Preparing for Your Maternity Portrait Session

Your clothing selections and preparation for your fine art portraits can make or break a beautiful image. To help you select the best clothing style, colors, and patterns, I've put together some helpful guidelines that I have found work best for beautiful portraits. Also included here are helpful suggestions that will help ensure your preparations make for an enjoyable experience.

Your Preparation

Maternity sessions are all about capturing your beauty during your pregnancy, and the miracle of the baby growing inside you. It's critical that you are relaxed and comfortable during your session. So make this day about you. Be sure to schedule yourself a very light day. Eliminate distractions, and pamper yourself. Manicures and pedicures, whether done professionally or at home, will not only help you get a little of that pampering, but they will also be important because proper grooming will be necessary for the portraits. Hands and feet do show up in some of the images.

A few hours prior to your session, please remove anything that may cause lines on your body such as socks, maternity pants, jewelry, undergarments, and belly supports. Wearing a loose-fitting nightgown or robe prior to the session is best. And because most pregnancy sessions do include some nudity, the robe will come in handy.

Because your home will be the backdrop for many of your photos, please ensure that your home is clean and free of distractions.

Only those being photographed should be present. If you would like your children to be included in some of the photos, childcare is a must for the remainder of the session.

Clothing

I usually recommend some clothing basics for your session: yoga pants, tank tops, camisoles, lingerie, and jeans. Jeans with panels are not recommended, but jeans that sit below the belly, and even jeans from before your pregnancy will work even if they can't be zipped up. As long as they can fit up over the hips, they'll work. Clothing that bares the belly work well, such as shrugs that we can tie above the belly. I also recommend that if you have a maternity outfit you really love, have that prepared too. It might be great for your portraits. Please make sure all clothing is either ironed or steamed. Wrinkles do show up in photographs, and the retouching involved is extensive and will incur an extra fee.

Beyond the basic clothing items, we will provide fabrics to create pregnancy wraps if you choose.

Helpful Resources for Expectant Mothers:

Local:

Queen Bee.......14 N. Meramec Ave......314.727.8484

Lauri Baker is an award-winning portrait photographer specializing in maternity, baby, and children's portraits. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, she is available for commissioned travel throughout the United States. You can browse her portfolio at www.lauribakerphotography.com