myself with the Jubilee font on my Cricut. Easy peasy! 

At first I tried it with Stampin' Up rubber stamp letters but it's just too hard to get those straight and inked evenly. 

(ahem) I may be a little OCD.

Another one from Pinterest here folks... 

Frame from clearance aisle at Goodwill that just needed a coat of paint, a paintbrush that was just layin' around, and of course a couple Photoshop skillz. No big deal. ;-)

I bought these Chucks for them boysss cuz they were too cute & we needed some shoe pics...

Michelle (Sasha's mom) had this idea with the Scrabble tiles - - 

There might have been some laughter involved with this one and we might have licked the tiles to keep them from falling off the mom-to-be's jiggling belly... improvise people, improvise.

 ABC blocks have many purposes... 

this is just one of the shots we used them for.

In that belly lived two boys!! Whew wee!

Side note: a couple people told me this shot was magazine worthy. (blushing)

This is the pondering/thoughtful/serious shot

Advice & tips for maternity sessions:

• Research - get ideas for poses ahead of time
• Ask the mom if she's comfortable showing bare belly so there's no awkwardness at the session
• Be flexible (be aware of how tired Mom is getting - tired definitely shows up in pics)
• Try different angles (think outside the box)
• Play around with depth of field to add creative element
• Have a helper (Michelle was a LIFE SAVER)
• Be organized (with props, shooting locations, etc.)
• Ask the parents-to-be for input
• Remember to HAVE FUN!!!! 

And before I go... just because I like to keep it real, I'll show ya what it takes to get the shot (at least for me anyway)... 

Check back for pics of the baby shower and the TWINS in a separate post!