What to Wear for Maternity Photos: A Photographer's Guide
Almost every question I get before a maternity session is about clothes. Not the location. Not the time. The outfit. I have had clients settle on a park in about four minutes and then spend three weeks on a dress, which I understand completely, because the dress is the one part of this you actually get to control.
So here is everything I tell my Orange County maternity clients, in the order it actually matters.
three weeks on the dress, four minutes on the park. correct priorities, honestly.
I · Start here
It's a photo of a shape.
two angles. that's more or less the entire vocabulary.
Almost every maternity frame I take is built around the bump, and there are two angles that show it. Turned to the side, so the shape reads as a silhouette instead of flat to the camera. And framed by your hands, one above and one below.
I did not invent either one, and I have now used them several hundred times without getting bored, which tells you something about how well they work. Everything below is just a consequence of those two angles.
The rule under everything
Fitted at the bump
A dress that skims the body shows a shape. A dress that falls straight down from the chest hides one, which is a lovely photo of a dress. If a piece is generous everywhere, the camera reads it as generous, not as pregnant. Fitted through the middle, easy everywhere else.
II · The two-part rule
Texture first, then movement.
a flat synthetic just sits there, being a color.
Texture is what keeps a simple outfit from photographing plain. Knits, linen, raw cotton, soft chiffon. All of them catch light unevenly, which gives a frame something to hold onto. A flat synthetic in the same exact color does none of that.
Then, if you want it, add one thing that moves. A long skirt, an open duster, a sleeve with some drape, a soft train. Golden hour and a small breeze do an enormous amount of work here, and I accept the credit every single time.
Movement is optional, though. A fitted knit with real texture and one good color will carry a whole session on its own.
The broader color and fabric rules that apply to any session live in my what to wear for family photos post. The short version: skip bright white, skip heavy black, skip logos and neon.
III · Options
Gowns, separates and shoes.
the camera is unreasonably good at spotting somebody who feels like they're in a costume.
A fitted gown is the easy answer and it photographs beautifully, but it is not the only one. A knit dress, a simple bodycon under an open duster, or a fitted top with a long skirt tied above the bump all do the same job. If a gown is not you, don't wear one.
Sleeves are worth a thought. Long or three quarter gives the arms somewhere to go, and a sleeve with a little weight moves nicely when you turn.
Shoes: boots, strappy sandals or simple flats. Whatever they are, please walk in them first. Brand new shoes plus a dirt trail is a short story with a predictable ending. If we're on sand you'll be barefoot the whole time anyway, so wear something that comes off in one motion, unless you want a series of photographs of you losing an argument with a buckle.
If you remember one thing
fitted at the bump.loose everywhere just reads loose.
IV · Color
Pick a palette for the place.
named like paint chips, because that is essentially what they are.
Color should come from where we're shooting, not from the season and definitely not from whatever the internet decided was the color of the year. Sand and dune grass want different tones than a shaded grove does. These are the six I come back to most.
Canyon dusk
Warm rose and clay over soft neutrals.
Wildflower
Muted greens with one small note of color.
Desert warm
Sand, camel and cream.
Smoke & cedar
Grey, sage and warm wood tones.
Velvet wine
Deep berry against cream and brown.
Forest floor
Olive, moss and bark browns.
Once you're booked you get Style & Select, where you can try different color combinations against each other and build a board for the whole family before anybody buys anything. It is the closest thing I have to a fitting room, and it will never once look at you funny for opening it at eleven at night.
V · The other half of the frame
What your partner wears.
one step quieter than what you're wearing. no polos.
Soft and simple. A henley, a casual button up, a soft sweater, or a clean tee under an open shirt. I have nothing personal against polos. I have simply never once looked at a photograph and thought, thank goodness for that collar.
Coordinate instead of matching. Pull one or two colors out of your outfit and let them turn up somewhere in theirs. When everyone lands in the identical shade of blue, the picture stops being about your family and starts being about a team.
The one everybody forgets
Linen and cotton hold a grudge against car seats. Thirty minutes on the freeway and that crisp shirt has opinions. Bring it on a hanger and put it on when we get there, or at minimum sit up like your grandmother is watching.
VI · At home
If we're shooting at your house.
nobody's actual morning involves a gown.
Everything softens. A robe, a slip, a fitted knit, bare feet. And honestly, at home you can just wear what you're comfortable in. Jeans and a soft top is a real answer, not a compromise. The whole point of an in home session is that it looks like your actual morning.
Here's the one outdoor rule that relaxes indoors: white. Direct sun turns a white shirt into a small sun of its own, but window light is soft and diffused, so white behaves itself inside in a way it never manages out on a trail.
Two more notes for home. Whatever you wear sits against your own walls and bedding, so warm neutrals almost always win. And if the kids are joining, dress them last and pull their colors from yours, because the odds of a four year old volunteering to coordinate are not good.
VII · The short version
If you only read one part.
Yes
- Fitted through the bump
- Texture: knit, linen, raw cotton, chiffon
- One piece that moves, if you want it
- A palette chosen for the location
- Boots, sandals, flats, or bare feet on sand
- Sleeves with a little drape
Skip
- Bright white and heavy black outdoors
- Anything boxy or straight cut at the bump
- Logos, slogans, neon
- Busy prints that fight the light
- Polos. Still no
- Shoes fresh out of the box
Maternity sessions · Orange County
You don't have to solve this alone.
Every booked maternity session comes with a step by step guide for the whole thing, plus the Style & Select board above. Most of my clients have the outfit sorted a couple of weeks out and then get to stop thinking about it entirely. Tell me roughly when you're due and we'll find the light. Bring the shirt on a hanger.
Start a sessionDaniel Wesley
