I think underwater photography lends itself perfectly to maternity. Where else can you feel cool, weightless and graceful while 9 months pregnant but in the water! The trend is really catching on too, with the help of celebrities such as Beyonce, who did an underwater maternity shoot when she was expecting twins.

So when my gorgeous, pregnant friend Becky said she wanted to do an underwater shoot with me, I was thrilled. Being a yoga instructor with gorgeous, long hair I knew that the result would be special. However, she is quite critical of herself in photos generally and I do feel more pressure for the result to be amazing when it’s a good friend so I was a little nervous. She said she was as well and it’s certainly not the easiest holding your breathe underwater and trying to sink while looking natural and posing but she soon eased into it and we took it slow and had some fun.

We played with different fabrics which can look really amazing in the water and also different backgrounds. Some pools are better than others to shoot in and sometimes the tiles can be a distraction so I will use a backdrop. I also like doing digital montages, such as the one above which I combined with a photo I took of the stunning water in Ibiza.

As Christmas was coming up, we did a fun Christmas themed shot with this outfit.

Thankfully, Becky was happy with the results and even made a calendar of the images to give to family for Christmas which was a great idea. She had these lovely words to say:

“I was feeling a little nervous about the underwater shoot and my ability to hold my breath being so late in my pregnancy.  Vanessa is so patient and wonderful to work with, guiding me through the shoot making sure I felt comfortable and at ease.  The final images are absolutely stunning and this is big coming from someone who generally doesn’t like herself in photos, such incredible talent and I highly recommend underwater photography with Vanessa to anyone looking to feel extra special during their pregnancy or any occasion!” 

Here’s a little behind the scenes video…