It is early July and the weather has been absolutely incredible for weeks now - as a natural light pregnancy photographer I couldn't be happier! The soft evening light is just perfect for outdoor maternity photo shoots with all those gorgeous golden tones and natural sun-flares that appear towards sunset. Golden "hour" actually lasts a good couple of hours in the UK in the middle of summer and so I currently like to start my evening pregnancy photoshoots at around 7pm, which gives us bags of time as the light gets progressively softer and more golden during the session. This maternity shoot was on Hampstead Heath in North London, which is full of long uncut grass and wildflowers at the moment.

Bump to baby photography in London

Pregnant mum Josie is from California, but has been living with her husband in London for the last 5 years. She chose me for her pregnancy photoshoot as she loved my use of natural light - there is definitely a West Coast Californian vibe in my work! It's funny because such a large proportion of my clients are American, and I put this down to my photography being so full of golden, sun-kissed light. Josie is expecting her second baby - would you believe her first child is 16 years old! He had just flown in from the US and joined us on the Heath for a few shots too. Josie and her husband walk their 2 dogs on the Heath every day, so this was a really meaningful location for them - and I love it too for it's open meadows and big trees to soften the sunlight.

What to wear for pregnancy photography

Maternity photoshoots are generally more relaxed and slower-paced than family sessions with little ones! That allows for a change of outfits, if clients wish, which creates more variety in the images. I love the floral kimono here, and then the more classic pink maternity gown which looked gorgeous amongst the soft textured grasses. The whole photoshoot was so dreamy and Josie looked so lovely that we actually had people in the park stopping to watch!

Here's some of my favourite images from our shoot...