“I can’t believe …” Kate hesitated. She can hardly bring herself to say it.

“.. how beautiful I look. I had no idea.”

Many of my pregnant clients are surprised when they see the nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves.
For some, it is the first time that they can truly appreciate the beauty of their pregnant bodies, their full breasts, their round bump and the exaggerated curve of their back.
Other women adore their curvy bodies throughout their pregnancy. They feel womanly, confident and creative. For them, the photos are a wonderful reminder of their experience.

Revealing but not exposing

Pregnancy photos are unlike most nude or semi-nude pictures of women in our culture. They are not produced for men to consume.
Instead, these photos are created for the woman herself to enjoy. They celebrate her body while respecting her person.
Pregnancy photos have a joy in them.

Celebration of pregnancy

Throughout history, many cultures have celebrated the beauty and power of pregnant women in sculpture, drawings, songs and stories – often showing the woman partly or fully naked.
Pregnancy is one of the extraordinary things that our bodies can do. We are still ourselves but yet somehow also so much more.
The baby growing inside us connects us to past and future generations. We feel part of the thread of life that travels through unimaginable spans of time.

One of the most special parts of my job

For me, photographing pregnant women is life-affirming experience.
I love to capture the beauty of women’s bodies and create a record of this special time for my clients.

My favourite photo of my childhood is kept in my Dad’s wallet. He has always kept it there ever since he received it as a birthday present over 30 years ago.
At the time that the photograph was taken, my father was working in Russia in the oil fields. He was away for eight months as the distance was too great to travel back to Mlawa, the small town about 100 miles north of Warsaw in Poland where we lived.
My mother, older brother and I missed him dreadfully and he missed us too. Life was lonely and difficult without him.

Our happy day

My mother decided to cheer us all up by having a photo of three of us taken as a surprise for Dad’s birthday.
She took me and my brother Jacek to the photographer’s studio in town. The photographer was a gentle lady who gave me a yellow plastic cat to play with during the session. You can see it in the photograph.
The three of us had such fun together that day. It’s one of my earliest memories and I can still recall how special I felt when my picture was taken.

A cherished keepsake

My Dad has never told me how he felt when he received our picture.
Like most Polish people of his generation, my Dad rarely shares his emotions. He does rather than says.
But I know that he cut the picture down to size so that it would fit in the tan leather wallet that he used at the time. And thirty years later, he still keeps our photo in his wallet.
Whenever I see that picture of me, Jacek and Mum, I can see how much he has always loved and cherished us.