An At-Home & Montara Beach Maternity Session in Pacifica

Not every maternity session needs a flowing dress on a windswept cliff. Sometimes the most meaningful photos happen right at your own backyard, writing a letter to a baby who hasn't arrived yet.

That's how this session began — at home in Pacifica, slow-paced and quiet. Laura and Michael wrote a note to their future son about how excited they are to meet him. We photographed the ultrasound images, the nursery-in-progress, the little in-between glances. These are the details that feel small now and priceless in ten years.

Then we drove ten minutes down the coast to Montara State Beach for the second half — because okay, yes, sometimes you do want the windswept cliff. Montara delivers: dramatic bluffs, a wide sandy beach, and huge Pacific views, all without the crowds of the better-known San Francisco beaches. Golden light, ocean air, and a lot of smiling at each other about what's coming.

This at-home-plus-coast combination is my favorite way to photograph maternity sessions in Pacifica and on the coastside — one half intimate and true to your daily life, one half epic.