I love the beach for maternity sessions. Maybe it is because I’m a toes in the sand, breeze in your hair kind of girl. I really find peace and tranquility along the shore. It feels like a place of renewal. A place to make a fresh start. Like the fresh start you will make when becoming parents. When you become a mother, you have a fresh new identity and purpose. Headlands Beach was a perfect spot for a maternity session for this Mentor couple and I was glad when they suggested it.

I always start the session in the dunes. Technically, Headlands Dunes State Nature Reserve is its own park bordering Headlands Beach State Park. A few years ago they added a boardwalk leading down to the beach that not only makes for some nice leading lines in photos but also makes it A LOT easier for a pregnant mama to make the walk down to the beach. In the hour before sunset, the golden glow of the sun hitting the beach grass washes my subjects with gorgeous, glowing light. Glowing light on a glowing mom-to-be is always a perfect combination. Isn’t she stunning?

Next, we headed down the boardwalk to the beach. The beach tends to be less crowded here but hardly ever vacant. Thank goodness for photoshop because it was actually a pretty busy evening when we were there! I love that we can include the historic Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse in the images. One of my clients, Jennifer Boresz Engelking, wrote about it in her book, Hidden History of Lake County Ohio. The beacon is still maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard but the lighthouse was auctioned off by the federal government and was purchased by a woman who is renovating it as a summer home after is sat empty for 6+ decades! Its just one of the very interesting stories of our local history that I’m obsessed with after reading her book.

The light was so gorgeous at the end of the session that I just had to convert this image to black and white to show off the beautiful rim of light around this glowing mama.

Interested in booking your own maternity session for 2022? Get in touch!