Embrace the Beauty of New Beginnings

Capturing the anticipation and joy of motherhood, creating stunning images that honor this extraordinary chapter in your life.
Newborn photography

Rachel is amazing. Her shots aren't just "pictures" - they capture the emotion and the life of the subject and the moment. Truly special photography. - Tylan G.

Celebrate Your New Beginnings

Honoring the Beauty of Motherhood

This is a time in your life like no other. Your future is unfolding, your family growing, your identity shifting in ways both profound and beautiful. These moments pass quickly, but through fine art photography, we can turn them into keepsakes that last a lifetime.

Motherhood is a transformation—a journey filled with grace, strength, and boundless love. Let’s preserve this chapter with stunning, heartfelt imagery.


Maternity Photography: Celebrating Strength and Beauty

Pregnancy is a time of wonder—the anticipation of new life, the miracle of each small movement. But it is also a time of change, sometimes filled with uncertainty, where your body no longer feels like your own.

My goal is to bring you back to your own beauty, to remind you that you are at your most radiant, creative, and powerful in this moment. Maternity photography is not just about the final images; it’s about the experience—one where you feel special, seen, and celebrated.

Let’s capture the essence of your motherhood journey with grace and elegance, creating portraits that honor this incredible chapter in your life.


Newborn Photography: The First Days, Preserved Forever

In what feels like the blink of an eye, your baby arrives. Their hands curl around your fingers, their tiny body molds perfectly into your embrace, their every feature delicate and fleeting. You want to hold onto every detail.

I capture it all—the swirl of hair at the back of their head, the peaceful rhythm of their breath, the love in your gaze as you hold them close. These first days are tender and fleeting, but through fine art photography, they can be preserved forever.

You can’t keep them this tiny, but through heirloom artwork, these moments will stay with you for a lifetime.

Newborn sessions are designed around your baby’s comfort and well-being. With extensive experience in newborn photography, I understand how to read their cues and ensure every session is gentle, safe, and responsive to their needs. Whether they need time to feed, be soothed, or simply feel the warmth of your arms, we allow space for it all—because their safety and happiness always come first.


Fine Art Heirlooms: Because Memories Deserve More Than a Screen

Your baby’s first portraits deserve to be treasured, displayed, and held in your hands—not just saved on a hard drive.

I offer an exquisite collection of fine art products, designed to turn these fleeting moments into lasting legacy pieces.

Heirloom albums, thoughtfully designed to tell your family’s story
Custom wall art, created to complement your home’s aesthetic
Fine art prints and keepsakes, perfect for sharing with loved ones

For a truly special display, I also offer luxury portrait boxes—handcrafted from fine wood, featuring a viewing window that allows you to rotate your favorite images. Each photograph is printed on archival paper and framed with fine art matting, ensuring your baby’s first portraits will be cherished for generations.

These early days pass in a heartbeat. Let’s turn their first moments into lasting artwork, preserving the magic of this fleeting time for years to come.

Let's create something beautiful together.


Our Maternity & Newborn Portraiture Process

Consultation

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Your portrait session begins with a one-on-one consultation to design the session of your dreams. Together, we’ll discuss:

Your vision, goals, and any special requests
Session locations, styling, and aesthetic preferences
Investment options and fine art products

You’ll also have the opportunity to hold and experience our curated studio samples—seeing the exquisite finish and quality of the heirloom artwork we create.

Portrait Session

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On the day of your session, we’ll meet at your chosen location for a relaxed, natural, and beautifully crafted experience.

✦ Maternity sessions typically last about an hour, allowing for a variety of poses and intimate, elegant portraits.
✦ Newborn sessions are designed with flexibility in mind, ensuring plenty of time for feeding, soothing, and gentle posing.

With gentle guidance and a stress-free approach, I help you feel comfortable, confident, and radiant in front of the camera.

Editing

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Following your session, I meticulously hand-edit each image to bring out the warmth, depth, and artistry of your portraits. Within 2-3 weeks, I will prepare a carefully curated collection of images that tell the full story of your session—every detail, every emotion, beautifully preserved.

