At home in Niantic
We started in her backyard in Niantic, with her husband and their toddler. With toddlers I don’t ask for anything. No “look at the camera”, no “stand still”. I let them run, and I photograph what happens: being lifted up, a hand on the belly, the three of them on the grass.
These are the photographs of the life she had right then. Soon there would be four of them.
The gardens at Harkness
Then the two of us drove to Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford for the second part, timed for sunset.
Harkness was the Harkness family’s summer estate on Long Island Sound, and the gardens were designed by Beatrix Farrand. Formal beds, clipped hedges, stone walls, the mansion behind it all. It’s one of the few places in Connecticut that already looks like a painting before you lift the camera.
I posed her slowly: hands, shoulders, the turn of her head. The sun was low, so the light came in from the side and stayed soft on her face.
The beach at sunset
We finished on the beach, with the light going gold and then pink over the water.
If you’d like a session at Harkness
- Come for the last hour and a half before sunset. The gardens first, while the light is still on them, then the beach for the sunset itself.
- Bring flat shoes for walking between the gardens and the beach, and change on the spot.
- Choose fabric that moves. The Sound is almost always a little windy, and chiffon or a long skirt turns that into movement in the photographs.
- A session can have two parts, like this one: family at home, then portraits of you on your own somewhere beautiful.
I’m based in Colchester and photograph maternity sessions in the studio in Hartford, at home, and on the Connecticut shoreline.
See my maternity sessions · Family sessions · Plan your maternity session
When to Book Newborn Photos
When to Schedule Your Maternity Photo Session: A Connecticut Photographer’s Timing Guide
What Makes a Cinematic Portrait: Notes from a Former Video Editor
In-Home Newborn Photos in New London, CT | Connecticut Newborn Photographer
