So, you are starting out as a maternity photographer, and you have just realized you need to buy some maternity dresses for your clients to wear during your photoshoots.
If you are in a situation where you have never needed to wear a maternity dress or, indeed, have never worn dresses before, you might find yourself struggling to figure out exactly what maternity photoshoot dresses you need to buy. And that is not even taking into consideration all of the specific elements that a photographer needs to think about for an ideal experience and final product.
In the rest of the article, I am going to share with you some of the most important considerations that I have learned during my work with my business.
What Kind of Maternity Photoshoot Dresses Should a Photographer Have?
What Maternity Dress Sizes should you buy?
What Color Maternity Dresses should you buy?
Which Styles of Maternity Dresses should you consider?
See-Through Maternity Dresses?
Should You Buy Maternity Dresses with Sleeves?
Which Underwear Works With a Photoshoot Maternity Dress?
Sourcing Your Maternity Dresses
What Kind of Maternity Photoshoot Dresses Should a Photographer Have?
When buying maternity dresses for your photoshoots, you will want to take a number of different elements into account. These will vary for individual dresses, but all of them are important as parts of the big picture. They are broken down below.
What Maternity Dress Sizes should you buy?
People come in different sizes, and so should your maternity dresses, but with a little extra consideration. I do not buy small gowns, and you probably do not need to either.
If you have gowns that are slightly too big, you can pin them at the back to get the exact perfect fit you want. Gowns that are too small do not offer you the same luxury, and what this means is that those that are at the bottom end of the size spectrum will see very little use in your business.
The selection of gowns that I use ranges from medium sizes to extra large, and these will fit any bill while keeping the wardrobe from getting too unwieldy.
What Color Maternity Dresses should you buy?
I have a whole lot of different colors in my wardrobe, but I avoid fluorescents. The problem with a strong fluorescent color is that it will often reflect onto the skin. This phenomenon is most prominent under the chin and takes a lot of time and effort to edit out in Photoshop.
Black or really dark gowns can look great, but when you are photographing a client wearing one of these, remember to avoid shooting straight on. Dark colors will hide the contour of the baby bump, thus defeating much of the purpose of maternity photography. Using very dark gowns is fine, but you will need to do profile shots to really show the shape of the belly.
Which Styles of Maternity Dresses should you consider?
Taste in fashion is subjective, and you need to take that into consideration by offering a wide variety of styles of maternity dresses rather than settling on a specific aesthetic that you personally favor.
It is true that this necessitates a bit of an up front investment, but you will be able to appeal to a much larger audience and leave your clientele happier at the end of the day.
I have always found that seeing a gown worn by a pregnant woman gives clients a much clearer understanding and expectation of how it will look on them than, for example, seeing it on a hanger. For this reason, I have found it helpful to have a gallery of the gowns on my website where they can be seen being modeled by previous clients.
See-Through Maternity Dresses?
The debate around see-through maternity gowns will never reach consensus, so the best thing you can do is be aware of the fact that some moms and some entire cultures will not want to show too much skin for modesty reasons. By all means, have see-through dresses for the clients that want them, but be sensitive about which clients you suggest them to.
Another option for moms who like the look of the see-through dresses but want to maintain their modesty is to wear a slip underneath. Having these available in your wardrobe is a good way to offer this middle-of-the-road solution.
Should You Buy Maternity Dresses with Sleeves?
Weight gain is a common part of pregnancy, and this can make a lot of future moms self-conscious if they have put a lot of it on their arms.
Having a good selection of dresses with sleeves as part of your wardrobe can be a good way to offer these clients an outfit that they are comfortable with if they would rather not have their arms on show.
Which Underwear Works With a Photoshoot Maternity Dress?
The best kind of bra a client can wear during a maternity photoshoot is a strapless bra. The problem here is that they often do not fit very well or the clients just do not have any to bring. If you find yourself in this situation, there are two solutions that I rely on most.
The first solution is to have the client go braless for the photoshoot. They might decline this for a number of perfectly valid reasons. If they do, the other option is to have them tuck their bra straps down so that they are not visible in the photos.
As for panties, ask the clients to bring multiple different pairs, ideally sticking to black, white, and skin tones. If they do not want to do this or forget, I have found it useful to keep disposable panties in stock.
Maternity Dress Maintenance
I will always wash my dresses after every use. You might feel like this is not necessary if a client has only worn one of your dresses for a short amount of time or if it looks and smells fine as far as you can tell, but there are a number of reasons to launder them after use.
Makeup can get on the dresses sometimes, and you will not impress a client by handing her a dress with a smudge on it. Furthermore, some of the women that come in might have a keener sense of smell than you, and if they can detect body odor on the dresses you hand them, they will not remember the experience fondly.
Do not under any circumstances spray your dresses down with Lysol or similar disinfectants. If it can potentially be harmful to a pregnant woman’s skin, just do not use it.
When your dresses are all laundered and clean, hang them up. This will keep the wrinkles out of them, giving you a better final result in the photos.
Sourcing Your Maternity Dresses
It might be tempting to save some money by buying your dresses cheap, but in the long run, you will find more benefit from getting high quality clothing from reputable sellers. You want dresses that not only look good and feel good on your clients’ skin, but that can also survive many washes without being ruined or diminished in any way.
Keeping your wardrobe interesting by constantly bringing in new items is great for clients, but you may feel it is out of your reach financially. One way to alleviate this problem that I have found is to sell dresses that you no longer need. If you are looking for buyers, other photographers are a good group to start with. This revenue then subsidizes the new dresses.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, what you want is maternity photoshoot dresses that are exclusive and set you apart from your competitors. This often means spending some more money, but this will pay you back in the long run with the reputation you need to truly stand out.