Cherry Blossom Maternity Photo Session

This mama opted for an outdoor maternity photo shoot in High Park, right at the peak of Cherry Blossom season!

The vision

First of all, DAD called me to book a photo session with about 2 weeks notice, for his wife and family since mama had never done a maternity portrait session before. It was a joy getting to know them from the very first call. The initial plan was to do something outdoors, and the plans changed to a studio session instead, for convenience.

The location

DAD was the one with the brilliant idea! The week after, we realized that the Cherry Blossoms were coming earlier this year. So the plan for an outdoor session was more possible than we had thought. My worry was being too cold because in Toronto, our springs are quite unpredictable!

I was on high Cherry Blossom alert for the whole week leading up to the shoot. The last time I did a High Park photo session was in the middle of summer at golden hour. In order to avoid the crowd, we schedule the session for early morning after glam.

High Park is one of the best photo shoot locations in Toronto.

The look

The shoot consultation for this family happened in 2 parts - one was the dress fitting at my studio. Thank you to Pink Blush Maternity for the wicked-fast shipping! I was able to find options for Mama that made her look perfect, respect her cultural sensitivities, and flatter her baby bump body!

The second part was in their home so we could pick outfits for the kids and Dad. Mama loved taking me through the clothing options and we worked together to create 2 looks for their photo shoot. Check out the photos below to see how their portraits turned out. Spoiler alert - they were PERFECT!!

Glam was provided by Melody Zheng, and Toronto Hair and Makeup artist who is on my roster. She is one of the sweetest people I get to work with. She even tamed the kids' hair!

High Park Cherry Blossom Maternity Portraits

The Plan

I thought about EVERYTHING to make this happen for them. The timing of glam, shoot start and finish, where the restrooms and snack breaks would be - even exactly where to park and take portraits in the park. Can you tell I'm a planner?

An early weekday morning was the best, and we really lucked out because there was overcast.

Believe it or not, I LOVE overcast photos because mid-day photo sessions, when sunny, can create very unflattering light. Overcast photos create a giant softbox in the sky!

The session

This photo session, because of all the walking and size of the park, was done in 2.5 hours. The family got 2 pretty looks and got to make the most of the pretty Cherry Blossom backdrops! There was a camera bag, and a suitcase, which big brother was very protective of, to carry all our stuff.

You cannot believe how much I get to know about a family during a photo session. It is a great joy, not only to take their portraits, but create part of their personal history!

High Park Cherry Blossom Maternity Photo Session