Meet Ethan Herrold of Colorado Maternity
Eight years. Five hundred mothers. The only photographer in Colorado dedicated to maternity, working out of a Denver studio and across the state. I’m the only maternity photographer shooting fine art film alongside digital. Let’s get to know each other.
I’m Ethan.
Your Maternity Photographer,
Experience Designer &
Pregnancy Hype-Person.
Don’t believe me? Just see what 30 past clients have to say ↓
The work that matters most happens in the first five minutes.
WHY I DO THIS
Most of my clients have no photos of their own mothers pregnant. That generation carried, labored, and raised entire families with almost no record of what their bodies did. Pregnancy was something to endure, not document. Not celebrated, not honored, not seen.
I'm trying to close that gap, one mother at a time.
The shift I see in my studio happens fast. A nervous mother walks in convinced she won't look right, won't pose well, doesn't deserve a session at all. Five minutes later she's looking at the first image on the screen and the doubt starts to dissolve. Some cry. Some go quiet. Some say "is that me?" out loud.
That moment is the real product. Not the photo. The shift.
A few months after I shot Elizabeth's session on the Oregon coast, she texted me from Hawaii. Said the shoot had given her confidence she didn't know she had. Said she'd worn her bump out everywhere, in the warm sun, all week. Said she felt like a new woman.
That's the work. Not the photo. The way you carry yourself afterward.
I didn't start in maternity.
I started in fine art.
HOW I GOT HERE
Before pregnancy became my subject, I spent years shooting landscapes, commercial work, and portraiture. The shift wasn't random. It was a collision of two things I cared about deeply: the art of the human form and the power of showing someone a version of themselves they didn't know existed. What started as a fine-art portrait practice became Colorado Maternity Photography: the only Colorado studio dedicated entirely to expectant mothers.
Pregnancy became the canvas for both.
Eight years and hundreds of sessions later, the work has grown into something unmistakable. Fine art studio portraits sculpted with editorial-grade lighting. Analog film shot on a Hasselblad and 35mm, unretouched and raw. The Pregnant Athletes series, published in Outside Magazine, featuring runners, climbers, boxers, and snowboarders redefining what pregnancy looks like in motion. Destination sessions from the Sand Dunes of Colorado to the beaches of Hawaii, the studios of Manhattan, and the coastline of Oregon.
A little about me.
CU alum, lifelong foodie, and the guy with strong opinions about pour-over ratios. I built Colorado Maternity for one reason: pregnant women deserve photographs that actually match how powerful they are. Off-camera you'll find me chasing good food and light with my fiancée Jillian, a wedding photographer, and our Golden-Newf Isla.
A studio purpose-built for this and only this.
The Studio
The studio sits in Denver's Art District on Santa Fe Drive. I built it for one thing: photographing pregnancy at the highest level possible. Warm, private, controlled in every way that matters.
Inside: a curated client closet with thirty-plus pieces specifically chosen for how they photograph. A professional hair and makeup artist on retainer who knows the pregnant body. Live image tethering so you see the work as it's happening. A private bathroom. Lighting equipment used by editorial photographers, not portrait studios. You can see session pricing here, or read what mothers say about working with me.
Just an hour of being seen, celebrated, and shown the power you've been carrying all along.
No guesswork. No awkwardness.
You show up pregnant. I handle everything else.
HOW A SESSION ACTUALLY WORKS
You send me a note with your due date. I respond within a few hours with availability and a brief consultation. Sometimes a phone call, sometimes just text. You tell me what you're imagining. I tell you what's possible.
01
Inquire.
A flat deposit holds your date. Forty-nine dollars for the Glow Session. Ninety-nine for Signature. One ninety-nine for the Goddess Experience. Balance due the day of your session.
02
Book.
I send you the Maternity Style Guide and the Colorado Location Guide. We finalize wardrobe, location, hair and makeup, and any specific moments you want captured. If you're using the client closet, we coordinate that. If you're shooting outdoors, I scout the location and handle permits.
03
Plan.
You arrive pregnant. I direct everything. Posing, light, wardrobe changes, the pace. Most sessions run 45 to 75 minutes depending on package. Live image review throughout, so you see what we're getting in real time.
04
Shoot.
Your full gallery goes live within 24 to 72 hours. You select images for retouching from there. Hand-retouched delivery follows within two to three weeks.
05
Review.
Featured work and awards.
The Pregnant Athletes series was published in Outside Magazine and has over a million views on Instagram. The series featured runners, climbers, boxers, snowboarders, and skiers redefining what pregnancy looks like for active women.
I also founded and host the Colorado Maternity Excellence Awards, an annual program honoring the doulas, midwives, prenatal trainers, birth centers, physical therapists, and lactation consultants who make pregnancy in Colorado exceptional. Winners are chosen by the families they serve. Community-voted, mom-driven, no industry panels.
Behind the Scenes
FAQs
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Thirty to 34 weeks for most singleton pregnancies, 28 to 32 for twins. I've photographed moms at 22 weeks and at 41, and nobody has ever been too late. The full timing math is in my when to schedule guide.
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In the studio on Santa Fe Drive, outdoors anywhere from the foothills to the Sand Dunes, or on a trail if you want a WanderBump session. Studio is the fastest route to a fine art gallery with zero weather risk. Outdoors is for moms whose pregnancy has a place attached to it. My best locations guide sorts the state by season and drive time.
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Fitted through the bump, loose everywhere else, in a solid color. The client closet holds thirty-plus pieces chosen for how they photograph on a pregnant body, so you can arrive with nothing and leave with a gallery. The what to wear guide covers colors, fabrics, and what your partner should wear.
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Send your due date, pick a date, and let me carry the rest. Before the session you get the Style Guide and the Location Guide, and we settle wardrobe, hair and makeup, and any moment you want captured. On the day, you show up pregnant. Posing is my job.
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Three collections, Glow, Signature and Goddess, are laid out on my pricing page. Here is how I'd think about it instead: a dress gets worn once. These hang in the hallway for decades, and you pass them every day.
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Skip the chalkboard and the tiny shoes. The best ideas come from you: a wedding dress reworked for the bump, a partner's fire coat, your skis, the family dog. Bring the thing that means something and I'll build the light around it. The poses guide is a good place to start.
Ready to plan yours?
Pregnancy is brief and unrepeatable. The window for these images is small.
Inquire with your due date and let's get on the calendar.