What Should I Wear for My Maternity Photography Session?
Thank you for stopping by our website to check out our photography services – and an extra thank you for those who’ve already booked a session or two with us! Now let’s get you prepared with a few tips on what to wear for your maternity photography session.
Unlike many other photos, your maternity portraits are special! Because this is an extraordinary time in your lives, you will want to capture it as gorgeously as possible. To help you with this task, we have a few tips and suggestions to ensure that you will love what you wore for the photos, as much as, you love the photos themselves!
1. Be Comfortable
You want to feel comfortable and beautiful with what you’ve got on…. because ultimately, if you’re not comfortable, it will show in your photographs and it will be what you remember most about your maternity photography session. When you feel beautiful with what you’ve got on, it will radiate throughout the session and into all your final portraits.
2. Solid versus Prints
Solid colors photograph the best but if there’s a pattern you absolutely love and feel beautiful fashioning…. go for it! Or, if your significant other loves a particular print, then you can sport the solid colored outfit. There’s nothing wrong with having both of you wear coordinating or complementary solid colors, either – actually this works best! But, PLEASE, do not have both of you dress in patterned prints! This is extremely distracting to the eyes, as it will draw attention away from the baby bump and your faces.
3. Dress, Jeans or Tights
Wear what you love and what you feel beautiful in!
If you’re a dress gal, put on a maxi dress or a knee/calf length dress. Dresses that are fitted looks best in showing off your baby bump (the focus of the portraits). If you’re worried about how your arms may look in the photos, wear a dress with cap sleeves or long sleeves or a fitted cardigan.If you’re more comfortable in jeans or pants, wear your favorite pair! A lot of our sessions result in beautiful photographs with just jeans, boots, and a white fitted blouse (or a solid colored blouse). The key is to have a fitted top to show off that baby bump.
4. Length of Dress
If you desire to wear a dress for your maternity photography session, it’s a great choice! But keep the length of the dress in mind. Pick a dress that’s the right length for you and the look that you’re going for. Long fitted maxi dresses photograph best, but that does not mean you’re limited to this choice, only.
Again, wear what makes you feel most comfortable and beautiful! If you decide that a short dress is what makes you feel best wearing, do a little test in front of a full-length mirror while wearing your dress. Place one hand top of your baby bump and then bring your other hand to the base of your baby bump; now, look in the mirror to see if you like the length of how your dress looks from the front, sides and back. Most likely, how you see it in the mirror is how we will see it through our camera lenses.
Also, keep in mind that some of the poses may require you to sit; so, ask yourself if you’ll be comfortable with the length of dress if you were to sit or lay down on your back. If your dress is shorter than you expected with the full baby bump, pair it with black leggings and boots.
5. What Will He Wear for the Maternity Photography Session?
Men photograph well in almost anything, but they need to complement your outfit.
If you choose to wear a solid, then he can do small prints and patterns for the photoshoot. If you do the prints, he should wear a solid.
If you’ve got on a dress, he should have a collar shirt. If you’re doing a blouse and jeans, he can do a mild-colored shirt and jeans that are complementary to your colors.
You don’t have be matchy-matchy, but definitely pick colors that go well together: grays and whites, light blue and white, pink and gray, green and white, etc.
6. Must Avoid Doing
Avoid having logos on the shirt(s) as this is distracting in the photographs. Logos draw the viewer’s eyes directly to it no matter how large or small. Also avoid large prints, as this too can be distracting. If you’re wearing light pastel colors, your counterpart should not sport a bright color like red or orange, as this will take attention away from your baby bump.
7. Dress for the Season
Keep in mind the season and weather for your maternity session. If it’s too cold to sport a dress, you can always do a fitted top, jeans/tights, and boots. Also, keep in mind the location of your photograph. You don’t want to blend in with the surroundings. If you’ve decided to do your maternity photography session outdoors with lots of green, for example, you should avoid wearing green. If your session is scheduled in the Fall, wear fall colors that will make you stand out against your surroundings but still suggests it’s Fall. In the Fall and Winter, you may even want to accessorize with a scarf…and then use the scarf as a wrap for the newborn session to tie it all in together once the baby arrives.
8. Accessories
Big chunky necklaces and scarves photograph well with solid-colored tops and dresses. If you would like to wear a sweater, be sure it’s fitted – or place a belt around it to help accentuate your growing belly. You may use a belt to bring form to some flowy maxie dresses, as well. Floral headbands are great too! Keep in mind the type of flowers and colors should match not only your outfit, but also the season of your session. Also, bring 1-3 items that you would like included in the photos that may be sentimental (i.e. baby’s latest sonogram, baby shoes, onesie, name blocks, a book, etc.)
9. Color Palette
If you need help deciding what colors or patterns you would like to wear for your maternity session, you may want to think about the color palette of your home. Look around and see what colors you’ve got at home. Ask yourself this, “If I were to order a large print(s) of the photos to display, will what I’ve got on during the portrait session complement the colors at home?” You may also want to think about what color outfit gives you the best compliments from strangers, friends, and relatives. Sometimes, a particular color makes a person stand out better than any other colors.
10. Practice Makes Perfect
Once you’ve got your outfit choices made, try them on!
Check that the white blouse isn’t see-through or if the dress is the right length for you.
Have your significant other try on their outfit at the same time as you and see if their outfit works well with yours in front of a mirror. Are you both happy with the outfit choices? If yes, then you are done!
If you are still at a lost on what to wear for your maternity photography session, you can check out some of our outfit ideas and suggestions on our Pinterest board titled Styling the (Baby) Bump.
The board is filled with many photos from other couples, families and photographers – specifically handpicked to help direct you on your fashion and style for your maternity portrait session with all 10 of our tips and suggestions in mind.
Still can’t decide what to wear for your maternity photoshoot? Let us help!
We’ve got a great selection of dresses from Sew Trendy Accessories and Chicaboo in our studio for you to wear for your photo session with us. Our maternity photography session packages include a dress rental, as well as hair and make-up!
Want to see what we’ve got in the studio for you? Check out our Facebook page and album showcasing some of our maternity dresses. Be sure to like our Facebook page for announcements and specials and follow us on Instagram @NestledinTime!
Did you like the dresses shown in this post? HINT: These are our past clients/models with our in studio dresses!!!!