What Should I Wear for My Maternity Session?

One of the first questions almost every mother asks me when planning maternity portraits is, What should I wear?

My answer usually begins with another question:

What are you drawn to?

Before we choose a single dress, I want to understand how you want to see yourself in these photographs. Do you love something romantic and feminine, with flowers, lace and sheer layers of tulle? Are you drawn to something more elegant and simple, like silk draped beautifully across the body? Or does your style feel more modern, perhaps loose linen trousers with a blazer over your bare belly or a classic white button-down?

I'll often ask clients to look through my website and Instagram and save the photographs they're most drawn to. Don't overthink why you like them. Just show me.

Those images tell me quite a bit about what we should create together.

I often use architectural and statuesque inspiration when posing.

Your maternity wardrobe should feel like you

There isn't one perfect thing to wear for maternity photographs.

After more than 25 years of photographing pregnant women, I've used everything from beautiful gowns and sheer fabrics to underwear, men's shirts and pieces of fabric draped around the body.

What matters more to me is that the styling supports the kind of photograph we're trying to create.

If you love something soft and romantic, we might incorporate sheer fabrics, delicate lace or flowers. If your taste is more classic, we may keep everything incredibly simple. If you lean modern, a beautiful pair of linen pants or an oversized shirt may feel much more like you than a traditional maternity gown ever could.

This is one of the reasons we spend time planning before your session. Your wardrobe shouldn't determine the photographs we make. It should help us create the photographs that already feel like you.

Keep the color palette soft and timeless

While I'm open to almost anything when it comes to what we use, I'm much more intentional about color.

I generally stay away from bright colors, primary colors and even certain pastels that can quickly begin to date a photograph.

Instead, I tend to build maternity sessions around whites, creams, soft grays and other subtle neutral tones.

There is a simplicity to these colors that allows us to notice everything else first: the shape of your belly, the way the light falls across your skin, your expression, the way your partner looks at you.

That's especially important to me because the clothing is never supposed to be the main character. You are.

Styling this session, we wanted feminine and airy. The tulle helped that vision come to life.

Beautiful clothing should be the supporting actor

I love beautiful clothing. I love interesting fabrics, incredible texture and the way a piece of silk or tulle can completely change the feeling of a photograph.

But I don't want you to look at a maternity portrait and notice the dress before you notice the woman wearing it.

There is a style of maternity photography that places a woman in an enormous flowing gown on top of a mountain at sunset. It can be incredibly beautiful. But it isn't the way I see maternity portraits.

At some point, the landscape, the sunset and the enormous train of the dress can become the subject.

I want you to be the subject.

The wardrobe has done its job when you first notice the woman, the light and the way she seems to glow in the photograph. Then perhaps you notice the fabric and think, Oh my gosh, that is beautiful.

But it comes second.

That's one of the reasons I love photographing maternity sessions in my Denver studio. We can strip away everything that doesn't need to be there and create something that feels almost editorial. For a little while, you get to step into the frame and simply be the woman in the photograph.

You don't have to hide the parts of your body that have changed

Pregnancy can be a strange time to step in front of a camera.

Your body may not look or feel like the body you're accustomed to. One woman may love her belly but feel self-conscious about her legs. Another may feel like her shoulders have become broader. Someone else may simply tell me, I don't feel like myself right now.

I want to know those things.

Part of my job as your photographer is understanding how you want to be photographed and knowing how to work with different bodies.

There are ways to emphasize the beautiful roundness of a pregnant belly without making the rest of the body feel larger. The angle of the body, the placement of a hand, what I include in the frame and, especially, how I use light all affect the way you see yourself in the finished photograph.

After 27 years of photographing women and families, those decisions have become an enormous part of how I create an image.

I often think about light almost architecturally. I watch the way it travels across the body, where it falls on the face and how it interacts with the background. Sometimes I'll photograph very close, allowing only a small portion of the image to fall into focus. Other times I'll pull far back and surround you with negative space.

The wardrobe is only one piece of that composition.

We wanted soft, but also modern. The silk pajamas created an at-home, natural feel to these images.

We may plan several different looks

You also don't have to decide whether you're the woman in the silk dress or the woman in the white button-down.

We can do both.

I typically plan several looks for a maternity session, and we'll often begin with the most coverage.

Starting fully dressed gives you a chance to settle into the studio, become comfortable with me directing you and get used to being photographed. As the session progresses, we can gradually move toward something more revealing if that's what you want.

That may mean a sheer dress without its usual lining. It could be an underwear set, draped fabric or something that shows more of your belly.

And if nudity isn't your thing, that's completely fine too.

This is something we decide together before you ever arrive.

You don't have to figure out your maternity wardrobe alone

This is probably the most important thing I want my clients to know:

I don't expect you to show up knowing how to style a maternity session.

That's my job.

During planning, we'll look at what you already own, shop for pieces if we need them and plan each look together. I also keep pieces in the studio specifically for maternity sessions.

Some of my favorite maternity clothing isn't really clothing you'd wear in everyday life. A sheer dress may be worn without its lining. A beautiful piece of fabric may become a skirt. Something I purchase specifically for your session may eventually become part of my studio wardrobe.

I'll sometimes purchase pieces for children as well. Partners can often use simple pieces they already have in their closets.

By the time you arrive for your session, you should know what we're creating and what you're going to wear.

There should be very little left for you to figure out.

The inspiration here was motherly. The bell sleeves and delicate fabric helped us fulfill this vision.

What should my family wear for maternity photos?

When partners or children are included, I still want the styling to feel simple.

This is where a neutral palette makes everything easier. Rather than trying to perfectly coordinate everyone's clothing, we can work within a family of soft tones that naturally belong together.

Then I pay attention to texture.

Linen. Soft cotton. Nubby knits. Natural fabrics that have dimension without demanding attention.

This is especially important with young children. I don't want to put a toddler into a stiff, frilly outfit that makes her uncomfortable simply because it photographs well.

I want her to be able to crawl into your lap. Snuggle against you. Move around. Be herself.

The clothing should make that easier, not harder.

This session was modern with a real life feel. The simple bralette and textured pants were perfect.

And sometimes, we break the rules

For all my love of simplicity, I also love creating something unexpected.

We might use an oversized floral headpiece. An unusual headband. A bouquet large enough to obscure part of your face.

Sometimes I'll intentionally create an image where you can't quite identify the woman at all. Her face is turned away, her hair falls across it, or flowers obscure her features.

Suddenly, the photograph becomes less about who she is and more about the shape of her belly, the light, the texture and the feeling of pregnancy itself.

Those images can feel almost anonymous.

And I love that because another mother can look at that photograph and see a little of herself in it.

Florals always add that perfect touch of femininity.

So, what should you wear for maternity photos?

Wear something that helps us tell your story.

It can be romantic. Elegant. Modern. Bare. Covered. Simple. Unexpected.

I'll help you figure out the rest.

Because when we've done the styling well, the first thing you'll notice in your maternity photographs won't be what you wore.

You'll notice you.

And then, perhaps, you'll notice the dress.

ABOUT REESE & CO PORTRAITS
Reese & Co Portraits is a Denver portrait studio specializing in maternity, newborn, milestone and family photography. Photographer Laura Esmond has been photographing families for more than 25 years, creating thoughtful, artful portraits designed to live beyond the screen.

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