What to Wear for Maternity Photos: Ideas from Real Sessions

What to wear for maternity photos? A dress that follows your bump, colors that go with your partner’s clothes, and shoes for an hour of walking. On the canals in summer, that meant a light white dress or a coral one. In autumn and winter, a coat over the dress became part of the look.

Every example below comes from a real session on the Amsterdam canals, in Leiden or in Rotterdam. A maternity session is one of my family photoshoots in Amsterdam, with one hour, 30 photo downloads and all photos in your gallery within 7 days. Before every session, I share outfit suggestions, so you never have to work it out alone.

What Dress Works for Maternity Photos?

A dress that follows the bump, fitted or flowing. In early summer, one mother-to-be wore a fitted coral dress with a thin gold ring belt above her bump. In June on the Amstelveld, another chose a long, soft brown halter dress that flowed down from her bump. Both worked, because the shape of the bump stayed clear in every frame.

The fabric matters as much as the cut. After all, a dress that moves when you walk, turn or laugh brings a frame to life. The coral dress also came with an ultrasound print and a pair of tiny white sneakers. You can see that whole session in summer maternity photos by the canals.

Light Colors or Strong Ones?

Both work, and the place helps decide. In August, a mother-to-be wore a light white broderie anglaise dress on the canals. Under a soft gray sky, the white stayed fresh against the dark water. Close up, its small eyelet pattern showed too.

Strong colors work just as well. In Leiden, a rust-red dress stood out against old brick and a deep red door. Her partner kept to a plain gray T-shirt. Their story is in a red dress and a baby bump in Leiden.

What to Wear for Maternity Photos in Autumn

In autumn, the coat is part of the outfit, because it usually stays on. On the canals one early-autumn day, a mother-to-be wore a knee-length navy dress with wine-red leaves. A navy coat went over it. Her partner wore a black leather jacket over a burgundy shirt, with dark jeans.

One color tied it all together. The burgundy of his shirt came back in her bag and in the leaves of her dress. A bunch of pink roses softened the dark tones. More of that day is in autumn maternity photos with pink roses.

What Should Your Partner Wear?

Something simple that shares a color or a tone with your outfit, although matching exactly isn’t needed. In August, a dad-to-be wore a white T-shirt with a leaf print and mustard-yellow shorts next to her white dress. The white tied them together, and the mustard added warmth under the gray sky. The rest of that August walk, bikes included, is in a baby bump on a bike along the canals.

On the canals in early summer, a white linen shirt stood beside the coral dress. In Rotterdam in December, a dark wool coat and a checked scarf went with her long black coat.

Which Shoes for an Hour on the Cobbles?

Shoes you can walk in, because a session is a short walk through one area, often over cobbles. In summer, both mothers-to-be on the canals wore flat sandals, and their partners sneakers or leather shoes. In early autumn, black heels worked too, since we never walked far between two spots. And in Rotterdam in December, heeled ankle boots went with her long black coat.

What Does Black-and-White Film Do with an Outfit?

It turns color into texture. Two days before Christmas in Rotterdam, a mother-to-be wore a long black coat over a ribbed black dress. Her partner wore a dark wool coat. On Ilford black-and-white film, the ribs of the dress, the wool and the shine of their rings came forward. No color competed with them.

So on film, clothes with texture say more than bright colors do: a ribbed dress, a wool coat, a scarf. The whole winter walk is in maternity photos on black-and-white film in Rotterdam.

Flowers, a Bag or Tiny Shoes?

Small things that mean something to you work beautifully. In early autumn, pink roses and a burgundy bag came along and became a still life on the bricks. In early summer, a couple brought an ultrasound print and tiny white sneakers, and both became the heart of their photos.

Those sneakers were the smallest outfit of the day. Held over her belly, they said exactly who was on the way.

And If Your Toddler Comes Along?

Then your toddler is part of the look, too. On a June evening on the Amstelveld, the mother wore a long brown halter dress. The father and their little boy wore white and light colors. Those simple tones kept the three of them together, even while their son ran from the sandpit to the swings. Their evening is in a toddler and a baby bump around the Amstelveld.

For toddler clothes, my guide on what to wear for family photos has more ideas.

One Outfit or Two?

One is enough, and two are plenty. As my FAQ explains, a second outfit adds variety, while a third mostly takes time we would rather spend photographing. You can usually change in the restroom of a nearby café, or outdoors where your outfit allows.

In Leiden, the partner did exactly that: halfway through the hour, he swapped his gray T-shirt for a taupe polo. Her rust-red dress stayed the same, so their photos show two looks without any fuss.

So, what to wear for maternity photos? A dress you love that follows your bump, colors that sit well together and shoes for a short walk. I take care of the rest: outfit suggestions before your session, then the route and the guiding on the day. Hair and makeup are entirely up to you.

Expecting, and still unsure what to wear for maternity photos? Discover how my family photoshoots in Amsterdam work, outfit suggestions included.