By Florent Vidal Photography

Pregnancy shoot is all about you!

As a pregnancy photographer, I want you to have fun during your pregnancy shoot! It’s all about discovering different personas from natural to dramatic! A maternity shoot can be done in natural surroundings like a beach, your favourite park or in the comfort of your own home with our In-home maternity session.

Pamper yourself!

Make this day about you. Be sure to schedule yourself a very light day. Eliminate distractions, and if you can.. pamper yourself!

A few hours prior to your session, please remove anything that may cause lines on your body such as socks, tight pants, jewellery and undergarments. Wearing loose-fitting clothes, a robe or a sarong prior to the session is best. For pregnancy sessions, which may include some nudity, the robe or sarong will come in handy.

Your hands will also be focused in the photoshoot so make sure you give yourself a manicure. Do not forget your toes in preparing for this special day. Lip moisturiser will be a great addition to your face during the photoshoot.

Your make-up

Focus on your eyes and lips, as they will be focused on photographs especially for black and white photographs. You don’t have to put too much foundation – just enough to even out your skin tone. Less is more!

What to wear?

As a general rule, keeping your attire simple allows for the focus to stay on you and not draw the eye to patterns and colours in fabrics. Your wardrobe should be free of logos, pictures and writing.

And of course, it’s important that we see your beautiful bump! If you’re comfortable with a bit of nudity to show off your baby bump, then this is something that we can work on together. Another way to show off is to wear something close to the body.

Fitted and cropped blouses are great for showing off your belly, too. A tank top or T-shirt that is tight-fitting for covering your top and exposing your belly (too loose and your belly will no longer be the focus.)

Scarves, shawls, sarongs and lengths of soft, fluid fabrics make wonderful wraps for maternity portraits. Just be careful that the fabric isn’t too voluminous that it actually hides your pregnancy.

A buttoned-down blouse/shirt (soft, flowing, drapey fabrics/linen/cotton- one of your own or one of his works well, too.)

Jeans, slacks, drawstring pants, soft skirts. Linen and other fabrics that drape look feminine and soft. Your pants/jeans/skirts should not have maternity panels – they do not photograph well.

Instead, wear regular pants that can pull down under your belly. This is the time to wear those jeans that you can’t fit in anymore! Button fly jeans work very well in photos.

For black and white maternity photos

Black, white and mid-toned pastels photograph beautifully. Think about the look that you want to achieve, and this should guide you in selecting your wardrobe.

For Children

They should coordinate with you as well and have simple attire. Make sure their eyes, nose, finger and toenails are clean and groomed. Lotion and lip balm will help with close-ups.

For Him

Try to coordinate with each other. Drawstring drapey pants, linens and soft fabrics look good on him, too. Again, avoid shirts with logos and make sure to iron shirts, as creases show on the photographs.

In-home Studio Maternity Shoot

What is ‘In-home’ photo session like?

Florent will bring a professional portable studio with studio lights to your home. Depending on the space, Florent may also get some shots that incorporate your home if there’s anything that catches his eye.

To help you relax and be more comfortable, only those being photographed should be present. If you would like your children to be included in some of the photos, please consider childcare for the remainder of the session.

Turning your home into a ‘studio’

So we could turn your home into a ‘studio’, we need a room with a minimum area of 3 x 3 metres and be completely empty (if you need to move furniture please do so prior to our session). The longer the better.

If you think you don’t have enough space or are unsure where to have it, don’t worry. Florent will do a quick check of your home before the session and let you know the best spot.