Editor’s Key Takeaways: 10 Creative Maternity Photoshoot Ideas at Home
This blog post by photographer Anabel provides a variety of in-home maternity photoshoot ideas, highlighting the advantages of capturing these special moments at home.
- Milk Bath: An elegant and artistic photoshoot popular on Pinterest and Instagram.
- Little Shoes (and Other Items): Including baby shoes and other small items to symbolize the upcoming arrival.
- The Backyard: Utilizing the natural beauty of your backyard for a serene backdrop.
- Comfort on the Bed: Capturing relaxed, intimate moments in the comfort of your bedroom.
- The Silhouette: Creating dramatic, artistic silhouettes, usually against strong light sources.
- Facing the Window: Using natural light to capture soft, flattering images.
- Include Pets and Children: Featuring pets or existing children to add a personal touch.
- With Food: Incorporating cravings or favorite meals for a fun and whimsical element.
- In the Nursery: Taking photos in the baby’s future room for emotional significance.
- The Goddess Dress: Wearing flowy dresses to create a majestic and radiant look.
The post emphasizes that in-home photo sessions can be more comfortable, less stressful, and budget-friendly, as they eliminate the constraints and pressures of studio rentals. The familiarity of the home setting often helps to produce natural and heartfelt photographs.
Introduction
The joyous journey of pregnancy is one of the most popular photoshoot subjects in the world (arguably). But if you’re not one to want to capture your maternity photos in a strange new place, you can do sessions in the comfort of your own home!
Here is our list of 10 maternity photoshoot ideas you can do at home (guaranteed to make your in-home maternity shoots memorable!).
Maternity Photoshoot Ideas:
The Benefit of In-Home Maternity Photo Shoots
Although heading to a photo studio or an epic outdoor location can be a glorious way to commemorate pregnancy, doing something at home has a charm that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Maternity may only happen once in a woman’s life, so capturing this momentous time can be a bit of a stressful endeavor. Luckily, at-home sessions offer a slew of benefits.
For starters, home shoots can be easier on the body. Every woman is different, but nothing truly beats the comfort of the home.
Second, there’s a lot less pressure when you’re capturing an in-home session, as everything is already there at your disposal (and you don’t have a studio rental time to think about).
Third, if you can’t afford a maternity photographer, you can do the whole session by yourself at home.
On to the ideas!
1. Milk Bath
Made popular by Pinterest and Instagram, the milk bath is a beautiful and artistic way to celebrate life. You don’t necessarily need gallons of milk to make your bath become creamy, though; many photographers just pour a bit of milk into the water, then use food coloring, powders, and more to make the water look the way they want it.
Typically, the bath isn’t filled to its maximum capacity either; you want to make sure the belly is clearly visible! Images taken from above will show femininity, fun, and comfort. And for extra interest, include a few flower petals or fake flowers to float in the water.
The milk bath can even be done (or repeated) after the baby is born, as toddler milk bath shoots are popular, too.
2. Little Shoes (and Other Items)
There are few things in the world cuter than itty bitty baby shoes and clothes! A cute and fun idea is to capture photographs of these baby clothes and items with the belly. These shots are great for announcements, as well!
There are so many ways to compose this type of shot. You can balance the shoes on the belly, lay them out near the mom, or simply hold them up!
Related Posts
This is an especially convenient idea because baby clothes have to be acquired before the little one’s arrival.
3. The Backyard
For those with an outdoor space, try going outside and capturing some sweet images. This is a good self-portrait maternity photoshoot idea: You can put the camera on a tripod and capture yourself celebrating the glory of parenthood.
Look to shoot around sunset for the best lighting. And play around with different poses, such as the prom pose with hands around the belly, hands making hearts, and many more. When posing Mom, ensure that one leg is popped out front and bent, both for balance and for a flattering result!
You can even bring flowers and use them as hand props in the backyard.
4. Comfort on the Bed
The bed is the best spot in the house, and it reminds us of warmth, comfort, and rest. The bed can also be a very sweet location for a maternity session, especially if you want to give your shots a sense of softness.
The bed also allows for a tremendous number of pose ideas – from sitting cross-legged in the center of the bed with the hands cupping the belly to lying fully on the side. The opportunities are endless!
If there are windows in the bedroom, cover them with a white sheet (to diffuse the light) or shoot in the late afternoon when the light is softer and more even.
5. The Silhouette
If there’s a big enough window, go ahead and create a silhouette. This is a great maternity photoshoot idea because it really captures the beautiful curves of the pregnant body.
All you have to do is place Mom in profile against the window and expose for the backlight. Everything against the window (Mom, in this case) will turn extremely dark, and the window light will be elegantly expressed.
6. Facing the Window
Instead of having Mom look away from the window, ask her to face it! Place Mom in profile, but face her toward the light; this can make for a very elegant and dramatic image.
If you turn the resulting file black and white or you expose specifically for the lighter part of the face, the shot will be incredibly dramatic.
If you add white curtains and shoot closer to noon, the effect will be soft and airy.
7. Include Pets and Children
Include the whole family in the maternity session! This is another benefit to in-home sessions: the inclusion of every member of the family.
Related Posts
If the happy couple has children, have the children play with the belly and talk to their future sibling! Have the pets sit in Dad’s arms or sit by the belly.
8. With Food
Cravings are a big part of pregnancy, right? Why not celebrate them, either? If you want the session to take a silly and cute turn, try doing traditional pregnancy poses with food. Ice cream, pickles, and other quintessential pregnancy foods can all play a big role in the photographs.
9. In the Nursery
For those who have the nursery built in advance, it can be a glorious idea to do the in-home pregnancy photoshoot there. It’ll offer consistency if the baby is also photographed in that room in all of its growth stages.
Look to sit on the ground in front of the crib, pose near a window, or interact with the other soon-to-be parent with furniture or toys in the room.
10. The Goddess Dress
It’s tough to go wrong with an in-home session featuring the classic maternity goddess dress. Maternity dresses are long, flowing maxi dresses that are usually done with a lighter material; they ebb and flow with the body. These sessions turn Mom into an absolute queen and offer a lot of posing ideas.
With such long dresses, you can throw up the edges only to watch them fall back down in beautiful movement. Plus, these dresses can also cover up areas of the body that Mom might be uncomfortable with (as pregnancy can cause bodily changes that then go away after the baby is born, such as swollen ankles).
Have Fun at Your Maternity Session!
We hope these ten ideas get you excited about your next at-home maternity sessions! Have fun, remember these ideas, and take some great photos.