If you already have experience in different types of professional photography, you will be pleasantly surprised to learn that pregnancy photography is not a very different concept from wedding photography. In terms of lighting and surroundings, they are about the same, but with slightly different priorities in terms of communication with the model, posing, and outfits.

Today we are going to discuss some tips on how to photograph pregnant women and the best way to prepare for this kind of photo shoot.

My baby book

There are special albums where you write the story of how your baby grows. The album asks you different questions, and you write your baby's story by answering them. These albums are better to buy in advance, here you will make notes followed by photographs of your not yet born baby. It will allow you to experience nostalgia, as well as to show this album to your future child. These albums are often found under the name 'Oh My Baby book'. Here you will be able to place an image of ultrasound, as well as places you visited while pregnant. Such an album is a great way to accumulate all the following ideas for a pregnancy photo shoot.

Do not put it off

It often happens that pregnancy is coming, and many women think that 9 months are still ahead, and in the last month of the term they remember about the missed opportunity. Pregnancy is not easy, and it will not always be the right time for a photo shoot of this kind, as it is quite difficult. Therefore, the recommended period for photography would be from 28 to 32 weeks of your pregnancy. During this period, your maternity tummy will have already formed and will be at its most photogenic state, and so will you. In the periods after that, there can be excessive weight gain and the photographer will hardly tell you about it, and you will maintain the illusion that you are still beautiful until you see bad pictures. Therefore, to avoid disappointments, it is best to plan your photo shoot in advance and in the mentioned period.

Safety first

We are photographing a woman who is expecting a baby. Therefore, you should not expose the client to high risks and do not conduct the photo session in conditions of extreme temperatures. Make sure that the weather conditions at the place of the photo session will be comfortable for the future mother, otherwise, it is better to postpone the time and place of the future photo session. You need to have good contact with your model to make her feel safe and comfortable, which will allow her to shine in the photo shoot. It is also important to consider that a pregnant woman will not be able to pose openly, so you need to find options for how to compensate for this. The best way to accentuate your model would be to choose the appropriate closet for the photo shoot.

Pregnancy photography dresses

The choice of outfit directly depends on the location of the shoot and the model’s preferences. If you plan to shoot near official buildings, a classic outfit with a slit on the legs would be the best choice.

If you are shooting in a less formal setting, such as a park or on the beach, you have a lot more options.

For pregnancy beach photography, you can offer the client to wear jeans and a shirt, so she feels free to move more or less. Also, there are options for bathing suits for pregnant women, which also will not hinder the movement and allow you to emphasize the special state of the woman.

You can also try out some creative family beach picture ideas for the couples if the client is up for it. Doing the couple’s photoshoot will make your model feel more safe and more open to the action.

 For the park photo session and elsewhere outside, you can consider to Sew Trendy outfits which will fit the best for a pregnant woman.

It is a flowing dress that will basically pose for the model if there is a slight wind outside.

And also some variation on the beach coast.

Nude pregnancy photography

You can also consider an option without clothes. If your model is receptive and there is a high level of trust between you and your client. Make sure that the conditions for the shoot are also good, then you can discuss nude photography.

That option is good because it saves you from having to pick out special outfits for the model, and it also brings variety to your client's personal album. As the saying goes, shooting on nature is better than all the embellishments. Perhaps it would be better to rent a studio for such a photo session at first. The model does not have to be completely undressed or exposed to the camera doing a nude photoshoot.

You can choose appropriate angles and poses to cover body parts, or use minimum clothes at the beginning to make your mom feel comfortable at first and see if you can go further.

Black and white pregnancy photography is also a good common option, you can play with light and shadows to cover the body.

Pregnancy photography poses

Given that your model's body will be stiff, you can use elegant hand poses instead of hard-to-perform body poses. In order to keep it the most graceful and feminine, prevent your client from closed-arm poses, like crossing her fingers. The best and easiest way to emphasize the pose with hands is to put hands above the pregnant belly gently touching each other, without any crosses. This idea is good for portrait poses ideas, when the background does not matter that much, but the model herself does. The other elegant hand pose to add is if your model can do a heart sign above the belly to show some love to her future baby. This can be used as a variety to the first pose, which is also easy but conceptual still.

Pregnancy couples photography poses

Photos of a couple always provide an opportunity for the flight of fancy in terms of the pose choice. Many people think that a pregnant belly is the main requisite for such photo shoots, but this is far from it. If a girl just found out about the fact that she is pregnant, she has no outward signs yet. However, we can already capture the joyful moments of the family using a tester or ultrasound image as a prop, as in the photo below.

Hugging the pregnant belly is never getting old, here is another idea for couples that we mentioned already for the solo performance above.

Make a double heart sign, both hugging the pregnant belly and showing love to your coming baby.

Ask your couple to stay in front of each other like shown in the photo and show some love to their future baby as well as to each other in the same picture.

A variation of the sitting pose in the bed. More private, for that you may need a tripod instead of a photographer.

Some variety for public places or urban pregnancy photoshoots, simple and good.

Winter pregnancy photography

As we mentioned early, extreme temperatures are not the best conditions for doing pregnancy photoshoots. However, we can still dress our mom appropriately to get amazing shots even in wintertime.

It is better to choose sunny days when the temperature is moderate. This allows us to choose more different kinds of outfits instead of those which just warm up. If it is not cold outside, we can dress our model in some red dress, which has a nice contrast with the snow. But make sure the photoshoot lasts no longer than 15 minutes that way.

It is still an extreme way to do a photo shoot, but you can always ask and suggest different options to your model. Sometimes a frame like this is worth a shot.

Milk bath photography pregnancy photoshoot

This is another popular trend for a maternity shoot that you can follow to diversify your future baby album. The concept is pretty simple, and here is how to DIY:

  1. Make sure your bath surface is cleaned first.
  2. Go to the flower shop and buy some roses. You can also buy fake ones instead to save your budget, the effect on photos would not be that different.
  3. Fill your bath with water in half.
  4. Then we pour one or two gallons of milk straight into the water and mix it up.
  5. Throw roses in your milk bath, and we are almost ready.
  6. You can also make a garland of flowers taped and wired around your bath edges and put some candles in its corners to fulfill the atmosphere.
  7. Here you go, your milk bath is ready for the photoshoot.

We hope this article and tips will help you to build your maternity album. Creating the scene and following conditions for good photography can be a difficult process, but the emotions of good pictures, memories, and nostalgia are priceless.