Artwork Selection

Newborn photograph from Rachel Smook Photography

Your fine art experience concludes with a reveal and artwork selection session—a moment to relive your session and select the perfect artwork for your home.

With our interactive selection software, you’ll be able to:

View your images in a stunning slideshow presentation
Easily compare and select your favorite portraits
See exactly how your artwork will look in your space before ordering

I’ve been out on shoots with Rachel. She has amazing gifts. It’s not just her photographs that are beautiful, but the way she arrives at the end result, stunning image after image, is a thing of beauty itself. Her ability to connect and make others instantly comfortable shines through in each picture. Rachel has that special “something” that cannot be taught. High recommendations for this talented photographer. -  Patti G.

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"Seeing our baby’s first portraits brought tears to my eyes. Rachel captured every tiny detail so beautifully—the softness, the sweetness, the love we feel every day. She already looks so different and I'm so grateful to have these portraits."        - A.C.

Our Mission

It is our honor and purpose to tell your story in beautiful keepsake artwork. We will craft images that capture the unique little details that make you YOU, and we’ll show you the beauty and joy of your family relationships. We’ll help you relax and enjoy yourself so that your images show your truest and most authentic self. After your session, we’ll offer you a selection of carefully curated products to preserve your images, including archival photographic prints, heirloom albums, and wall art that will last a lifetime. We stand behind our work and our products and are proud of our signature experience. Our goal is a happy client, every single time.

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Collections

Your portrait session retainer is $250. Portrait clients can then choose a package of our most popular products or can build their own from our carefully curated a la carte menu. Most of our clients choose to preserve their images in a custom portrait album, and usually choose something for their walls at home as well. There is no minimum investment, and we include social-size digital copies of all purchased images so that you can share with your family and friends.

Keepsakes & Wall Art

We work closely with our labs to produce handcrafted heirloom artwork from our portrait sessions. We choose our vendors with care and we guarantee the products we offer. We want you to enjoy them throughout the years to come, and we make sure they'll last.

Frequently Asked Questions

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We have lots! We don’t reveal our locations until you book with us, because we have chosen them carefully and don’t want them to get crowded, but you can get a sense of our options from visiting our Instagram page. We’ll talk to you when you reserve your portrait session to find out what kind of look and experience appeals to you, and we’ll tailor our locations to your needs. While we love working outdoors in beautiful places, we can also do studio work if it’s a better fit for you.

I have some resources for choosing clothing that I will share with you when you reserve your session, and I’m happy to look over your choices before we start if you’d like. Generally, what I want to pay attention to is your face, not your clothes, so soft colors and neutrals work very well. We ask you to avoid busy patterns and graphics so that the focus is all on you. We’re happy to share lots more details when we begin planning your session!

Yes, we will do an in-person design meeting to plan your session, share our product samples, and get to know one another. This will help you feel more relaxed and comfortable during your session, and will let me design your session around your wishes and needs. It’s all a part of our signature custom approach!

We customize everything we do, so what you spend depends on your dreams and wishes. Once we have our consultation to identify your goals and desires for your portrait session, we will go over our investment menu and help you choose the package that most fits your needs.

We’ve got you! If it’s pouring, that’s too much of a risk for our equipment, and we’ll be glad to reschedule. We don’t generally cancel if it’s sprinkling, and some of the photos our clients have loved best have happened when there are occasional drizzles. We’re capturing your personality and your relationships, which shine through in any weather. Plus, the light right after it rains is absolutely magical. We’ll keep an eye on the weather together and will be in touch the day of your session to make decisions with you about whether to proceed if the skies are dicey.

Well, yes and no. We know how to take beautiful natural light portraits, and we are also confident and comfortable using supplemental lighting to create extra depth and dimensionality in your portraits. A photographer should never be limited by lighting conditions. We’ll do whatever we need to do to give you gorgeous, well-lit images no matter what weather or locations we’re working in.

Your session retainer covers the consultation we have to design your custom session, any assistance with choosing clothing, the session itself, custom editing of your images, and a reveal session where you will view your images and choose any that you’d like to purchase. 

Absolutely not. I hate that, and I would never do that to a client. At your reveal session, I am there as your consultant, answering questions, helping to sort through the merits of one image over another, designing your wall art, and mainly just enjoying your reaction as you view your images for the first time. You are in total control over what you invest and I will never push you to spend more than you want to.

