Today is the first day of my maternity leave! Last time I wasn’t self employed yet, so it will be more difficult to set boundaries and relax. But the plan is to definitely try! And to mark this special day I want to share some photo’s from the pregnancy photoshoot I did in The Hague two weeks ago. My photographer was the amazingly talented and kindhearted Gaelle Largilliere, also known as Vera Rose on Instagram. She is a true artist, born and raised in Paris, now living in The Hague with her husband and son. It was an honor to be able to shoot with her! [For Dutch click here!]

On May 19th I visited Gaelle’s gorgeous home and studio, in The Hague. A stunning 19 century Dutch building, on one of the most beautiful streets of The Hague. I felt instantly at ease, when Gaelle and her four year old son welcomed me warmly by the door. We had tea in the kitchen and talked for about an hour, as if we were old friends, hurrying to catch up.

She told me about her experience, moving from France to Holland – all the changes, all the ways she had to get used to Dutch life and Dutch people. I could obviously relate, having grown up somewhere else as well. We also both studied Art Therapy and we both decided we didn’t want to be therapist: we wanted to create and inspire people in other ways. I asked her if I could put her name – Gaelle – on our List of Baby Names, because it is beautiful and six weeks before my due date we still remain undecided on baby sisters name. We also talked about our ideas and visions for the photoshoot.

I had not intended on doing a pregnancy photoshoot. Even though I take a lot of photos for my blog and Instagram I tend to get a little uncomfortable, in front of the camera, on my own. If I collaborate with photographers I always have my girls with me. But when I saw Gaelle’s work I knew she would make it work. Because her photographs are a piece of art. And I realized it could be about that: about the art and the beauty of pregnancy. I felt this would be an amazing gift for my unborn child to see and have one day.

We shot for four hours that day, in five different settings. Gaelle made me feel comfortable and beautiful. And I truly got to see the artist at work. She aligned every single detail, adjusted the lighting to perfection for every shot and even photographed with cameras that were probably older than both of us combined. We worked [and laughed] hard and afterwards I was tired, but inspired. I left feeling I had made a new friend and we had created something beautiful together.

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If you are looking for a photographer in the Netherlands I would suggest you email Gaelle: gaelle.largilliere@gmail.com. Or give her a call: +31 640 59 17 34. You can also check out some of her work and connect with her on Instagram. Visit her website gaellelarfilliere.com for a full portfolio.

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