I’m so excited to share about all things Maternity in this post. Maternity sessions are a great way to document a milestone in your family’s story. There are many ways to customize a session to fit you and your growing family as well!
Lets go over the various types of maternity or pregnancy photoshoots:
- Family Maternity (kids, partners(s), and/or pets can join)
- Couples Maternity (just you and your partner(s) or surrogate)
- Mother Only Maternity (all the focus just on you and the beauty of motherhood
- Indoor (At Home Or In-Home) Maternity
- Outdoor Maternity
- Studio Maternity
- Pregnancy Announcement Maternity Session
- Gender Reveal Maternity Session
Some sessions may be a combo of a few of these sessions, or it may just follow under one of these categories. That’s what’s wonderful about maternity sessions, you can plan with your photographer to be tailored to you and your photography goals.
All 4 Seasons Of Maternity:
As we know, babies are coming all year around, and while we may have fluctuations at certain times (pandemic babies *cough cough*) for the most part baby fever and the resulting newborns are spaced throughout the year. So yes, planning for photos and styling during your pregnancy bump season is ideal.
Yes, you can completely rock maternity sessions at every stage in your pregnancy, and all throughout the year. Especially an initial pregnancy announcement or gender reveal session as well.
However, the most iconic and popular maternity sessions are where you can debut your baby bump and glowing and changing body. (Heck ya! You’re growing a human in there, that’s quite an accomplishment!)
So, as a much needed resource, I am creating an inspiration guide below for your maternity sessions. So regardless of when your third/fourth trimesters fall you can capture your special pregnancy memories in a beautiful and unique way.
Fall or Autumn Maternity Session:
Oof, sessions in the fall are one of my favorites! Something about the leaves falling, and the re-emergence of boots and scarves makes pregnancy literally sooo adorable! Don’t you think?
Winter Maternity Session:
As the year comes to a close, winter pregnancies get to steal the show. Whether you’re in a snowy climate, or just somewhere where the temps drop… this is the season to show off the bump in a long dress and even some sparkles if you feel festive. Because it is colder, I don’t usually suggest an outdoor maternity session with little kids.
You can do indoor or outdoor photos too! One of my favorites is an in-home lifestyle maternity session sitting on your couch, comfy, snuggly.
Spring Maternity Session:
May flowers bring April showers! Celebrate your pregnancy and growing family with an outdoor session in the spring. This is the perfect time to head to your local park (for me, one of my favorites is Central Park or the waterfront in Cold Spring, NY). Wherever you are, flowers should be changing and blooming and coming to life, just like the little one you’ve been growing.
Summer Maternity Session:
Summer-time fun, hooray!! Summer is such a fun time to enjoy a maternity session in a sundress, sandals, and with your hair wavy and flowy. We can plan a fun session at an ice cream stand, or at your favorite park, or even an outdoor home session on your front porch.
The end goal is for you to ADORE your final gallery (regardless of which season it falls in) and feel over-the-moon excited to share these photos with your family and friends.
You can use your maternity photos for before and after arrival announcements (yes, those cute ones where it’s a baby bump reveal, and then woah… no big round bump anymore, just the adorable newborn baby in its place). Or for heirloom photo albums, photo prints for your home, or baby books.
What To Wear For Your Maternity Session?
I know this is a hot button question, and you’ve been searching Google and Pinterest far and wide for ideas and tips around this, and if you haven’t.. I’m sure you will. I’m making this simple as can be for ya.
There are 3 common options:
- Casual with jeans – this could mean your favorite tee or sweater with jeans and boots or sneakers
- Casual with a dress – day dresses that show off your bump are very easy to style. My advice is to choose a cut and style that is flattering for your body type – V-neckline, open necklines, broad straps, strapless, etc.
- Jeans with a bra top – if you’re going for a very simple and raw look, this is the way to go.
- Formal Dress – gowns are fun for a maternity session since we typically don’t wear them often. Choose something that makes you feel confident!
Because this is a maternity session, I would avoid full poofy skirts/dresses that typically come with an A-line dress since something that cinches at the waist would be uncomfortable.You don’t necessarily need to wear curve-hugging fabrics either as long as you’re able to showcase the baby bump.
Although I’m a Family Photographer in New York City and Westchester County, NY, I also photograph families (and pregnancy bumps) in San Francisco Bay Area as well. I actually used to live there for quite some time. Cali heart & New Yorker Energy.. The best combo!
Want to see more inspiration for maternity photo sessions to help with your planning and mood board? I share inspiration from NYC and SF Bay Area families, as well as general inspo, tips, suggestions and more at Pinterest.com/amynghe – Give me a follow!
If you want to connect about a session, photo idea, or chat about working together head to amynghe.com/contact I can’t wait to hear from ya!
