Maternity

This session was a joy from start to finish. This mama and I share a love of flowers, and the timing couldn’t have been better — the magnolias were in their prime, and Filoli, although busy, was buzzing with spring just around the corner.

She tends her own garden at home, so walking into Filoli’s grounds felt natural to her in the way it does for people who already speak that language. She is originally from Moldova, now building her family here in the Bay Area, and this was her first baby. That combination — a new place, a new chapter, a garden in full bloom — made for a session that felt celebratory and fun.

Why Filoli Works So Well for Maternity Photography

Filoli is one of the most versatile locations in the Bay Area for maternity sessions, and spring is its most spectacular season. The estate in Woodside offers manicured formal gardens, long grassy paths, historic architecture, flowering trees, and — in late winter through early spring — the magnolias. Those trees are extraordinary. The blooms are large enough to fill a frame and the light they catch in the late afternoon is something I look forward to every year.

What makes Filoli particularly special for maternity photography is the variety within a single location. In the course of one session we can move through completely different backdrops — the formal garden walls, the open lawn, the wooded paths, the flowering borders — without ever getting in a car. The images feel cohesive but layered, which is exactly what you want from a maternity gallery.

It’s also a location that rewards returning to. Every season at Filoli looks different. Spring brings the magnolias and the tulips and the daffodils. Summer is lush and deep green. Fall turns warm and golden. If you’re considering Filoli for your session and wondering about timing, I’m happy to talk through which season suits what you’re imagining.

→ For more on planning a Filoli maternity session — including timing, what to wear, and what to expect — read Filoli Maternity Photos with a Toddler, which covers the practical side in detail.

First-Time Parents

There is a particular quality to a first-time expectant mama that I never get tired of photographing. The anticipation is completely unguarded. She doesn’t yet know what’s coming — the enormity of it, the specific texture of that love — and there’s a tenderness in that not-yet-knowing that shows up in images in a way that’s hard to describe and impossible to manufacture.

She was calm and warm and present throughout. Just her, the gardens, and a baby on the way.

Their Bump to Baby Experience

A few months after this spring afternoon at Filoli, I had the privilege of coming to their home to meet their baby.

That’s one of my favorite things about offering a Bump to Baby experience — by the time I arrive for the newborn session, we already know each other. The maternity session does that work. So when I walked through their door with a newborn at home and everything beautifully turned upside down, it wasn’t a stranger with a camera. It was someone who had already been there for the before.

The two galleries together tell a complete story. The anticipation, and then the arrival. I don’t think there’s a better way to document this particular season of life.

Already thinking ahead to your newborn session? Read the complete guide to Bay Area newborn photography.

About Filoli Maternity Sessions

I photograph at Filoli regularly throughout the year — take a look at the Filoli page to see more from sessions there across different seasons. I know the grounds well — the light at different times of day, the spots that work in each season, the paths that photograph beautifully and the corners most people walk right past. If you’re considering Filoli for your maternity session, I’d love to help you plan it.

→ Learn more about Bay Area maternity photography or get in touch to talk about your session.

Ready to book a Bay Area family session? Get in touch here — I’d love to hear about your family.

Rebecca Pattison is a lifestyle family, maternity, and newborn photographer based in Alameda, California, serving the greater Bay Area including the East Bay, San Francisco, Marin County, and the Peninsula.