15 Creative Tips to Make Your Maternity Photos more Cinematic
Being a mom-to-be is such a special time! It’s filled with excitement, love, and big dreams for the future. Even though it feels like it lasts a long time, it’s actually just a short moment in the grand scheme of life. So, it makes sense that many want to capture this phase with photographs. But what if these photos could tell a story? What if they could be more than just snapshots and feel like scenes from a movie?
With the right tips and tricks, your maternity pictures can do just that. In this article, we’ll share 15 easy and creative ways to make your maternity photos really stand out and tell your unique story. Perfect for both photographers and expecting mothers seeking artistic inspiration!
Master the Rule of Thirds
When you’re trying to capture a moment, how you place the subject can make a big difference. One of the simplest ways to get a pleasing composition is by following the ‘Rule of Thirds’. Imagine your photo is divided by two lines going up and two lines going across, like a tic-tac-toe board. This breaks the photo into nine smaller squares. For a great shot, try placing the main parts of your picture where these lines meet.
For example, if you’re photographing a mom-to-be at the beach, you might place her at the point where the vertical line on the left meets the horizon line. This gives space for the vast expanse of the beach and ocean in the background and makes the photo feel well-balanced.
Shallow Depth of Field
Sometimes, you might want the person you’re photographing to be the main focus and the background to be a bit blurry. This can make your main subject really pop and stand out. To do this, you can use something called a ‘wide aperture’. In simple terms, this means using camera settings like f/1.8 or f/2.8. It’s a bit like when you see a movie, and the main character is in clear focus while the background is blurry. For maternity photos, imagine photographing a mom-to-be holding tiny baby shoes. If she’s in clear focus and the background is blurred, it draws attention to her and the shoes, making the moment feel even more special.
Golden Hour
Light can change the whole mood of a photo. One of the best times to take pictures outside is during the ‘golden hour’. This is a short time right after the sun rises and just before it sets. During this hour, the sky has a soft, warm glow. It’s almost like nature’s own filter! This light can give your photos a beautiful and magical feel. Imagine photographing a mom-to-be in a field during this time. The golden light can make the grass shimmer and give a warm glow to the skin, making everything feel more special and movie-like.
Horizontal Framing
When you watch a movie on your TV or at the theater, you’ll notice that the picture stretches wider from left to right. This wide look is called the 16:9 aspect ratio. It’s like when you take a piece of paper and fold it so it’s wider than it is tall. When taking photos, especially maternity ones, you can recreate this same wide movie look. By adjusting your photo to match this ratio, your pictures will instantly feel grander.
Imagine a photo where a soon-to-be mother stands to the far left, looking out at a vast open beach or cityscape to her right. The wide framing makes the world feel expansive, adding drama and depth to the moment captured.
Incorporate Movement
Life is full of motion, and sometimes capturing that movement can turn a simple picture into a lively story. One way to show movement in a photo is by using a setting that captures things a bit slower than they happen, experiment with setting your shutter speed to 1/30 or even lower! It’s like when you try to take a photo of a friend dancing and they turn into a blur because they’re moving too fast. This effect can be used on purpose to add a special touch.
Imagine capturing a photo during a maternity beach shoot where the waves behind the mom-to-be appear silky and smooth, or a bustling city backdrop where the cars and people are just colorful blurs, emphasizing her stillness amidst the chaos.
Color Grade Your Photos
Colors can make us feel all sorts of emotions. Bright reds might make us excited, while soft blues might calm us down. When editing photos, you can change the colors a bit to set the mood you want. This is a trick often used in movies to make scenes feel a certain way. For maternity photos, using soft colors can make the picture feel dreamy and timeless. Think of a picture where everything has a gentle pink or golden hue, making the expecting mother glow even more.
On the other hand, using colors like teal and orange together can make the shadows look cool and the light parts, like skin, look warm. This creates a lovely balance, like the kind you see in many popular movies, giving your photo a unique and professional feel.
See our full guide on Understanding Color in Maternity Photography here.
Use Lens Filters
When you’re out taking photos, sometimes the natural light can be too bright or too harsh. This is where lens filters come in handy. Think of them as sunglasses for your camera. One common type is the Neutral Density (ND) filter. This filter helps tone down bright light, allowing you to use settings on your camera that capture movement more clearly, even in the middle of a sunny day. For instance, picture a mom-to-be standing beside a waterfall. With an ND filter, the cascading water can be captured as a smooth, flowing veil rather than a frozen snapshot.
Another type is the Graduated ND filter. If you’ve ever seen a sunset where the sky is bright but the ground is dark, you’ll understand this filter’s use. It darkens just part of the image, like the bright sky, allowing the ground to be seen more clearly. This is perfect for shots where an expecting mother stands against a vibrant sunset, letting both her figure and the sky’s colors shine in harmony.
See our guide on Mastering Light here.
