Should My Partner Be in My Maternity Photos?
ncluding your partner adds another layer to a maternity session. While the focus remains on Mom and the beauty of pregnancy, portraits together capture connection, anticipation, and this brief moment before your family changes. Simple posing, coordinated clothing, and thoughtful lighting keep the pregnancy at the center of the image while telling the story of both parents waiting for their baby.
Quick Answer: Yes, your partner should be included in your maternity photos, but they don't need to be in every image. I recommend focusing most of the session on Mom and creating a variety of individual fine-art maternity portraits, then including your partner for photographs that capture your connection and the experience of expecting your baby together.
Yes. I absolutely recommend including your partner in at least some of your maternity portraits. This is an important chapter for both of you, and photographs together can capture the anticipation, connection, and excitement of waiting for your baby.
That said, I believe the mother should remain at the heart of a maternity session.
From a fine-art perspective, pregnancy creates extraordinary changes in the female form. The curve of the belly, the lines of the body, and the way light and fabric can shape a portrait give us an opportunity to create images that are very different from photographs made at any other time in a woman's life.
For that reason, I typically devote the majority of a maternity session to Mom. We can create several different looks, change gowns or fabrics, experiment with lighting, and photograph everything from elegant full-length portraits to quiet details and more dramatic fine-art images.
Then we bring your partner into the story. If you're still at the beginning of planning your session, start with my Los Angeles maternity photography guide.
Plan Your Looks Before the Session
One of the most useful things you can do is think about the photographs you want well before the day of your session. Maternity photography offers much more variety than simply choosing one dress and taking a series of portraits in it.
You may want something soft and romantic, something fitted that emphasizes your shape, a dramatic fine-art gown, flowing fabric, a more contemporary look, or portraits that show the bare belly. You do not have to know exactly what will photograph best. I can help guide you through the choices and plan looks that work together while still giving you variety.
This planning is especially important when your partner will be photographed with you. Once we know which looks we are creating for Mom, we can decide which wardrobe choice makes the most sense for the portraits of you together. That is much easier than trying to coordinate everything after you arrive at the studio.
I recommend thinking about wardrobe and the overall style of your maternity portraits well in advance rather than waiting until the night before the session. The goal is not to create more work for you. It is to make sure we have the clothing, undergarments, accessories, and partner wardrobe needed to create the photographs you actually want.
If you're still deciding what direction you want to take with your wardrobe, my guide to what to wear for maternity photos explains different gown styles, fabrics, and maternity photoshoot outfit ideas in more detail.
You Don't Have to Know What Will Look Good on Camera
Many expecting moms know they want beautiful maternity portraits but have no idea whether they should choose a fitted gown, flowing fabric, a bare-belly look, or something more traditional. That is completely normal.
Photographic choices are different from everyday clothing choices. A gown that looks simple on a hanger can become dramatic once it is shaped, lit, and posed. A fitted dress can emphasize the curves of pregnancy beautifully. Fabric can create movement and shape. Darker clothing can produce a very different mood from a light, airy look.
This is where planning with your photographer matters. I can help you narrow down the possibilities based on the type of images you are drawn to, your comfort level, and how you would like to see yourself photographed.
Think About How Much You Want Your Partner Included
There is no required percentage of a maternity session that has to include your partner. Before the session, it helps to think about what matters most to you.
Some moms want just a handful of partner images and a larger collection devoted to their individual maternity portraits. Others want more photographs together because this pregnancy has particular meaning for them as a couple. Both approaches are valid.
Knowing this beforehand helps me plan the session efficiently. We can choose the best wardrobe and lighting for your portraits together instead of simply adding your partner randomly to every setup.
Why Include Your Partner in Maternity Photos?
Portraits with your partner serve a different purpose from the individual maternity images.
Instead of concentrating primarily on the beauty and shape of pregnancy, these photographs are about connection.
A hand resting on your belly. An embrace from behind. The two of you looking at each other instead of the camera. Your partner feeling the baby move. A quiet portrait that captures what it felt like to be waiting for this particular little person together.
These often become some of the most meaningful photographs from the session because they document your relationship at a moment when your family is about to change.
