Some sessions stay with you long after the gallery is delivered, and our babymoon sessions in the Algarve are some we return to often. Portugal's south coast gives us incredible light and a real sense of escape, and over a handful of trips there we've built up some of our favourite work with clients who wanted their pregnancy documented somewhere that felt like a proper adventure before life changed completely.
A change of plan that became the highlight
For one client, the original plan was Benagil Cave, the famous sea cave with a natural opening in its roof that lets sunlight pour straight down onto the rocks below. It's one of the most photographed spots on this coastline, and for good reason. But Benagil can only be reached by boat, and on the day, the water was too choppy to make the crossing safely.
So we changed course, literally, and headed to Palace of Estoi instead. What could have felt like a disappointment turned into one of our favourite sessions we've ever shot. The palace grounds gave us the kind of ornate, romantic backdrop that photographs like something from another era entirely and the images from that afternoon are still some of the ones we return to again and again. Sometimes the location you didn't plan for turns out to be the one you needed.
Caves, cliffs and hidden light
On a different client's session, we shot inside Grutas do Algar Seco, a sea cave with a completely different feel to Benagil. You reach it through an opening at the back of the cliff, into a small chamber with two vast openings looking out to the sea, high above the water. Being inside it feels almost secret, a private, dramatic world carved into the coastline and it made for some of the most striking images we've captured on this coast.
A different kind of beautiful
Not every moment of a babymoon session needs drama and scale. For another client, we found the opposite in Faro Old Town, narrow cobbled streets, warm stone architecture and a slower, quieter kind of beautiful. It's the sort of place that reminds you why the Algarve draws people back year after year, not just for the coastline, but for the whole feel of the place.
Why a babymoon session works
A babymoon is one of the last real trips you'll take before everything changes, and for a lot of our clients, it's also the last time it's just the two of you, or just you, before your world gets a little louder and a little smaller in the best way. Documenting that moment somewhere you've chosen for exactly that reason, somewhere with real meaning to you, makes for images that feel entirely different to a session shot somewhere familiar.
We travel to wherever our clients are, whether that's a favourite spot in South Wales or the coastline of Portugal. If you're planning a babymoon and want your pregnancy documented properly, wherever that trip takes you, we'd love to talk it through.
If a maternity session somewhere far from home or somewhere closer sounds like the kind of experience you're after, [take a look at what a session with us actually looks like →]