Pregnancy Picture Ideas

Fun Pregnancy And Picture Ideas!

This is it! You are expecting a baby and you have decided that you want to do a maternity photo shoot. You decide to google around and see if you can find some fun pregnancy picture ideas.  I have bee taking maternity photos now for about 8 years and there is definitely some tips and tricks along the way that you can use to help your photo shoot run a little smoother. After all, it is what we all want! For our clients to have fun and to make sure they are comfortable and we get that perfect shot for them.

Clothing

Clothing is a very important part of your maternity shoot. Ideally, I like to make sure that most of all you are comfortable in the clothing that you wear. You want to make sure you feel good and feel beautiful in what it is you are wearing. It will show on your faces if you are not comfortable so this is really essential to the shoot. I always say for dads that they should be comfortable. If they are not loving the button down shirt then just don’t wear that type of shirt. Stay close to your style and maybe spruce it up just a little. Remember, mommas, we want to see that bump! Make sure clothing is form fitting because this is one time you want to show off that beautiful body carrying your child. I personally have over 40 maternity gowns for my clients to use. This takes away and trouble or expense they may endure figuring out what to wear. These gowns can be worn free of charge and I usually have clients come by the studio a couple of weeks before our shoot to try them on and see what the love.

Location

Your photographer is the one who should be finding the perfect location. This is unless you have somewhere that you feel you must do the shoot (i.e where the proposal took place of the first date).  Most of the time I pick the location. I know the light at that location and scenery and how many different backdrops we can use from that location. I like to give a little bit of variety with both outfit changes and then also the scenery of the shoot.

Posing

Let’s face it, most of us are not professional models and we certainly feel it can be awkward to “strike a pose”. Again, this is where your photographer should have a good idea of how to pose you and make sure the angles of the picture are flattening to you! I personally love to pose my clients.  When I am posing them I am looking for two things. 1. That they are both looking at me with that traditional pose and 2. That they are not looking at me at all. That mixture of both posed and candid works well. It gives your clients a variety of images and allows them to see the love between them. Go for the emotion as well as the “look at me”. Say “don’t look at me, look at each other” This one needs its own paragraph I think!

What To Say

Anything!! That is the complete truth. You will have an hour usually to get your clients feeling comfortable and also laughing and having fun. Remember this can be difficult for some couples. They may feel awkward and not know what to do and the “look at me and smile” just doesn’t always work. So let me give you examples of just a few of the things I may say during a shoot!
1. “Don’t look at me – Look at each other – And don’t forget to smile”
2. “Come on guys, I know you can get closer than that – You are having a baby”
3. “I know dad, she just had to pick the one crazy photographer that is saying all this silly stuff”
4. “Staring contest, go!!”
5. “Dad, I want you to kiss her forehead gently, go on and kiss her neck also”
6. “Dad, I want you to tell mom a secret, just don’t talk about me being crazy”

I promise you these will usually respond in some great smiles and laughs! And be ready, this is where the magic happens of capturing that natural love they have for each other and most truly will forget you are there and get lost in following what you are suggesting they do.