57 Stunning Maternity Pictures, Ideas, And Photo Shoot Themes

Planning to take maternity pictures soon? Get creative and make sure you shine with these photo shoot ideas!

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Maternity Pictures | Photo Shoot Ideas to Inspire You

The Beauty of Maternity Photography

Pregnancy takes such a physical and emotional toll, but it’s still an exciting and unique milestone you’ll want to look back on. Having beautiful pictures of this incredible season will be something you can share with family and friends, too.

Much like wedding pictures and newborn portraits, you will want to treasure these moments forever. Find inspiration from these adorable and creative maternity pictures and come up with your own maternity shoot ideas!

1. Spa Day

Indulge in the tranquil glamour of pregnancy while basking in a warm, petal filled milk tub. For this idea, create a spa and do the photo shoot in the comfort of your home. All you need are flowers and milky water in a tub.

2. Exciting Plans

Note-taking has gone digital these days, but you can pose with a planner for some old-school charm. Channel your inner acting prowess and pull off an eager and excited mommy expression while planning for the beautiful maternity pictures.

3. Baby Bump and Booties

This one is definitely Instagrammable. You don’t even need a professional maternity photographer for this one!

You can pull this off with a smartphone and simple photo editing apps. Filter and adjust the silhouette for a cinematic effect.

4. Cute and Pink

If you’re expecting a baby girl, you’ll love this idea. Pose in your baby girl’s nursery with a sheer curtain and your baby’s soon-to-be first and favorite cuddly stuffed toy!

5. Bring Out the Booties

Cute and tiny booties will always make fun maternity photo shoot props. The design doesn’t matter because they’re cute in every style anyway.

6. Pose with Soon-to-Be Big Bro

A stroll in the park with your son will give you great photo opportunities. Have your enthusiastic hubby or a family member take the maternity pictures from different angles to capture your growing family in motion.

7. Pose with Soon-to-Be Big Sis

You will have no problem taking a maternity pose with your daughter. Most little girls love photo shoots and even initiate it themselves. Take their cue and pose away!

8. Silhouette with Daddy

Every expecting mom needs all the support she can get. Capture these memories with your hubby in a lovely sunrise or sunset background. These are classic silhouette maternity pictures we’ll never get tired of seeing.

9. Beach Stroll

If you’re lucky enough to be living near the beach, this idea is perfect. A stroll with your partner isn’t only a photo idea for a pre-wedding photo shoot. It’s great for a maternity session photo, as well.

10. Booties on Pregnant Belly

Show how you can’t wait to put booties on your baby’s feet in a lovely portrait. Highlight your belly and the booties with a portrait effect you can achieve with the latest camera phones.

11. Night Lights

You will need a similar background, a good amount of light, and perhaps professional photography to get this one right. Lights reflected in the water add drama to your portrait, so look for a nice location near you and a maternity photographer comfortable shooting in low light settings.

12. Angel Mommy

You can put on costume wings, or you can just let Photoshop do the work. A mommy will always be an angel to her baby, so why not play the part in a photo shoot?

What is Photoshop? Photoshop is an Adobe photo editing, graphic design, and image creation software that provides various image editing features to create a customized and distinctive image, photo, or graphics.

13. Bask in the Ambiance

Timing is important in an extraordinary photo shoot. You don’t need artificial lights to create a glow.

You only need to catch the sun just right. Make sure to explain the effect you’re going for to your professional photographers, so you can both get it exactly right!

14. Pregnant Belly Dancer

This is a super simple maternity picture with no filters or effect. A good camera phone will work just fine. Play your part by donning a costume you feel comfortable in!

15. Expecting Couple with Sunset Backdrop

The setting sun always makes a great background for a stunning photo shoot. A maternity photo shoot with your loving partner against the sunset is bound to be unforgettable.

16. Hit the Park

Other than the beach, the park is one of the most popular settings for photo shoots. It’s also great for a maternity photo session. Visit one close to home, put on a nice maternity dress, and give us your best smile!

17. Fun and Perky

Pregnancy is so challenging, but there are many reasons to smile. Be fun, bubbly, and perky in your maternity pictures and show how excited you are to be welcoming your newest addition to the family!

18. Love Love Love

You only need a paper heart on a stick to pull this one off. Hold it over your pregnant belly and focus on it to get a high-contrast and blurred-out background effect.

19. Monochrome Daddy Feeling Baby

There’s a certain timeless charm to photos rendered in black and white. Even a simple pose like daddy connecting with baby becomes meaningful and worth capturing.

20. Light Effects

Use the bright sun to your advantage. Take your shoot outdoors and soak in the warmth. Simple poses, settings, and a maternity moment are bound to be the most memorable.

21. Hit the Docks

Love the water? Take it to the docks and do your thing. If budget’s an issue, your savvy partner with a good camera phone will save the day!

22. Baby Bump and Baby Onesies

Strike a pose while holding baby clothes or onesies reflecting how excited you are for your baby. An all-white background adds a clean effect to the portrait.

23. Big Blue Balloons

About to pop? How’s that for a cute pun. Balloons as props can make cute maternity pictures.

24. Baby Is a Gift

Tie a beautiful ribbon around your bare belly as a simple reminder that your baby is a gift. Take the shots before your gift comes to greet you.

25. Celebrity Baby Bump Pose

Celebrities like Chrissy Teigen and Beyonce Knowles showed us how to perfect maternity pictures. Put on a lovely pregnancy gown with a sexy slit in front, pick a lovely background, and get your perfect picture.

26. Work with Fabrics

Put on a sheer pregnancy gown and show how proud you are of your changing body without revealing too much. Sheer fabric is a great workaround when you’re feeling a little risque but still want to keep it classy.

27. Monochrome First Mom and Baby Picture

Embarking on a photo shoot will be the last thing on your mind after hours of hard labor, but the baby’s first picture is very important. A monochrome or black and white effect will do you and your baby justice.

28. Special Effects

You will need the magic of a Photoshop-savvy graphic artist for a maternity picture of this caliber. It’s a one-of-a-kind maternity picture but definitely memorable.

29. Artsy

Ask an artist friend to work their magic on your belly for your maternity portrait. You can go for this art piece, or you can make your own design or idea. If you love painting yourself, then even better.

30. Lights, Camera, Action

For movie enthusiasts, this will make a cute and an unconventional maternity portrait. Get ready for lights, camera, action!

31. Classic Monochrome Reflection

A pond reflection is a classy pose perfect for gorgeous maternity pictures. Add drama to your portrait with a lovely dress and a candid pose.

32. In the Garden

A photo shoot at the community park or a private garden basically follows the same idea. Being one with nature gives you the calming effect you need during your pregnancy.

33. Playful and Funny

Have fun with your maternity pictures. This witty shot results in funny maternity pictures that will surely catch attention. You don’t need fancy backgrounds or dresses to pull this one off.

34. Dramatic in a Lovely Dress

Following the trendy booties-on-belly shots, we give you another one with a twist. Put on a flowing maternity dress.

One with big embellishments will be great. Work with your dress, belly, and baby booties while striking different poses.

35. Country

Whether you’re expecting a cowboy or a cowgirl, a country baby will need some cowboy/girl booties! Add some rustic charm to your maternity portraits with a country-inspired backdrop.

36. Fun with Hubby

Get in some double trouble with your partner in crime. Do this shoot with your husband (or partner) in your bare bellies. They will elicit some laughs from friends and family!

37. The Flower Pose

This idea will work best in a studio where you can control air flow and lighting. Put on a nice balloon dress or skirt and feel like a flower about to blossom.

38. Pretty Relaxed

You can say some moms feel huge and unattractive at some point in their pregnancy, but there are also good days when you feel light and pretty. Put on a dress that fits you nicely, take a deep breath, and give the photographer a Mona Lisa smile.

39. Seashore Silhouette

Emphasize your pregnant belly with an artistic silhouette. You can do this in the sunset or sunrise with the camera against the natural light to pull off the effect.

40. Candid

This is easy to pull off. Just ignore the camera and act natural!

41. Wide Expanse Backdrop

Find a place you love to create the perfect portrait shot against some beautiful scenery. A wide angle shot with a good camera phone will do the trick.

42. A New Family Addition

Get all the family assembled, leaving a space for your brand new family addition. Set a cute pair of baby shoes on the spot and shoot away!