Play with Lighting
Lighting is one of the most powerful tools in photography. The direction and quality of light can shape how everything looks. Side lighting, or light that comes from one side, can create beautiful shadows and highlights on a subject. This kind of lighting can show off the curves of a pregnant belly in a gentle, dramatic way. On the other hand, backlighting is when the main light comes from behind the person or thing you’re photographing.
This can create a glow around the subject, giving them an almost magical appearance. Imagine a mom-to-be standing in a field with the sun setting behind her. The light creates a radiant outline around her, making her stand out against the dimming sky.
Dynamic Angles
Instead of taking every photo head-on, try switching things up with different camera angles. It can make a world of difference in how the photo feels. A low-angle shot, where you take the photo from a lower point looking up, can make the subject seem grand and important. For a maternity shot, this could highlight an expecting mother as a strong, central figure against the vast sky, emphasizing her significance in the bigger picture of life. Conversely, a high-angle shot, where you’re looking down at your subject, offers a unique top-down view, like how a bird sees the world. This could provide a charming perspective of a mom-to-be sitting in a park, surrounded by nature, presenting a serene and contemplative mood.
Frame Within a Frame
Sometimes, the environment around your subject can help accentuate the story you’re trying to tell. By using natural frames within your environment, you can create a picture within a picture. For instance, let’s imagine a pregnant mother standing in a garden. Rather than photographing her directly in the open, try capturing her through the wooden archway laden with climbing roses. This “frame within a frame” method not only brings more attention to the main subject but also provides context, making the viewer feel like they are peeking into a private, cherished moment.
Tell a Story
Photography, much like filmmaking, is all about storytelling. Every picture should say something, convey an emotion, or take the viewer on a journey. When you’re setting up a shot, always think about the story behind it. For maternity photos, think of the emotions an expecting mother might be feeling—hope, anticipation, joy, contemplation—and try to convey that in the shot.
For example, capturing a mom-to-be gazing out a window, with soft lighting casting patterns on her, might tell a story of her looking forward to the future and thinking about the new journey ahead. Or a shot of her laughing with her partner can speak volumes about shared joy and excitement. Remember, the most powerful photos are the ones that resonate emotionally, making viewers feel something profound.
Letterboxing
Movies often feel expansive and grand, and one trick they use is a widescreen format, which is essentially a wider picture with black bars on the top and bottom. You can replicate this in your photos to give them that same expansive feel. Let’s say you’ve taken a beautiful shot of an expecting mother on a beach. By adding these black bars, you emphasize the vastness of the beach and sea around her, making her journey to motherhood seem as vast and boundless as the ocean itself. And the best part? You don’t need fancy equipment to achieve this. Simple editing software, like Photoshop or Lightroom, can help you add this effect easily.
Enhance Shadows and Highlights
The play of light and darkness in a photograph can dramatically alter its mood and focus. By emphasizing the darker (shadows) and brighter (highlights) parts of an image, you can create a visual journey that guides the viewer’s attention precisely where you want. Imagine capturing a silhouette of a pregnant woman standing by a window. The light pouring in illuminates her profile, but the room remains dim.
By deepening the room’s shadows and brightening her highlighted silhouette, you emphasize the contrast between light and dark, capturing the essence of her shape against the soft glow. This balance between shadow and highlight not only creates focus but instills a sense of drama and depth, much like the lighting in classic cinema.
Introduce Props
Every great movie scene often has objects that tell a story as much as the characters themselves. Incorporating props in your photographs can give them a narrative depth and a context that adds to the story you’re trying to tell. Let’s consider an outdoor maternity shoot. Instead of a standard pose in nature, introduce a vintage car.
The expectant mother, leaning against this classic vehicle, evokes feelings of nostalgia and timelessness. Similarly, a nighttime shot with a classic street lamp illuminating her figure can transport the viewer to a different era. Or perhaps, on a rainy day, an old-style umbrella can be more than just a shield; it can become a symbol of protection, care, and love. Props aren’t just objects; they are storytellers.
Introduce Elements of Surprise
The most memorable movie scenes often have unexpected moments that stay with us. Incorporating spontaneous elements in photography can lend that same unforgettable quality to your images. Imagine photographing an expecting mother in a park, and just as you snap the picture, a gust of wind playfully lifts her hair or dress, adding a lively and candid feel to the shot. Or perhaps while capturing a serene moment on a lakeside, a sudden flock of birds takes flight in the background, lending a sense of motion and freedom.
These unpredictable elements, whether nature’s doing or orchestrated, bring a sense of realism and spontaneity. They transform a well-composed shot into a once-in-a-lifetime capture, echoing the unpredictability and beauty of life itself.
10 Creative Shot Ideas for Your Next Maternity Photo Shoot
1. Silhouette against Sunset: Position the expecting mother between your camera and the setting sun. An open area, like a beach or hilltop, can give a vast horizon, emphasizing the beauty of motherhood.
Camera Settings: Use a smaller aperture (e.g., f/16) for a clear landscape. Keep ISO low (around 100-200) and adjust the shutter speed to get the correct exposure.
Technicals: Metering the sky (not the subject) ensures a correctly exposed background, turning the mother-to-be into a striking silhouette.
