Houston’s Hobby Center Maternity Photoshoot
Sarah loves the performing arts. Her passion for theater and dance lead her to open her own performing arts school, Bay Area Arts Conservatory, in League City. She grew up in the theater, dreaming of one day making her way onto the big stage. And, as it turns out, she would.
Dream Maternity Photoshoot
After I received the call from Sarah about her booking a maternity session Natalie and I sat down, as we do with every client, to discuss some options for her session. This is just a preliminary brainstorm session, these are ideas that we will bring to the design and styling consultation and we have no clue which of these ideas our client will be most interested in doing.
In this case, having worked with Sarah and her family so many times we had a little more insight into what they might be interested in. During this discussion, Natalie asked one of my favorite questions, “what if…”. What if we photographed Sarah on her stage at BAAC? This conversation lead to us wondering if we could photograph Sarah on an even bigger stage, say at Sarofim Hall at The Hobby Center. Can we do that? Is that a thing people do? Has that ever been done? Will they allow us to do a maternity photoshoot? Will Sarah think this is the craziest idea for she’s ever heard? All relevant questions. All questions we didn’t have answers to.
During my in-home visit with Sarah and Jeff we discussed their studio session (photos from that session here), what colors Sarah liked and the different looks she wanted, everything we would go over for any maternity photoshoot. Towards the end of the consultation I mentioned that we had kind of a crazy idea, “would you be interested in a shooting at The Hobby Center?” Is that an option, Sarah asked. I really have no idea, I replied but I’ll do my best if that’s something you’re interested in.
Special Events Coordinator
I had done some preliminary research and learned that no one had ever done a private photoshoot on the actual stage in Sarofim Hall, which is what the vision for this session would require. After getting the go-ahead from Sarah I began the formal inquiry and was immediately but politely told that the stage was not available for photoshoots. We could use any of the beautiful spaces in and around the performing arts center, the Grand Lobby and the Founder’s Club each of which offers beautiful photography options but were not suitable for our needs. I thanked them and but declined and left my contact information, thinking I would not hear back. After several days, maybe a week I received a call from The Hobby Center’s special events manager asking if I was still interested in a photoshoot in Sarofim Hall. She had reviewed our work and had decided to advocate on our behalf, believing we could create beautiful portraits in their theater.
A few days later I met with Brianne, the special events manager with whom I had been in contact with to tour the theater. She walked me through the Founder’s Club where Sunny, owner of Sunny Hair and Makeup Artistry and our HMUA would be setting up to do Sarah’s hair and makeup. She showed me the wonderful Grand Lobby where we could set up as well, but most interesting was, of course, the theater. I was overwhelmed when Brianne brought me into the theater. Anyone who has ever seen a performance at The Hobby Center knows how beautiful Sarofim Hall is but to stand in the empty theater highlights its’ grandeur.
Preparing for the Photoshoot
We arrived anxious and excited to set up. We had several looks we needed to go over before we brought Sarah out onto the stage. Michael, the director of productions at The Hobby Center and his crew were wonderfully accommodating and helped every chance they got.
Sarah and Jeff arrived at the valet and were escorted to The Founder’s Club where Sarah would be meet with Sunny to have her hair and makeup done. Once settled in Jeff dropped off his and Sarah and Jeff’s son’s tuxedos and returned home, he would later return with Clark and long-time friend Sean who would help wrangle Clark when we needed an extra set of hands ( it’s always a good idea when photographing small children to have a family member or friend tag along to help). Sarah, Sunny, Natalie, and I discussed the look for Sarah’s hair and makeup, we chose something more dramatic given the setting this particular maternity photoshoot.
The Photoshoot
I greeted Sarah as she walked out onto the stage of Sarofim Hall, overwhelmed by the moment she was fighting to hold back tears, joking that she knew she’d make it onto this stage someday. I gave her a few moments to take in the gravity of the moment and lead her to her mark.
We began with her front and center stage, Sarah would be photographed with the entirety of the stage in view. This shows just how impressive the stage is and gives the other images perspective, even when you don’t see the entire space.
From the rear of the stage we would get the beauty of the hall in the background. This was the main shot we had in mind and the photos from this setup were some of our favorites of the entire photoshoot. This was also a great opportunity to have Sarah’s family join in. Jeff and Clark looked the part decked out in their tuxedos.
The final photo setup was in the balcony. We liked who the curtains draped over the top set of balconies creating a nice frame. The challenge here was to set up lighting from the adjacent balcony.
The First
There is only one person to be the first, we’re glad it was Sarah. And while this was certainly a once in a lifetime session for Sarah and her family it’s one we will never forget.