Riley + Jake’s Carefree Sunset Maternity Session in North Alabama

Some sessions just need good light, an open field, and permission to keep things simple.

That was pretty much the entire vision for Riley + Jake’s maternity session — and I loved it from the beginning.

When Riley first reached out, she described wanting carefree, homestead vibes somewhere with pretty land. As we planned, that turned into an open grassy location, sunset light, flowy neutral outfits, and a relaxed approach that didn’t feel overly styled or stiff. She also wanted the session to feel candid and natural, with a few meaningful baby details mixed in.

Honestly… my kind of maternity session.

A relaxed outdoor maternity session

Riley and Jake’s session took place at sunset in an open North Alabama field. We had warm grass, soft trees along the edge of the property, and that late-summer light that made everything feel golden without needing much else.

For Riley’s first look, she wore a long brown off-the-shoulder dress that moved beautifully in the field. It gave us a little drama when we wanted it, but still felt soft and natural when she was sitting in the grass or walking through the field.

I photographed plenty of Riley on her own because maternity photos deserve to celebrate her, too. Some of my favorites are the simplest frames — her hands around her belly, the fabric moving around her, the sunlight coming through the trees, and a few black-and-white images that strip everything down to the emotion of the season.

Riley + Jake

Of course, Jake joined her for a big part of the session, and those images brought a completely different energy.

There are the sweet ones — hands on the baby bump, forehead kisses, standing together in the field — but I also love the photographs where they were just moving around and interacting instead of worrying about what their hands were doing.

Riley had told me she wanted a candid, relaxed style, so we weren’t trying to turn every frame into a perfectly symmetrical maternity pose. I wanted the gallery to still feel like them.

That balance is always the goal for me: a few photographs that feel thoughtful and frame-worthy, mixed with enough movement and real interaction that you can actually remember what being together in that season felt like.

A second look with ultrasound photos

For the second half of the session, Riley changed into jeans with a soft white top.

I love an outfit change during maternity sessions because it gives you two completely different moods without needing a second location. The brown dress was romantic and flowy; the jeans and white top felt more casual and lived-in.

We spread out a blanket in the field and incorporated ultrasound photos and flowers — little details that immediately make the photographs feel attached to this exact chapter of their life.

Riley and Jake were expecting a baby boy, so those ultrasound images were more than props. They were a tiny glimpse of the person all of this excitement was actually about.

Those are the details I know become more valuable with time.

Why open fields work so well for maternity photos

There is a reason I keep coming back to natural outdoor locations for maternity sessions.

You do not need an elaborate setup to make beautiful maternity photographs. An open field gives us room to walk, sit, move, let a dress blow around, use the sunset from several directions, and create a gallery with variety without constantly changing locations.

It also keeps the focus where it should be: on the couple and this season they’re in.

For Riley, that worked especially well because her original vision was already simple — pretty land, neutral and flowy clothing, flowers, ultrasound images, and a carefree feeling.

We didn’t need to add much more.

The kind of maternity photographs I want you to keep

I want maternity photos to be beautiful, obviously. But I don’t want them to feel like a version of you that only existed for an hour because you were told exactly where to stand.

I want the pretty portrait.

I also want the way your partner looked at you.

The hand on your belly without thinking about it.

The laugh between poses.

The photograph where your hair moved weird but you look really, really happy.

The ultrasound pictures sitting on a blanket.

The version of your body that was doing something completely wild and temporary.

Riley + Jake’s gallery has all of that, and that is exactly why I love it.

This was such a sweet late-summer maternity session, and I’m so glad I got to document this little piece of their story before they became a family of three.