2. Urban Bliss: Frame the mother-to-be against the backdrop of a busy urban environment, capturing the contrast of calm maternity moments amid city bustle.
Camera Settings: Aperture set to f/5.6 to ensure the subject is in focus, with the background slightly blurred. Adjust ISO based on ambient light, preferably 100-400.
Technicals: This setting emphasizes the mother while slightly blurring the distractions of the busy environment.
3. Close-up of Hand on Belly: Capture the intimate moments of the mother-to-be, feeling her baby’s movements.
Camera Settings: Use a prime lens for sharpness and set aperture to f/2.8 for a shallow depth of field. ISO should be low (100-200).
Technicals: The shallow depth of field makes sure the mother’s hand and belly stand out, blurring out other elements.
4. Dreamy Starry Night: A clear night where the mother-to-be is looking up, pondering the future of her unborn child under a blanket of stars.
Camera Settings: Wide-angle lens, 20-second exposure, and a tripod. Use a wide aperture (e.g., f/2.8) and ISO around 800 to 1600 to capture the stars.
Technicals: This setting will make stars visible while keeping the subject sharp if she remains still.
5. By the Flowing River: Capture the expecting mother by a river or stream, symbolizing the flow of life and the upcoming new chapter.
Camera Settings: Slow shutter speed (e.g., 1/4s) to make the water seem silky. Use an aperture of f/8 for subject clarity and keep ISO low.
Technicals: The slow shutter speed provides a silky water appearance, juxtaposed against the stillness of the mother-to-be.
6. Burst of Joy: A candid moment where the expecting mother is laughing or playing, perhaps throwing flower petals or playing with a scarf in the wind.
Camera Settings: Fast shutter speed (e.g., 1/800s) to capture the action. Use an aperture of f/4 to ensure subject clarity while blurring the background and adjust ISO as needed.
Technicals: This setting captures spontaneous joyous moments sharply, with every detail frozen in time.
7. Nature’s Embrace: The mother-to-be is surrounded by the serenity of nature, perhaps amidst tall trees or blooming flowers, symbolizing growth and the nurturing aspects of motherhood.
Camera Settings: Aperture set to f/5.6 to focus on the mother while softly blurring the natural elements around her. ISO should be kept between 100-400, adjusting for the light available.
Technicals: This approach highlights the expecting mother as the centerpiece, making the surrounding nature a complementary backdrop.
8. Beach Footprints: On a sandy beach, where the footprints of the expecting mother are visible leading towards or away from the water, signifying her journey into motherhood.
Camera Settings: Use an aperture of f/11 for clarity across the scene. ISO should be kept low (around 100-200) during the day. Adjust shutter speed according to the daylight.
Technicals: Capturing the whole scene in focus allows viewers to follow the footprints and the narrative they represent.
9. Reflections on Still Water: At a calm pond or lake during sunset or sunrise, where the reflection of the expecting mother can be captured on the water.
Camera Settings: Aperture set to f/8 to achieve clarity in both the subject and her reflection. Keep ISO low (around 100-200) and adjust the shutter speed to manage the available light.
Technicals: This setup provides a dual view of the subject, adding depth to the photograph and symbolizing introspection.
10. Silken Threads of Wind: The expecting mother with her hair or a piece of fabric flowing with the wind, embodying freedom and the changes that come with motherhood.
Camera Settings: A moderate shutter speed (e.g., 1/125s) to capture the motion without excessive blur. Aperture set to f/4.5 to ensure the subject remains the focus, and adjust ISO based on the ambient light.
Technicals: The balance of settings allows for a sense of motion in the photograph while keeping the subject clear and sharp.
Oxana Alex Photography
At Oxana Alex Photography we are currently open for booking in studio fashion and maternity sessions. Designer wardrobe and accessories for your session are free of charge. Our studio is located at 2100 Sawtelle Blvd UNIT 307 Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA. You can see our photoshoot pricing here & our photography reviews here.
Conclusion
Maternity photography is not just about capturing a moment, it’s also about preserving the emotion, anticipation, and profound changes a woman experiences during this unique period. Every mother-to-be’s journey is special and the beauty of photography is its ability to reflect that individuality. From serene moments amidst nature to candid joyous outbursts, every shot tells a story. The surrounding elements, be it a tranquil beach, bustling city backdrop, a quiet countryside, or a controlled studio environement can add layers to this narrative, enhancing the depth of the photograph.
The right setting can emphasize the glow of the expecting mother, the curves of her silhouette, or the deep reflections in her eyes. Furthermore, the use of nature, props, or surprise elements can enhance the richness of the story you’re trying to tell. Whether it’s the delicate footprint on the sand, symbolizing the journey ahead, or the play of light creating a halo around her, every detail matters. In essence, maternity photography, when done with thought and care, is not just a collection of photos, it’s an art form that captures love, expectation, joy, and dreams.
How do I schedule my session?
You can schedule your session by emailing [email protected] or by texting our studio at (310) 854-9695.
