What to Wear for Your Maternity Photos | Eickhoff Photography | Seattle Pregnancy Photos

Whether it’s your first pregnancy or your 5th pregnancy, there is beauty in capturing the belly that is growing your tiny human. I love to celebrate the strength, courage, and love that it takes to create a new life. If you have decided to have photo session to capture your baby bump, then it’s time to choose what you want to wear in your photos. Are you thinking casual or fancy? Have you considered where your session is going to be held? For instance, an in-home session may have a super casual look. Where as photos in a garden or field could have a fancy look or a more casual feel.

Considering Hiring a Professional Maternity Photographer, but not sure? Here are 5 reasons why I think you should.

mom in cream dress sitting among bright red leaves in a seattle garden with toddler daughter wearing blue jeans jacket and kissing mom's pregnant belly

Where to Start

Choose clothes that make you feel comfortable and reflect your family’s personality. Wearing something that makes you feel comfortable and beautiful will help you relax during your session.

Pick clothes that are appropriate for the weather. We want your family to be comfortable throughout the session, so consider if the day is likely to be hot or cold and plan accordingly. Layering can add texture and variety to a photo and allow for wardrobe adjustments if the weather is warmer or colder than you expected.
Consider how you’d like to show off your bump.
- A snug fitting dress or long shirt with leggings will highlight your bump with every hand placement and from mor angles. This can ee a casual look or a bit fancier depending on your preference.
- A flowy dress is a beautiful option as well. With a flowy dress, we will utilize your hand placement more to show off your bump, particularly by scooping under your baby bump to help accentuate it. If your dress has a flowy shear outer layer with a snugger under layer, this can help to create the flowy look while still showing off your gorgeous mama shape.
If we are taking photos with your partner, it is helpful to have coordinated colors with contrasting light/dark between the two of you. Having dark shades on you with lighter shades on your partner or vice a versa allows your bump to stand out in poses where your bodies are close or your partner is positioned just behind your belly.

black and white image at the university of washington of mom pregnant with twins wearing flowy floral dress with light background. Husband has his hand on her belly wearing a darker gray shirt. Both parents looking down at the baby bump and smiling

Colors

You are likely planning to display some of your photos in your home. Do you like bright bold colors? Natural colors? Subdued colors? Pastels? Choosing colors and styles that fit your family will help the photos to fit into the look of your home. Choosing a simple, classic, look will help your photos stay stylish over time.

Consider the location of your photo shoot. For example, if we will be shooting outside near green trees, choose clothes that look good with the green background. Yellows and blues can help give your photos a smooth integrated feel; where reds and violets compliment green well and provide good contrast. If we are shooting in your home, consider the color of the walls and furniture in the room (or rooms) that we are likely to be using. Choose colors that compliment the room and won’t make you disappear.

Choose 2-3 colors that coordinate well and use them as base colors for some family members and to accent the outfits of others to tie everyone together without matching exactly. Coordinating colors make your photos come together with a natural look.

Pregnant mama in semi formal green dress smiling at her baby bump while leaning against a trellis in a seattle garden in golden light.

Putting the pieces together

Simple patterns can help add variety to outfits, but having many different patterns can be overwhelming. Using a simple pattern on one or two family members can work well when coordinated with solid colored clothing to prevent a photo from looking too busy. You could pick a key patterned outfit (shirt, dress, or skirt) with more than one color in it and coordinate everyone else’s outfits to tie into the key outfit.

Split the colors up on your family. Having everyone in colored shirts and neutral pants can feel overly planned and unnatural. For some family members, you could use colored tights or pants with a neutral top, for others, colored or simple patterned top with solid neutral colored pants. You could also bring your accent colors in through shoes, scarves, socks, jewelry, hair bows or other accessories.

Adding accessories and layers can help bring character to your photos. A cute headband, stylish hat, cardigan, scarf, belt, or fun necklace. Adding tights to your little girls dress or a button up shirt with a t-shirt underneath on your boys can add texture and depth to your photos.

Try to avoid graphic tees, these are often distracting and can detract from the overall photo.

silhouette of pregnant mom and dad holding hands between two trees with orange and blue sky behind them.

Final Details

If you have older kiddos, having clothes that fit your kids well will help make your photos look their best. Outfits that are too large and baggy or too small can draw attention to the outfit instead of bringing the focus to the faces of your gorgeous children.

Don’t forget the shoes (unless barefoot is your style)! Your feet will be in some of your photos and a great outfit can be completed with a pair of shoes that fit your style of choice.

Mama, I know how much you do for your family and want you to feel fabulous in your family photos. Some mama’s find that it’s easiest to first choose an outfit that makes them feel amazing and then pick out outfits for the rest of the family that coordinate well.

Plan ahead =) Go through your closets at home or purchase any new items to add to your outfits ahead of time to make sure that all of the pieces you want your family to wear are available, clean, and fit well. This will be one less thing that you need to think about on the day of your session and will hopefully decrease your stress so you can enjoy the day more!