Comments on: 5 Keys to Taking Beautiful Maternity Portraits

By: Kathrin Stahl

Kathrin Stahl — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 06:23:15 +0000

Will have my fourth maternity shoot in a few hours and was searching for fresh ideas: Beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing! In fact, doing outdoor sessions with pregnant women is a wonderful thing. I was as lucky as to have a pregnant balet dancer in front of my camera once. If you like to, you can find some pictures on that shoot here: http://stahl13783.c4.cmdwebsites.com/blog/?p=204

By: Andrea

Andrea — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 17:01:41 +0000

Thanks for this! Have been doing some semi-pro photography of children and families for a year or two now. Getting ready to do a group maternity photo shoot of 4 moms expecting around the same time. So excited! I know this will help a bunch!

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 02:53:49 +0000

Thank you so much for these tips.
I am taking my first mother to be photos for a firend tomorrow.

By: ~ Ann James Photography ~

~ Ann James Photography ~ — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:55:49 +0000

haha, that was supposed to be a heart there at the beginning not a ? oh well

By: ~ Ann James Photography ~

~ Ann James Photography ~ — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 05:41:12 +0000

I ? when I get the chance to do Maternity photo shoots!
I remember what it was like when I was pregnant for my daughter.
….Feeling and connecting with a baby growing inside me was incredible!

On my most recent shoot with a 1st time “Mommy to be” we went to a few places that were special to the couple – for instance, she brought me to the place where her husband first said “I love you”
When we got there…I noticed there was nothing extraordinary about the scenery around us. Just a typical south texas neighborhood next to an old oak tree and a fence. But as she stood there, so much emotion was in her eyes ~ it made for some stunning close-ups!

My advice would be to:
? Talk with your client about memorable locations.
Perhaps she’ll be more at ease and you’ll see a different more emotional side of her.
? Be sensitive to her emotions, and her personal boundaries.
? And definately engage in a friendly conversation with her about the baby while you’re shooting.
Much better than awkward silence interrupted with shutter clicks.

By: Jacqui

Jacqui — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:03:11 +0000

I have my first maternity shoot in a couple of months time and in fact this lady will be having two maternity shoots as she will be getting married a month later! She’s a lovely bubbly lady and I know we will have some fun and the examples you have all given through your websites are wonderful – I’m not so worried and have now got some great ideas. Thanks everyone.

By: TERESA BERG

TERESA BERG — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:30:20 +0000

I specialize in maternity portraits….but unlike many of the people I see writing about it on the internet, I like the studio shots. I play soft “spa” music, offer bottled water and make the mom and dad-to-be as comfortable as possible. We really get to know each other! I know many photographers that only do maternity sessions to get expectant mothers in the door for the newborn sessions – but I love making them feel beautiful.

We use gowns designed just for maternity photography but always finish with a few fun whimsical shots. Their favorites are usually the full length shots where we wrap them in fabric and do silhouettes or photograph them reclining in their husband’s arms. I want my subject to feel like a work of art.

By: Nichole

Nichole — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:06:43 +0000

Do you have any ideas or suggestions for snowy outdoor maternity shoots?

By: yvonne

yvonne — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:03:08 +0000

I really liked the guide so far …. but would (being a mom of 2 and discovering many pregnancies around me)
I would consider the 6th and 7th month of pregnancy for shoots! The 8th is coming to a very large belly size already, and most woman do not feel comfortable with that anymore .. so is the 7th

with the 6/7th month you will capture the perfect time of pregnancy when they have a nice size belly, if lucky even no skin marks yet, also its the moms happiest time of pregnancy …. and like I say, does not need to be the uppersize bellys for pictures, the fact of the time and being pregnangt and having pictures of a nice size belly is important

Cant wait to my fotoshoot of maternity i am waiting on these days

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:01:11 +0000

I have a different experience with maternity photos as the creator of customized photo jewelry. Most of the photographers I work with who sell my jewelry tell me that couples request shots for the jewelry that do not include mom's bare belly. Although such shots can be nice, it's a good idea to have couples think about whether they will want the focus of all their pictures to be the bare belly later on. Some of my favorite shots to work with are ones that show the excitement and the family aspect of the upcoming arrival. Ones where older siblings are included and there was even one once where the grandmother was included. Jennifer Kirkpatrick