Maternity photography is a fast growing market for professional photographers, but documenting a woman’s b-o-d-y during pregnancy can be challenging. However with a little sensitivity & planning your shoots carefully, your maternity photography can give expectant mothers not only pregnancy photos they will cherish forever, but an experience they’ll never forget – and hopefully recommend to others!

Beautiful maternity photos start with a camera and these three basic ingredients:

Style

Choose clothes that make you feel comfortable and beautiful while showing off the shape of your belly. It could be jeans and a t-shirt or a long flowing dress, what matters most is that you feel like yourself.

People

While you only need yourself for a maternity photoshoot, you may want to have your partner, older child or children, or parents in front of the camera with you. If they’re hesitant, remind them that it’s for the baby. Before you know it, your baby will be a child looking at these photos and seeing how their family anticipated their arrival. Rewards like a sweet treat or a family movie night can do wonders for small children who are reluctant to participate.

Lighting

The best lighting is not too bright. Outdoors, avoid shooting in the middle of the day because it can give your photos a harsh appearance. The softer light in mornings and evenings will create better pictures. Photographers swear by “the golden hour,” which is the first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset.