How to Pick Your Dream Maternity Dress

You will find thousands of options When searching for the right maternity dress for your photo shoot. It is overwhelming. How do you begin to select the right one for you? With these top tips, you can feel confident picking the right maternity dress for your photo shoot.

Before the specific maternity dress tips, remember the basics of what to wear for maternity photo tips. As a designer, the most important point I want to drive home is that you are staying true to yourself. While you want to be a little more formal than you are on a normal day, you still want to see yourself in your photos.

If you’re finding it too challenging to select a maternity dress, it is likely because you are looking at styles that don’t fit you. I have been in your shoes, going down the Pinterest rabbit hole, chasing boho styles that are gorgeous but not for my body.

Pay attention to the neckline of the maternity dress.

It might be a little shocking that I’m not starting with the fabric or color of the dress for your photo shoot. However, as a maternity designer and a mother of 3, I know first hand how important the neckline is.

Pregnancy changes our bodies. Captain Obvious is here! However, pregnancy does not just mean a growing belly. Our chest grows, too, often a lot in the first and third trimesters. A deep neckline that worked pre-pregnancy can be a bit more flashy than you expect for your maternity photo shoot.

There is nothing wrong with flaunting what you’ve got! I encourage you to try on your dress a few days before your session to ensure you are comfortable.

To go along with the neckline would be how the shoulders fall. Off-the-shoulder, dresses are gorgeous as long as you can wear them without feeling like you need to adjust or tug on them constantly.

Select a dress that you feel comfortable in.

This may sound like I’m repeating myself, telling you to be you. I am a little bit. But this point is that you select a maternity dress you are physically comfortable in for your photo shoot.

A form-fitting dress is a stunning way to show off your bump in pregnancy photos. However, select another style if you aren’t comfortable in the dress.

A long, or maxi, dress is ideal for maternity photos compared to a shorter-length dress.

Now, before you come after me with how so-and-so wore a short dress for her pregnancy photo session, and it was gorgeous, I do not doubt you. I have had several clients wear beautiful, shorter dresses.

However, a shorter dress is harder for you to move around in. You are already growing a baby! Let’s not add more challenges for you. It also limits things like your ability to sit down, thus limiting your maternity photo shoot.

A longer maternity dress allows for a little more movement without worrying about flashing anyone as you dance, frolic, or snuggle your children. Even more, if the dress is less form-fitting, the movement you can create in it will add an extra beautiful layer to your photos.

When choosing a maxi maternity dress for maternity photos, ensure the top is well-fitting.

A maxi dress photographs beautifully, whether or not you’re pregnant. Because we want to show off your bump, having some shape and form-fitting style to your dress in the bust will be most flattering. This also helps enhance your bump, even if the rest of the dress is more of a loose and flowing style.

Use your closet to decide if a print or solid is right for you.

Look in your closet. What do you naturally wear the most? Is it prints or solids?

If you’re more of a print woman, wonderful! Florals are feminine and gorgeous and fitting with maternity dresses.

Do you prefer solids? That’s wonderful, too. Select a colour you feel confident in that works with your skin tone. Colors to typically avoid are navy and black, as the detail and shape of your baby bump can get lost in the shadow. At the same time, neons can cause terrible colour casts on the skin of anyone near you.

mother in a green mermaid maternity dress for photos at a lawn

Choosing a maternity dress with an interesting fabric can elevate your photos.
Keeping the above tip in mind, be comfortable, and choose a dress with texture or layers to add extra interest to your session.

Perform the try-on test before your pregnancy photo session.
You can have the most beautiful maternity dress for your photo shoot. However, if it does not fit well or you are not comfortable in it, it will show in your photos.

Give yourself at least a few days before your session to try on your dress. I suggest you act a little like Goldilocks here. Try on your dress too early, and your body could still change too much. Try on your dress too late, and you won’t have enough time to find something else.

When trying on your maternity dress, move around in it. We will be moving and playing in our photo shoot. If you have children and you are able to lift them, try picking them up.

Do you find yourself pulling at your dress? Do you feel like you are showing too much skin? Do you constantly adjust the dress?

With a few simple movements, you will know if your maternity dress for your photo shoot will work.

When all else fails, ask your photographer for guidance on selecting the right maternity dress for your photo shoot.

With these simple tips, you can feel confident in selecting the perfect maternity dress!