Guide
A babymoon in Wailea, and a maternity session that fits around it.
Six to nine months is the window, morning is the hour, and thirty minutes is often enough. The rest of the day is yours.
Timing
If you are past six months, you are in the window.
Six to nine months is when maternity photographs do what you want them to do, and later is usually better. The more bump is showing, the more the photographs read as what they are.
If your babymoon falls earlier than that, I will still shoot it happily. Just know that earlier on, the photograph is about the trip and the news, not the bump.
If you are not sure how you will feel about a sunrise start by then, book it for later in the trip and move it if you need to. If I have the slot open, moving you costs nothing.
Fitting it into the trip
How I would plan it.
- 01
Book the morning
Thirty to forty-five minutes after sunrise. The trades have not filled in and the light is soft enough that nobody is squinting. The middle of the day is hot, and right now that matters more than usual.
- 02
Thirty minutes is often enough
The Mini Island Experience is 30 minutes and $450: one location, one look, and enough time to relax into it. For the two of you, that is usually plenty, and it keeps the time on your feet in the sand short.
- 03
Forty-five if anyone else is coming
Bringing older kids? Book The Maui Special, 45 minutes for $650. It is what most maternity sessions book, and it is enough for solo portraits, the two of you, and the kids without anyone getting tired.
- 04
The photographs wait for you at home
Your gallery lands 2–3 weeks after the session, every photograph fully edited. I text you and email you when it is ready, so there is nothing to do on the trip itself.
- 05
Let the beach follow the hotel
In Wailea that usually means Keawakapu or Polo. Both suit maternity sessions and both are at their best at sunrise. Maluaka in Makena if you want the most open sand.
Who is in it
Bring your partner. The best frame is rarely the solo one.
A babymoon is usually the two of you, which suits a maternity session well. The frame that ends up on the wall is often a partner’s hands on the bump rather than the solo portrait, though I will get you that one too.
Lei photograph beautifully against skin and light fabric; mention it and I will tell you where to get good ones. I do not do heavy body editing: everyone should be comfortable in their own skin, and that goes double in the one set of photographs you will look at for the rest of your life. Maternity sessions in full
What to wear
Something that moves.
Flowing fabric photographs best here. A gown that catches the morning breeze gives you frames a stiff dress never will. White and light earth tones are the default, and if you bought something specific for this, wear it. What to wear in Wailea
Frequently asked
Babymoon questions
Six to nine months is the window, and later is usually better. Book the session for the morning, thirty to forty-five minutes after sunrise, before the wind picks up and the day gets hot.
For the two of you, thirty minutes is often enough: one location, one look. If older kids are coming, book forty-five so nobody is rushed.
Keawakapu and Polo, both on my permitted list and both at their best at sunrise. Maluaka in Makena if you want the most open sand.
Next step
Tell me where you are staying.
I will come back with a beach, a time and the reason for both — usually inside the hour.