43. Heart-Shaped Hands

Who can resist these hand hearts you can find in many images and portraits? Do it with your partner for a double impact on your beloved baby.

44. Flower Backdrops

You can always find flowering backgrounds at the park or even your home. Posing with lavenders in the background will give you the soothing aroma to put you in a relaxed mood for your photo shoot.

45. Do Some Yoga

Pregnancy yoga has wonderful benefits for pregnant women. If you’re a big yoga fan, it’s a great idea for your maternity pictures.

Rent some space at a studio or you can even do this shoot in the comfort of your own home.

46. Tranquil Blues

Give baby blues a whole new meaning when doing a maternity photo shoot in the big blue. Embrace aqua with a stunning maternity picture with the ocean for a background

47. Waiting for the Miracle of Birth

You can pose against any wall with a lovely design or anything you’re comfortable with. You can even do this in the comfort of your home. Pull a dramatic pose with simple but flattering maternity clothes.

48. Sunset Silhouette

Sunsets can be elusive. If you’re lucky enough to catch a beautiful sunset, take that chance. Get your good camera and shoot away!

49. Pose with a Rocking Cradle

This is one of the easiest maternity poses you can do, especially if you’re all set up with what baby needs. Posing in the nursery or standing over your baby cradle shows how excited you’ll be to finally have your bundle of joy!

50. Flowing Dress with a Long Trail

Female models always look good wearing a flowing dress with a long trail in photo shoots. Take advantage of this idea and look for a place where you can emphasize the flowing dress with your baby bump.

A country-inspired scenery will be perfect for this, where you’ll let the wind do the effect on the dress and you’ll work on your maternity poses.

51. Mommy and Baby with a Black and White Effect

Black and white maternity pictures are now taking photography on a whole different level. Use this idea to take a memorable picture with your baby on his/her first few days, and be simple and unique with your poses.

As simple as lying down on a flat surface with your baby on your belly looks dramatic and unique with a black and white effect.

52. Floral Headdress or Crown

For fashionistas, wearing floral headdresses on your maternity photo shoot makes a huge splash on your photo. It can add a bohemian, whimsical, or vintage vibe to your maternity pictures.

You can make the floral crown yourself to fit your taste or ask an artistic friend to do it for you. Pair this headdress with a long white dress that will make it more classy.

53. A Superhero Mom

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWqPhiJl1n0/

If you’re a fan of superheroes, take creative pregnancy photos as an opportunity to show off your superhero side. You can wear a Wonder Woman costume and be beautifully fierce with your baby bump.

Moms are a family superhero because of their love and support for the household. Ready your costume now and unleash that superhero in you!

54. Show Them Your Baby’s Name

Knowing what your baby’s name is a priority when you get pregnant, and if you have already decided, take it to a maternity picture. Pile some alphabet blocks to form the name of your little one and pair it baby booties.

The whole photo should include you and your partner at the background from a distance with a blurry effect, focusing on the alphabet blocks and the booties.

55. A Change in Perspective Shot

This photo idea needs some professional touch or someone skilled in a maternity photography session. Utilize an old car model and take the shot from the reflection of the car’s side mirror where you and your partner are holding your belly together.

You and your partner can share a kiss on the picture or be happy on the shot, whichever suits your preference. This idea brings a vintage and romantic vibe like that of a movie!

56. Tell Your Story

https://www.instagram.com/p/-vywIYvtGg/

Not everyone may ask you how it happened, but everybody is interested to know how it all began, especially if it’s your first baby. Simply pose a picture with your belly exposed and you can write something on your belly like “It all started with a kiss.”

This surely makes a very exciting pregnancy picture that everyone is happy to see.

57. Bump Ahead

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJZKTTUgPrc/

If you happen to pass by a road sign “Bump Ahead” along the road, pull over and take a creative shot with the sign. Your baby bump will give another meaning to the sign.

Find out how simple neighborhood locations can make amazing photo shoot backdrops in this behind-the-scenes video from Svitlana Vronska:

There you have it, super-excited moms! Maternity pictures and maternity photo shoot ideas we hope will inspire your own.

Posing for unique maternity photos can be intimidating. Just be creative and safe and remember to have fun!

Which of the maternity photo ideas did you like best? Tell us how they’ve inspired you in the comments section below!

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on October 24, 2018, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.