Props and Accessories

Maternity Photography sessions are such a beautiful way to capture the parent’s excitement over meeting their baby soon. Many who know the gender of their baby, or have chosen names, will want to include that into the maternity session.

Whatever they decide to bring to add to the maternity shoot, make sure that you pose them so that you can focus on both them and the prop/accessory.

For example, if they bring tiny shoes, photograph different poses with the shoes. Take one where the shoes are on the floor next to their feet and take an up-close shot.

Another maternity pose idea could be to hold the baby shoes at belly level and photograph up-close and mid-length.

If the couple wants to photograph their bump with letters or names, try and get creative on where to place the letters.

A word of caution here: Do not lay the mom down and place the letters on her belly. This will only make the belly look flat and a bit awkward.

Instead, try to have them bring a sign with the name rather than individual letters or place the letters to the side and photograph them next to the belly or the couple.

Dad With Belly

Just because the belly is the focal point doesn’t mean dad can’t have his time in front of the camera. Have dad kneel and get close to the belly with both hands on each side. Have him talk to the belly and enjoy the closeness.

Another great maternity pose idea is to have dad stand half behind the mom and place his hands on her belly. Get in close so that you just get the hands. Take a photo mid-length and focus on the dad’s eyes rather than on the mom.

Have him look at the camera and then down at the belly. If dad has a special request for a pose, do it. Letting them feel like a part of the maternity photography session is going to produce more intimate photos for your clients.

Building Poses

The great thing about posing maternity clients is that you can easily build and get various poses all without having to move your clients very much. Keeping your clients in one spot also allows your client to relax. It can be tiring to walk around a lot while being 8 months pregnant.

For example, start with the couple facing each other and with the outside hand embracing the belly. From there, you can ask your clients to look down, then look at each other, have the dad look at the belly and the mom at the camera, hug a little tighter, kiss, or hold hands.

Another example is having the dad behind the mom and with the hands close to the camera holding the bottom of the belly.

From there, you can have the dad kissing the mom on the temple while the mom is looking down, they can hold hands, or like the example, hold the props that they brought to the session. Use longer lenses to get close up shots and far away shots for variety.

For each variation, take about four to five so that you can ensure you got at least one great photo from each pose.