Does My Partner Need to Be in the Entire Maternity Session?
Not at all.
In fact, I usually prefer that they aren't.
A maternity session gives us time to concentrate on Mom without requiring your partner to participate in every setup. We can create your individual portraits first and then bring your partner in for a carefully selected portion of the session.
This also gives us more variety in the final gallery. Instead of every photograph looking like a couples portrait, you'll have a collection that includes individual fine-art maternity portraits as well as images that document the two of you together.
The same is true for Mom. You don't need any posing experience before your session. My guide to maternity photo poses explains how posing, body position, hands, lighting, and camera angle work together to create flattering maternity portraits.
What If My Partner Doesn't Like Having Photos Taken?
This is extremely common.
Your partner doesn't need to know how to pose, and they don't need to suddenly become comfortable performing for a camera.
I will direct both of you.
Often the strongest maternity portraits with a partner are also the simplest. You may be looking at each other, standing close together, holding the belly, or interacting naturally rather than both looking directly into the camera.
The goal isn't to manufacture a romantic pose. It's to create a portrait that feels connected while still keeping the pregnancy visually central to the image.
What Should My Partner Wear for Maternity Photos?
Your partner's clothing should complement your maternity wardrobe rather than compete with it.
Simple, well-fitting clothing generally photographs best. Neutral and darker colors are especially versatile because they allow the eye to stay on faces, connection, and the shape of the pregnancy.
If you are planning several maternity looks, we can also decide which one works best for your portraits together. Your partner doesn't necessarily need multiple wardrobe changes simply because you are changing gowns.
It is worth choosing your partner's clothing ahead of time and, when possible, having a backup option. Bring the actual outfit rather than relying only on how the colors look in a phone photograph. Small differences in color, fit, texture, and formality can become much more noticeable when two people are photographed together.
What Should We Bring for Partner Photos?
Keep this part simple. In addition to the clothing you have planned, make sure shirts and pants are clean and pressed and remove distracting items from pockets before being photographed. Phones, keys, wallets, watches, and bulky objects can change the line of clothing in a portrait.
Also consider small details such as shoes, socks, belts, jewelry, and grooming. They may not appear in every photograph, but for full-length portraits these details become part of the finished image.
If you are unsure about two different shirts, jackets, or other wardrobe options, bring both. It is much easier to make the final decision in the studio when I can see the clothing next to your maternity look.
Wardrobe is only one part of getting ready. Mymaternity photoshoot preparation guide covers the other details worth thinking about before your session so you aren't trying to make every decision at the last minute.
What If My Partner Can Only Be There for Part of the Session?
That can work very well. Because I usually concentrate primarily on Mom, we can plan the session so your partner is present for the portion in which we create your photographs together.
This can be particularly helpful when work schedules are difficult or when you are also bringing an older child. Planning the order of the session ahead of time lets us use everyone's time more effectively while still creating the family photographs that matter to you.
Should We Take Some Photos Without Showing Our Faces?
Absolutely.
Some of my favorite maternity photographs are detail portraits.
Your partner's hands around your belly, your hands together, an embrace photographed closely, or a silhouette emphasizing the shape of your pregnancy can tell the story without relying on a traditional portrait.
These images can also pair beautifully with individual maternity portraits in an album or wall collection.
Maternity Photos Are About Mom — But They Are Also About Your Family
I approach maternity photography first as a celebration of the mother and the remarkable transformation of her body during pregnancy.
That's why I want Mom to have plenty of time in front of the camera on her own.
But pregnancy isn't only a physical transformation. It's also the beginning of a new chapter for your family. Including your partner in part of the session allows us to tell both sides of that story.
You leave with portraits celebrating you as a woman and mother, along with photographs documenting the two of you waiting to meet the person who is about to change your lives.
Continue Learning
Explore Photography Sessions
Maternity Photography
Create fine-art maternity portraits centered on you, with thoughtful styling, guided posing, and the option to include your partner and older children in part of the session.
Newborn Photography
Continue the story after your baby arrives with a carefully planned newborn session focused on your baby, with options for parent and sibling portraits.
