Jae’s Dreamy Perth Maternity Session | Destination Maternity Photography by Aurora Joy

Some sessions are booked. Some sessions are answered. When Jae reached out towards the end of 2025 to tell me she and Haydn were pregnant, after a loss, after hope, after a long road and that she wanted no one else to document it, I didn’t hesitate. I booked my flights to Perth the same week. This is destination maternity photography the way I believe it should be done: personal, intentional, and built entirely around the person being photographed. This is Jae’s session.

Fourteen Years of Friendship and One Session I’ll Never Forget

Jae and I have known each other for fourteen years. We met through my husband, and the last time we were in the same room was at my eldest daughter Rori’s baby shower in 2012. Life does what life does, it moved us to different cities, different time zones, different chapters.

But Jae told me something when she reached out that stopped me completely. She said she had been waiting, since I became a photographer, for the day she would be able to book her maternity and newborn session with me. That she never considered anyone else.

You don’t say no to that. You book the flights.

What We Created, Destination Maternity Photography With a 90s Edge

Jae had a clear vision. She wanted two things: a hotel room shoot with a funky, 90s-inspired vibe, something bold, editorial, and completely different from a traditional maternity session, followed by her signature outdoor maternity photographs on the beach at Scarborough.

She wanted both. And honestly? So did I.

For destination maternity photography like this, the pre-planning is everything. I flew into Perth on the Friday morning, spent the afternoon getting the lay of the land, checking the light at the beach, scoping the hotel space, thinking through how the two halves of the session would flow together.

Hair and makeup was handled by the extraordinarily talented Lilli from LILLI BEAUTY | PERTH MAKEUP & HAIR, BRIDAL MAKEUP & BRIDAL HAIR and she absolutely delivered. The transformation was the kind that makes a woman look in the mirror and barely recognise herself. In the very best way.

The Hotel Room, Bold, Fun, Entirely Jae

The hotel room shoot was everything.

There is something about a contained space with strong, graphic light that creates photographs unlike anything you get outdoors. We used the architecture of the room, the lines, the textures, the way the light fell, to create something that felt completely different from the softer, more traditional maternity photographs most people expect.

Jae is someone who knows herself. She knew she wanted something bold. Something that was hers. And the photographs from that hotel room are exactly that, electric, confident, and entirely her.

I loved every minute of it. Shooting something outside my signature style, in a space I’d never been before, with a woman I’d known for fourteen years, it was one of those sessions that reminds you exactly why you do this work.

Scarborough Beach at Sunset, Perth Does This Differently

And then we went to the beach.

I’ll be honest: Perth sunsets hit differently. I knew they would, I’d heard enough, but nothing quite prepares you for it. The colour. The warmth. The way the light just sits on the water and refuses to fade.

Jae and Haydn were extraordinary. We laughed, shared memories spanning fourteen years. We talked about the baby that was coming, what he would look like, what kind of person he would be, what Jae had in mind for the newborn session that would follow.

There is a particular quality to photographing someone you love. A shorthand. A trust that doesn’t need to be built because it’s already there. The beach photographs carry that, you can feel it in every frame.

A Pregnancy After Loss, Honouring Every Bit of the Journey

Jae’s journey to this pregnancy was not a straightforward one. She and Haydn had walked a hard road before they arrived here.

That changes how a maternity session feels. There is a depth of gratitude in it, a quality of not taking a single moment for granted, that is unlike anything else. When I look at these photographs, I see that. In the way Jae holds herself. The way Haydn looks at her. In the way she touches her bump with the kind of care that only comes from someone who knows exactly what it took to get here.

This is why Aurora Joy Photography exists. For the women who took the long road. For the moments that deserve to be honoured with everything we have.

June, We Do It All Again for the Newborn Session

I’m flying back to Perth in June to capture Jae and Haydn’s newborn session. And I cannot wait.

This is what I mean when I talk about destination maternity photography. It’s not just about the photographs, it’s about showing up completely for the people who matter. Flying across the country. Being present for the whole story, not just one chapter of it.

Watch this space for Jae’s newborn session.

Thinking About a Destination Maternity Session?

Aurora Joy Photography is based in Romsey, Victoria, but we travel. For the right clients, distance is not a reason to say no.

If you’re somewhere other than the Macedon Ranges or Melbourne and you’re dreaming about destination maternity photography that honours your story the way it deserves to be honoured, reach out. Let’s have a conversation.

I’d love to hear from you.

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Thinking about a maternity session?

Before everything changes, let’s mark this season. Guided maternity sessions in our Romsey studio and on location across Melbourne and the Macedon Ranges.

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