Tania’s Maternity Shoot At The Beach

This was my first shoot at the beach. I was a bit nervous that I wasn’t going to be able to find good locations. It was my first, and it was the couple’s first time taking photos.

I spent all day preparing the day before. I spent hours looking on Instagram for photos that I could recreate and draw inspiration from. I saved a few of them on my phone.

The ironic part is that I kind of forgot I had the photos on my phone and never pulled them up to reference them or try out the poses I saved.

When I woke up this morning, I had the idea of getting some wooden letters from the craft store so I could put them on the sand and take some images of them. I wasn’t sure if it was an organic idea or if I saw that in some Instagram post. Either way, on my way to the beach, I bought the wooden letters.

Being my very first shoot where I was going to get paid, I was extremely nervous. I’ve seen people create some amazing images with the gear I have, but I felt a bit nervous that I wasn’t going to be able to utilize the gear to its full potential. Everything I have is entry-level equipment, even the 50mm lens.

As soon as we started taking photos, ideas just kept flowing through my brain. I wasn’t great at executing them, but Tania and her husband were patient and a genuinely happy couple, so I had some time in between shots to plan and set up the next one.

We had an outfit change and moved towards the rocks by the time the sun began to set. I managed to take all the shots I could think of before it got dark, and Tania got tired from standing.

We said our goodbyes and parted ways. I stayed at the beach a little longer to enjoy the cool breeze, but within 15 minutes it just got way too cold and windy.

It’s like the universe held off the wind and cold for my first shoot.