Welcome to our fine art photography blog! Since you may have found us by Googling “maternity photographer near me” or “newborn photographer near me”, you probably have a lot of questions about who we are and what we do. So, let’s get to know each other!
WHO ARE WE?
Stephany Ficut is a fine art portrait photographer specializing in maternity, newborn, and family sessions. As a studio, we specialize in making you and your baby journey look as fabulous as you already are!
You’ll only be expecting your child once, so it’s important to capture this unique season of your life in a special way. I’m sure you know that taking selfies to document the miraculous growth of your baby bump and then posting them on social media is a current trend. It’s cute, and it provides a way for your friends to celebrate with you immediately. But selfies aren’t professional.
Years from now when your child is older and wants to know more about himself or herself, you’ll want to show him or her professional maternity shots of you. You’ll want to show your child that you valued your pregnancy so much that you invested in a professional to document the season. And you’ll want to show your child a beautifully crafted moment!
So, as a professional photography studio, we take the artistic documentation of your special season very seriously. Our goal is to offer each individual client a unique experience from start to end. That means that every pregnancy photoshoot and every couple maternity shoot will be different—simply because YOU are unique!
WHAT IS THE FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY EXPERIENCE?
Our approach to capturing your special memories is one that embraces fine art. Fine art photography isn’t just a one-time event. It’s a journey—an experience. The final results of your pregnancy photoshoot or your couple maternity shoot will be a process that will happen in several steps (one of those steps is the actual photo session).
These steps are designed so that we can intentionally get to know you, your family, and your style. As we spend time getting to know you, we’ll be able to pick up on all of the details and subtle nuances that make you -YOU. That way, when it’s time to capture YOU during your session, we won’t miss a beat.
As we like to say, we put a piece of our heart and a piece of yours in each image. That’s why it’s so important for us to follow this process for each of our clients—so that we can customize each session to create a unique work of art that represents YOU... art that is a part of you. Here’s a link to a short video that will give you a little taste of the fine art experience.
With this in mind, let’s go through each of the five steps in the process and explain what you can expect with each one!
1. What is a design consultation?
The first and most important step in the fine art photography experience is the design consultation: an initial meeting in which we become acquainted with one another and plan out the details of our working relationship. The design consultation is so important because it allows us to gather information specifically about you. Without this crucial step in the fine art photography experience, we would not be informed enough to be able to show most of YOU in each image.
At the design consultation, we’ll go over every detail of your session and discuss options for several locations for your photography session. Will we be doing the session indoors or outdoors? When would be the best time to schedule your session? Are we going for a rustic, elegant, outdoorsy style?
If your session will be indoors, we’ll be at our studio in Hickory Creek, Texas, where we’ll provide you with everything you need for your pregnancy photoshoot or your couple maternity shoot. Here’s a link to a brief video tour of our studio. Check it out for a sneak peek!
If your session will be outdoors, we offer outdoor sessions on location all around the Dallas/Fort Worth area. We’ll review the various options for your session and pick the best option that fits your style. We do this because we like to show you how each specific location looks during the month of your session, and we’ll show you examples of each one. In addition to pregnancy photoshoots and couple maternity shoots, we also offer newborn, cake smash, and family photoshoots. We love to capture each one of your family’s important milestones!
Also at the design consultation, we will show you all the different artwork products and options that we offer. We’ll create some fun, beautiful memories for you during your pregnancy photoshoot or your couple maternity shoot—but at the design consultation, we’ll help you find the best way to preserve those memories. For example, we offer several heirloom products: portfolio boxes with museum-quality fine art prints, heirloom albums, handmade museum quality canvases, modern acrylics, wood art pieces, and more!
When you’re ready to book your design consultation with us, click here!
2. What is a gown fitting appointment?
The second step in the fine art photography experience is the maternity gown fitting appointment, which will occur one to two weeks before your session. We have an exquisite collection of more than 100 designer maternity gowns, a variety of bodysuits, and the finest silk fabrics that are available exclusively to our clients—exclusively to you! You can read more about that collection here. And we want to offer you the very best, so we constantly update our closet with the latest styles and trends. You’ll only be expecting your baby once, so you two need to look your best, right?