Oooh, you’re our favorite. Most people hate having their picture taken, and we are committed to making it fun for you to work with us! Most of our clients wrap up their sessions and events by saying, “That was more fun than I expected it to be,” and we love that. We have lots of tips and tricks to get you looking and feeling relaxed, and we take our time to make sure we capture beautiful images that leave you feeling good about your time with us.

First and foremost, we believe that photographs are meant to be seen.  We want them out in your house, in your hands, in your daily experience. Also, technology changes so fast, and we don’t want you to look around in ten years and realize you can’t open your images anymore. Printed photographs are why we know what our grandparents looked like as newlyweds. We want the same for your family in later generations. This is also why we choose our labs so carefully. We only work with labs that are exclusive to professional photographers, using careful construction and archival papers and inks so that your artwork lasts. Our labs guarantee their products so that we can guarantee yours.

As soon as you know you need a photographer! While it’s always worth checking to see if we’re free at the last minute, it’s not uncommon for clients to book us a year or two ahead of their event dates and months before their portrait session dates. 

Nope! Nobody wants a photo of Uncle Jim with one eye closed and food in his mouth. We carefully curate our images to present you with photos that you’ll be proud to display and share and keep. While you’ll have plenty of images to choose from, we’ll only deliver those that meet our high standards for image quality.

No, we only deliver fully finished images. Unedited files are like cake ingredients at a bakery. The finished product is what you hire us to produce, and we put time and energy into delivering the best images we can offer.  

With pleasure. We support you, whoever you are, whoever you love, and however you’re celebrating, and we can’t wait to tell your unique story. Love has no limits.

Our products and packages are carefully curated and priced according to their value, so the short answer is no. That said, we want you to have exactly what you want, so we’re happy to create a custom package just for you. No matter what you choose to spend with us, you will receive our signature service and will receive heirloom products and images that will last for a lifetime.

Your Reveal & Ordering Session

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We’ll view your proofs together and I’ll help you narrow down your favorites. I’ll go over available sizes and product options with you, and you can choose the artwork and display options that best suit your needs. I will never pressure you to purchase more than you wish; I want you to be happy with your choices! And because I know you want to share your images through email or social media, purchased prints include a social-sized digital file to share as you wish.

Newborn Pictures

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Details

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Parent & Child

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Multiples

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Rachel is amazing. Her shots aren't just "pictures" - they capture the emotion and the life of the subject and the moment. Truly special photography. - Tylan G.

Maternity & Newborn Photography Resources

When to Take Maternity Photos

Congratulations on your pregnancy! You’re planning and preparing to welcome your little one into the world and sharing the joy of your news with family and friends. Having maternity photos taken may seem like just another thing to add to your growing to-do list, but a portrait session can serve as a reminder of how […]

How to Prepare for Your Maternity Session

Congratulations on your pregnancy! As you prepare for your little one to enter the world and join your family, your to-do list is probably a mile long. Having a professional maternity session may seem like just another item to add to your list, but a maternity shoot can be a perfect time to remind you […]
maternity photoshoot mother and child

What to Wear for Your Maternity Photos

Choosing what to wear for any occasion can be a challenge, but when it comes to your maternity photo session, you definitely want to pick the perfect outfit. After all, these are images you’ll look back on for years to come. No pressure, right? You want your maternity photos to be beautiful and intimate, capturing […]

About Rachel Smook Photography

I’m Rachel, and I’m a wedding, portrait, and Bar Mitzvah photographer based in Massachusetts and willing to travel as far as your dreams will take you. As the parent of teenagers, I’ve learned that everything is better with some humor thrown in, and I’ve also learned how FAST life goes by. Photography gives me a way to stop time, both for my family and for yours. I’m a sucker for the little details: those tiny fingers wrapped around yours, the way he looks at you when you come down the aisle, the way you laughed at that little shimmy she did on the dance floor. It’s the little moments that make the sweetest memories, and I’m a feelings junkie, so I am THERE for them. I believe that laughter is good medicine, that love is love, and that memories are worth keeping.

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