Glowing with Confidence: My Maternity Shoot in LA

12 Jul Glowing with Confidence: My Maternity Shoot in LA

Posted at 20:53h in Archive, Lifestyle, Maternity, Minis by Fatima Omri 0 Comments

Confession time: I’ve had this photoshoot on my wishlist since I was pregnant with Katya! When I came across Oxana’s account, I was already around 35 weeks along, and I remember thinking, For my second baby, I have to take those glam photos with her!

I got to choose 3–5 looks from her studio wardrobe, so I went all the way—from a birthday suit to a full-on glam gown. I stuck to blue and neutral tones to honor our baby boy, and I really wanted Katya in some of the shots, too. Oxana has the cutest luxury kids’ outfits in the studio, and that’s what Katya wore for the flying fabric look. She was absolutely thrilled to wear what she called her “princess” outfits. I also brought a blue outfit for her—the same one she wore in our last Christmas card photo (you can check it out here). The studio had so many gorgeous accessories for both kids and adults—we were seriously like kids in a candy store, haha.

I actually traveled from Idaho for the shoot with Katya, and honestly? Every single penny was worth it. I had my hair and makeup done by the lovely Sara Cranham (Instagram: @saracranhammakeup), who’s worked with Playboy Magazine and celebs like Alexandra Jarvis from Selling the OC. I was a little intimidated at first, thinking, Why would someone like her do my makeup? But she turned out to be the sweetest and most down-to-earth person ever. She not only made me lookbeautiful, but helped me feel beautiful, too. I swear—makeup and hair really do have magical powers. I felt so confident in front of the camera!

As for the shoot itself—I seriously couldn’t recommend Oxana more. She’s worked with celebrities (another reason I was lowkey nervous), but she was incredibly warm and welcoming. She gave amazing pose tips and paid such close attention to every detail to make sure I got the best shots. She was also so kind and playful with Katya, which meant a lot to me.

One of my favorite moments? When she told me to “flirt with the camera”—and it actually worked! It made the shots feel so sexy and glam. Her assistant, Anya, was also a huge help—she kept an eye on Katya while I was shooting, helped move fabric for action shots, and even took tons of behind-the-scenes videos! I’ve always wanted BTS footage, so I loved that they had that covered.

After the shoot, Oxana sent me the full gallery to download—over 500 photos! From those, I picked about 15+ for retouching, and honestly… I was blown away. The whole experience was so empowering and made me feel truly beautiful. These photos are now such a special way for me to remember this pregnancy journey.