Working with this mama for her maternity photoshoot in Orange County was so much fun because she is a long time family friend. I had photographed her older daughter for her newborn pictures so I was excited to photograph this pregnancy. She couldn’t decide between a studio maternity photo shoot and an outdoor maternity photo shoot, so we did both. This was a great opportunity to use the same person to show the difference between the two.
In The Studio: Semi-nude Maternity
The first maternity session took place at the studio in Brea, CA. To really showcase more of mama’s baby bump, we did a few semi-nude maternity images. These don’t actually contain any real nudity. They do show a little more skin than a traditional maternity photo shoot. Semi-nude or implied-nude studio maternity images are a beautiful way to showcase mama’s. Mama is a hair stylist so she came looking fabulous with her hair and makeup done. For my clients that aren’t as lucky or talented, I have hair and makeup artists that I work with. A maternity photo shoot is a great excuse to get dolled up.
I started this shoot with a scarf from my client closet and draped her in it. I particularly wanted to highlight her beautiful tattoos so we kept it really simple. It’s amazing how a tiny piece of clothing can make such a big impact on an image. I like keeping things monochromatic in the studio so that the clothing and the backdrop complement each other.
In the Studio: Maternity Dresses
I had the vision of this pose in my mind for the longest time however and she made it look more beautiful. Most people have never had a professional photoshoot before so it’s normal that posing doesn’t come naturally. This is where I come in! I know how to pose mom in the most flattering ways to emphasize the best parts of her pregnancy ( and minimize others). It also may take a little bit of time for mama to warm up in front of the camera, but don’t worry because this is totally normal! I’m here to make you the feel the most comfortable and confident in front of the camera.
It was a bonus that mama brought big sister with her. As she was watching me mama pose, so I asked her if she wanted to put on a princess dress and take pictures with mama and she said she did. The beauty of having a photography studio full of a huge variety of maternity gowns and children’s outfits is that I can pull from it at any point. The cream dress that mama is wearing is one of my favorite sweetheart maternity dresses in my client closet from Sew Trendy Accessories. Big sister is wearing one of my most requested sibling dresses from My darling Emma. You can see more of my client closet in my portfolio section.
Natural Light
For the outdoor portion for this maternity photo shoot, we actually went out to a dry lake bed. I have always wanted to do a photo shoot here, but never really had the opportunity so I was beyond excited for this. I brought a bunch of maternity gowns so mama changed right in her car in the middle of the dry lake bed because there wasn’t any choice. You want to make sure you know about your photoshoot location ahead of time so that you’re not caught off guard.. Check out my tips for choosing your outdoor locations for photo sessions.
I chose to bring maternity dresses that would complement the beautiful desert colors. First was this mustard off-shoulder maternity gown. I think it looked so beautiful against the color of the dry lake bed. A tight dress helps show the shape of mama during pregnancy and is always flattering.For example, sometimes a loose dress could make a mama look bigger than she actually is.
Client’s have the option to scroll through my Instagram to look for maternity gowns that I have in my client closet. Mama had seen this custom dress by Cora and Violet and immediately knew that she wanted to wear it. It’s the most beautiful embroidered lace gown and the best part is that it can fit ANY size because it’s completely adjustable.
We ended the sessions with this mocha lace maternity dress because I wanted to show off more of mama’s tattoos. You can see how perfectly the dress fit in with one of the tones of the lake bed and mountains in the background. That mocha color really matched the dry sand and blue skies.
