What to wear for a maternity session (and what I actually care about)

Almost every maternity session starts with the same message a week before: "What should I wear?" Usually there is a screenshot attached, or three. I understand why. Clothes are the one part of the day you can control before you walk in.

I am not going to give you a shopping list. I do not care about brands, and I have never looked at a gallery and wished someone had spent more money on a dress. What I care about is simpler, and once you know it, choosing gets much easier. I am watching one shape all afternoon: the line of the pregnancy, from the chest over the bump and down to the hip. Everything you wear either helps me draw that line or hides it.

Fit: show me the shape

The single most useful thing you can wear is something that follows the body. A fitted dress, a stretchy knit, a bodysuit. It sounds obvious, and yet the most common thing people bring is a loose, flowing top they love in the mirror. In person it is comfortable. In a photograph from the side, it can turn the bump into a tent.

Look at Kate's session at the top of this note. She is in a plain black dress with long sleeves and a high neck, nothing else going on. Against a white wall, in profile, the dress becomes a silhouette. The hat does the drama. The dress just tells the truth about the shape, and that is why the picture works.

The same idea carried the three friends in Trio Maternity. All three wore simple black bodysuits. No one was competing with anyone, and three different bumps read clearly in the same frame.

Flowing fabric is not forbidden. It is a second act. A long sheer gown, a chiffon train, a robe you can open: those are wonderful once we already have the fitted pictures, because then the fabric gets to move. In Karina's studio session, a white dress with a soft skirt worked against a strong red backdrop because the top half still sat close to her body. The skirt was there to catch light, not to hide anything.

Color: solid beats busy

I like solid colors. Black, white, cream, and one deep color that suits your skin are almost always safe. Solids keep the eye on you, and they survive both a bright white studio wall and a dark one.

Busy prints are harder. A small pattern can shimmer strangely on screen, and a big pattern pulls attention away from your face and your hands. Logos and text are the hardest of all. Nobody has ever framed a maternity portrait for the T-shirt.

Texture is different from pattern, and I welcome it. Lace, a sheer floral overlay, a knit with some weight to it. Ariana wore a sheer floral dress in front of a wall of red lights, and the fabric gave the light something to hold on to without turning into noise.

Think about the place too. Outdoors in a park, green is everywhere, so a green dress can disappear into the trees. Cream, dusty blue, deep red, or black stand out against leaves and grass. In the studio we can choose the backdrop to suit the outfit, which is one of the quiet advantages of shooting inside.

Partners and kids: coordinate, do not match

Partners and kids are welcome, and sometimes even pets. When they join, I ask for one thing: let them belong to the same color family as you, a step quieter.

If you are in black lace, a partner in a black T-shirt or a dark shirt is perfect. If you are in pale blue, little ones in soft blue or white will sit beside you without stealing the picture. In Suella's session, her two girls wore blue close to the color of her gown, and the frame reads as one family instead of four outfits.

What I steer away from is identical outfits on everyone, and very bright colors on the person who is not pregnant. The bump is the story. Everyone else is the supporting cast, and the supporting cast should be dressed like they know it.

Comfort is not optional

This is the part people skip, and it matters most. You might be on your feet, sitting on a floor, leaning on a window ledge, or walking through grass. If a dress pinches when you sit, you will feel it in your face before I see it in the fabric.

Bring shoes you can stand in between frames. Bring a robe or a big shirt for the moments in between outfits. Avoid tight waistbands that leave marks on the skin, especially if we plan any pictures with the belly bare. Take jewelry you love, but keep it simple: one strong piece reads better than five small ones.

How many outfits to bring

Sessions usually run one to three hours, and outfit changes are usually included, depending on the type of shoot. My honest answer is two or three looks for most sessions. One fitted and simple. One with movement or texture. And, if you want it, one that is more personal: your partner's shirt, a robe, something you wore when you found out.

Bring more than that and we spend the session changing instead of photographing. Bring one and you will wish you had a second when the light changes.

What I would tell another photographer

Send the wardrobe advice before the session, not at the door. Talk about shape and color, not labels. Ask what the client is nervous about, because the outfit question is often really a body question. And in the first ten minutes, photograph the simplest, most fitted look first, while everyone is fresh. The fabric can do its dance later.

A maternity session starts at $425, and the gallery arrives within one week. See how a maternity session works, or if you already know your month, send a request and tell me what you are thinking of wearing. I am happy to look at the screenshots.