What to Wear for Maternity Photoshoot Outside
You’ve scheduled an outdoor maternity photo shoot, now you need to figure out what to wear. When choosing what to wear for maternity photos outside, there are several helpful things to keep in mind for turning your maternity portraits into treasures.
Embrace your Baby Bump in maternity photos
You want to showcase that beautiful bump! When choosing what to wear for outdoor maternity photos, think about outfits that accentuate your changing body. Form-fitting dresses, for instance, allow your baby bump to be the focal point of your maternity photos.
What Color Should I Wear?
This question comes with some considerations when choosing what to wear for maternity photos outside.
What sort of feeling are you going for? In another of our blog posts, How to Choose a Good Bay Area Maternity Photographer, we encourage knowing your vision. Knowing what you want from your maternity photo shoot will help in deciding on an outfit.
Consider the Season: The season your shoot is scheduled will be a big consideration when deciding what to wear for maternity photos outside. Start by choosing your palette.
Fall/Winter, warm colors like mustard, brown, rust, cream, and taupe
Spring/ Summer, lighter colors like neutral and light toned, cream, white, beige, gray, muted pinks and purple, coral, rose and light blues
Colors you shouldn’t consider when deciding what to wear for maternity photos outside include black and navy blue. Black is a slimming color. Since the focus is on your beautiful baby bump, we’re not going for slimming here. Dark colors will hide too much of that bump in maternity photos.
You should stand out! If you’re shooting in a lush landscape on a bright summer day, certain green hues will work against that, and you’ll blend into the background. Cream would be a perfect color in greens for your outdoor maternity photo shoot.
Avoid patterns, busy bold prints, florals, and stripes. These take away from emphasizing that beautiful baby bump during maternity photo shoots.
Dressing Weather Appropriately for Maternity Photos Outside
We’ve already considered the season for selecting a color palette but, the weather is another matter when deciding what to wear for maternity photos outside. A breathable fabric will keep you more comfortable if it's going to be hot. A long-sleeved dress or a knit may be the way to go in cold weather.
Try your dresses before your session and share your photos with your photographer to make sure you love it and your photographer can plan your session accordingly.
Choosing the Right Dress for Your Outdoor Maternity Photo Session
Did you think saying, “YES” to a dress was reserved for brides? There are lots of beautiful, flowing dresses to choose from when deciding what to wear for maternity photos outside. Ensure that an outfit defines your shape and allows you to frame your bump with your hands easily. A Maxi dress or a midi-length dress can create flattering lines. Dresses that have more fabric also allow for draping that will help create flattering silhouettes and motion in your maternity photos. At Upma Sharma Photography, we have a beautiful client closet of gowns in different sizes and colors for your maternity photo shoot.
Lean Into Confidence for Your Outdoor Maternity Photo Session
Let’s be honest, the later stages of pregnancy are not when women feel their most confident or comfortable in their bodies. It’s best to do the session by 34 weeks of pregnancy. You may be worried about how you’ll look on camera. A long dress is the perfect way to conceal those swollen ankles, feet, or any other body part you feel self-conscious about. Knowing these can be concealed can help you lean into confidence when selecting what to wear for maternity photos outside.
Should I Bring an Extra Maternity Outfit for My Maternity Photo Session?
Have you fallen in love with more than one outfit to wear for maternity photos outside? That’s fine! Bringing an extra outfit is a great way to give you some variety in images. We also bring a changing tent to outdoor maternity photo shoots for convenient wardrobe changes.
Accessorize with texture: Don't forget about accessories! A chunky necklace or a woven hat or fresh flowers can add a touch of personality and texture.
What Should My Partner or Kids Wear to My Maternity Photo Session?
If you plan to include your partner or kids in your outdoor maternity photo shoot, the key to selecting their outfits is that they “coordinate.” If everyone is wearing the same color, they tend to blend. Your partner and kids have distinctive personalities, and that should be reflected in your maternity photos. Simply select 2-3 colors from your palette and build outfits with a variation of them. This will help showcase this unique and loving family your little one is coming into. Incorporating different textures into your family's outfits for a maternity photoshoot is a great way to add visual interest and dimension to the photos.
The Bottom Line
When choosing what to wear for maternity photos outside, you want an outfit that reflects your style, flatters your changing body, and makes you feel confident and comfortable. Dress in something that feels like YOU.
Upma Sharma Photography is a Bay Area maternity and newborn photographer, serving Palo Alto, Mountain View, Redwood City, Fremont, Sunnyvale, San Jose and surrounding areas and has 100+ 5 star reviews on Google. I'm the mother of twin boys and love to make every mother absolutely special through the photoshoot experience. Contact me for any questions, I can’t wait to hear from you!