At your gown fitting appointment, you’ll pick your favorite gowns and accessories to match for your pregnancy photoshoot. Do you look good in red? blue? yellow? green? anything or everything in between? What brings out your eyes? your skin tone? your body type? Do you enjoy specific hobbies, do you have a zany personality, or do you have specific ideas of your own for your photoshoot?
We’ll help you figure out all of those details. Remember: We’re the experts in fine art photography, so we specialize in making you look your very best!
We’ll also help you plan your family's outfits to ensure proper color coordination during your couple's maternity shoot. What colors or styles will your entire family look good in? What brings out Daddy’s eyes? What kind of outfits enhance your children’s adorableness? Will all of your outfits match or conform to a certain theme, or will each one of you be sporting his or her individual style? We can help you figure all of that out!
During this appointment, we’ll remind you of all the little things that you’ll need to bring for your actual session. Motherhood is already full of all kinds of surprises. Why add more surprises to your plate? We’ll review everything you’ll need to know so that you and your family will be as prepared as possible!
3. What happens during a photo session?
The third step in the fine art photography experience is your session. Your pregnancy photo session or your couple maternity photoshoot is what we’ve been working for all along! All the fun and all the memories happen here—and we’ll capture it all for posterity.
During your session, of course, we’ll photograph you, your baby’s Daddy, and/or your children together according to the details that we discussed with you during the design consultation. We’ll spend a lot of time posing everyone in just the right way to make sure everyone looks just right! The lighting will need to catch your eyes, your face, your skin tone, and your hair so that the photograph will capture your radiance, Daddy’s strength, and your children’s adorableness just right!
Because of all the work involved in setting up the poses and making sure we get the perfect shots, a pregnancy photoshoot can generally last from one and a half to two hours, but we’ll take as long as we need. We want to make sure you look good, Mama, and we don’t want to miss any opportunity to capture everything perfectly!
4. What is the reveal session?
The fourth step in the fine art photography experience is the reveal session—when we get to show you the beautiful images that we created for you. Since this is often an emotional moment (we tend to see happy tears), this is our favorite part of the whole experience!
The reveal session typically takes place about two weeks after the photo session. First, we watch a gorgeous slideshow of your photo gallery—the images that we captured during your pregnancy photoshoot or your couple maternity shoot. Then we assist you in selecting your favorite images and making the final decisions on how you want to preserve them. We love to offer our clients different options before they make any final decisions!
Have you been thinking about getting some new artwork for your living room? or have you been running out of ideas on what to hang in your nursery? How about something new for your den or foyer? Our amazing software will allow us to show you a preview of how your images will look like on your very own walls—up to scale. You’ll see how all your images look in different sizes and this will allow us to design something that’s absolutely perfect for your space!
Here’s a link to a short video that will give you an idea of how your photos will look within the final products. Keep in mind that these are just some ideas—let’s chat and see what other ideas we can come up with together!
5. How do I receive the final product?
The fifth and final step in the fine art photography experience is what we’ve all been working for—the delivery!
Remember: When you become our client, we’ll make sure that everything you need is taken care of—from start to finish. So, when your final products are ready for you, we’ll personally deliver everything to your home and install all of the beautiful artwork on your walls, for free! We really love to take care of our clients, so we won’t rest until you’re completely satisfied with the end results of everyone’s hard work.
Then after your products are delivered, all that’s left for you to do is enjoy those unique memories for many years to come and share them with your loved ones! Can’t you just imagine all of your friends and relatives coming to your home and oohing and aahing over your professionally done photos? Just think how much more excited your loved ones will be in anticipation of your new baby’s arrival!
HOW DO WE GET STARTED?
It’s simple. Just click here to schedule your design consultation. We would love to get in touch with you and design your unique story, so let’s get started today!
Now that you have an idea about what the fine art photography experience is all about, we hope that we’ll have the opportunity to work with you! If you have friends who have also been looking for a photographer by Googling “maternity photographer near me” or “newborn photographer near me,” please refer them to us and let them know that their search is over!
And don’t forget to click here to book your design consultation with us!