Posing
Maternity photoshoot poses
Comfort dictates results here more than in any other session. Every pose below can be held for under a minute and released.
Posing
Comfort dictates results here more than in any other session. Every pose below can be held for under a minute and released.
In short: Comfort dictates results here more than in any other session. Every pose below can be held for under a minute and released.
Side-on, chin level, front hand under the bump, back hand relaxed. The silhouette does the work.
Turn 45 degrees, one hand above and one below the bump, elbows soft and away from the body so the arms do not merge with the torso.
Long line, no standing, and it gives the photographer a low camera angle that flatters.
Removes the pressure of an expression, and the downward gaze reads as calm rather than posed.
Both faces in the same plane of focus. Ask the partner to look at you rather than at the camera.
Movement solves stiffness. Three or four steps, repeated, shot in bursts.
Start with profile against the light — the first two minutes are warm-up and the first pose should be the one that asks least of anyone. Move to three-quarter turn, hands framing and seated on the floor, leaning back on one arm once the shoulders have dropped, and keep walking, holding the dress for the end, when self-consciousness has gone. Shoot each one in bursts through the movement rather than holding it: the usable frames sit between the instructions, not on them.
Two metres back with the lens zoomed rather than close and wide — distance is what keeps facial proportions natural. Camera at or slightly above eye level for portraits, at chest height for full length. Below eye level enlarges whatever is nearest the lens, which is rarely what you want in frame.
Long periods standing, anything needing balance, and lying flat on your back in late pregnancy. Say when you need to stop — a session that pauses twice produces better pictures than one that pushes through.