Pregnancy is a unique time in a woman’s life.  While many consider this to be a beautiful time in a woman’s life, women don’t often feel the beauty that is perceived by others. A great way to help a woman feel beautiful and to embrace the wonderful changes going on in her body is with maternity photos.

While maternity poses are endless, there are a few poses that will forever give you gorgeous, breathtaking portraits of mom and her soon-to-be child.  Below are my top 4 maternity poses that will give you those stunning pictures time and time again.

Mom Alone

While I love including a significant other or even other children, I try to highlight and focus on mom during a maternity session.  Since many women feel uncomfortable in their own skin during their pregnancy, I will always try to pose mom in the most flattering lights possible.  Positioning her in a 45-degree angle will give the perfect silhouette, with the focus on the bump.  This particular angle will also help create the perfect depth and warmth that many women are looking for in their maternity photos.

To help create meaningful and tender photos, I have mom embrace her bump.  This can include having mom rub her belly or looking lovingly down at her soon-to-be baby.  To help create authentic photos, I ask mom to think about meeting her baby or hearing their little laugh for the first time.  Eliciting these visceral responses will help create those genuine, loving portraits all moms are looking to have.

Profile Poses

Being a studio photographer; taking profile poses are a must-take when doing a maternity session.  What I love about this type of pose is how the shape of mom’s body and her bump just pop in these types of photos.  Another bonus, if mom isn’t super confident in how her face is looking during pregnancy, I can help guide her to position her face in the most flattering side profile way possible.

While silhouette portraits can be taken standing or sitting down; I love to try and have mom sit on a prop as this will create a dramatic portrait of her body.  I will then have mom place one hand behind her, resting on the back of the prop, creating an arch in her back.  By positioning her in this fashion her bump is fully highlighted which creates a dramatic, artistic photo.

Pose with Significant Other

While the focus of a maternity shoot is mom and bump, the significant other (SO) can have their time in the spotlight as well!  There are a few ways we can showcase the significant other.  The most common pose is having the SO kneel on their knees and kiss the belly or have their hands on either side of the belly with their head resting on it facing the camera.  A way I create intimacy in these poses is I have SO close their eyes, eliciting a private close moment between SO and baby.

Another go-to pose I use when SO is involved, is having SO stand partially behind mom. This position can be used to capture two different types of photos.  The first is having both parents place their hands on mom’s belly.  Then capturing a photo of just the hands on the belly creating a loving photo without showcasing both parents.  Another great photo I take using this pose, is a mid-length pose of both parents but I will focus on SO’s eye’s and their facial expressions because they have the same feelings about this new baby as mom does!

Pose with Other Children

Adding a new baby to a family brings about so many emotions; especially for the existing children.  While maternity portraits tend to focus on mom and her beautiful changing body, I love when families include their older children.   Including your kids, helps make the child(ren) feel included, special and loved.  It helps reiterate that the family may be growing but they are still loved and important.

One way to make the child(ren) feel special is to photograph them with mom.  A classic pose is mom holding her child with the child resting on the belly. Another beautiful, intimate pose is having mom stand sideways with the focus on her belly and having the child kiss the belly.  And finally, mom posing on various props with child also creates beautiful images.  For example, I like taking mom sitting on a prop and have the child sit next to her or have the child stand behind mom on the prop and wrap his or her hands around mom’s neck.  The most important aspect of mom with her children is to find poses that seem natural.  The love shared between the two will naturally come through, no matter how they are posed.

Pregnancy is a time filled with so many emotions and change.  While most women aren’t feeling their best; having a seasoned photographer take stunning maternity photos can change your mind.  It’s important to remember that each woman and pregnancy is unique and while these are my top 4 poses, they may or may not work for the mom in front of me.  My goal and every maternity photographer’s goal is to make mom feel beautiful, powerful, and amazing.  Because let’s face it, creating life is an amazingly beautiful experience.

If you are in the Orange County area and are looking for a maternity photographer, click here if you’d like to connect with me so we can discuss session details!