Especially in the age of Instagram, it’s very common for expectant women to get photos taken while they’re in their final stages of pregnancy. It’s a way to commemorate their journey, remember their bump forever, and feel a little bit glamorous before giving birth. But because you know that everyone online is going to see the pics, it can sometimes feel overwhelming to deliver interesting pictures with fresh photo shoot ideas. That’s where these celebrity maternity shoots come in handy. If you can replicate what Beyoncé or Pink did, you’re nearly guaranteed all the likes.
There are many styles of maternity shoots, from ones that feature very little clothing to highlight the bump to more modest, covered-up photos. Whatever suits your fancy, there’s some celebrity inspiration for you. Your next maternity shoot is about to be so fabulous.
Wear a Dramatic Gown
Riverdale‘s Vanessa Morgan looks like a fairy-tale princess in this dramatic blue robe dress. It highlights her bump, but she’s still wearing enough that she’s not totally exposed. If you prefer taking your pics in something a little more modest, you can opt for a similar dress style. Amazon is your friend when looking for the right outfit.
Opt for Lingerie
If you’re comfortable wearing less clothing, you can take a page out of Khloé Kardashian’s book and do a lingerie shoot like she did when pregnant with True. She’s still wearing a silky robe, but she let it fall off her shoulders a bit to reveal her lacy lingerie. She looks absolutely regal in this photograph.
Surround Yourself With Flowers
Beyoncé’s maternity shoot when she was pregnant with twins was so iconic. In fact, it was 2017’s most-liked Instagram photo. We love everything about it, from her ruffly underwear to her veil to the flower wall behind her. It’s actually not that expensive to pick up fake flowers at the craft store to re-create your own Queen Bey moment.
Get Outside
You could also opt for real flowers and nature scenery by taking your maternity photos outside like Cardi B did when pregnant with her daughter, Kulture. She looks like Mother Nature or some kind of earth goddess in this picture. We may not all have as nice of a yard as she does, but any sufficiently green and floral backdrop will do.
Take a Tropical Vacation
If you have the means to jet off on a tropical babymoon, it could be a good idea to get your maternity photos taken on location. It doesn’t matter much what you’re wearing when the backdrop is this pretty. Bachelor star Lauren Burnham kept it simple in a white bathing suit, shirt, and hat as she posed on the beach in Hawaii.
Dive Underwater
Could Alanis Morissette’s underwater maternity photo be any cooler? Whoever came up with the idea for her to hop in the pool was a genius. She looks so ethereal floating there with her baby bump on full display. It’s a kind of magical shot, and all you need is a pool and an underwater camera to achieve the same effect.
Hop in the Bath
Don’t have a pool? Your bathtub could be the next best thing. When pregnant with her second child last year, Jenna Dewan took some of her maternity pictures in a flower-filled bathtub. She dressed in a lacy robe for modesty and let her hair flow freely in the water. It’s a really beautiful picture.
Dress Up
For her most recent set of maternity photos, mother-of-three Jade Roper decided to don angel wings. She explained the decision to Us Weekly, saying, “This is going to be our last baby. I really wanted to do some fun, artistic, really beautiful photos that just made me feel like a pregnant goddess because this pregnancy is so special. It’s so hard on your body, and I just really wanted to celebrate the good parts of it.”
Good for her!
Focus on the Glow
Model Candice Swanepoel didn’t need any fancy costumes or dramatic outfits when she took her maternity photos a few years ago. She chose to let her own pregnancy glow be what came shining through — helped a bit by the rising sun. Definitely take advantage of good lighting if you can get it. Candice is truly radiant in this sun-soaked picture.
Strike a Pose
We may not all be as fit as athlete Tissilli Wood, but we can kind of copy her maternity photos. Instead of just standing and posing, she jumped into the air to strike a pose. The resulting photograph is super visually interesting, and it’s different than the pictures all your friends will have. Don’t be afraid to leap!
Share a Special Moment
You don’t need to be alone in your maternity photos if you don’t want to be.
Jinger Duggar took her pictures with husband Jeremy Vuolo. We especially love this tender photo of them where he has his hands on her belly and they’re touching foreheads. It’s such a sweet, intimate moment between the parents. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to be a family of 4!” Jinger captioned the picture.
Get the Whole Family Involved
When announcing her third pregnancy, surfer Bethany Hamilton took maternity pictures with her husband, Adam Dirks, and their two sons. How fun to get the whole family involved, even if her youngest ones may not have totally grasped exactly what was going on yet. It makes for a supercute family photo.
Matchy-Matchy
Pink also got her older child involved in her maternity shoot. And she took things a step further by matching with daughter Willow for the photographs. Both mother and daughter wore cream-colored boho dresses with brown hats. Pink embraced Willow in the picture, as if to tell her that there would always be enough love for her and her new brother in their mom’s life.
Find a Pregnant Buddy
Twins Nikki and Brie Bella were both pregnant at the same time, so they decided to do a joint maternity shoot. They did theirs completely nude, which is definitely not necessary. But it would be fun if you had a sibling or a friend pregnant at the same time to share a shoot.
Include the Pets
When Heidi Montag did her maternity shoot, she was joined by husband Spencer Pratt and all of their pups. “Family portrait,” Heidi captioned the pic. To many people, their pets are like children, so it makes total sense to include them in such a momentous photo. Side note: We can’t get over the couple’s crowns.
Old-School Polaroid
Katy Perry posted some Polaroid photos when she was pregnant. She was technically promoting her song “Daisies,” but we think old-school film is a great idea for a maternity shoot. So many pictures these days are super edited and digital — why not throw it back to a simpler time? Plus, Polaroids are easy to take yourself without an expensive photographer.
Two-for-One Shoot
Teen Mom OG star Cheyenne Floyd got engaged in April, when she also happened to be pregnant. The end result? A maternity/engagement shoot! Photographers are pricey, so getting a two-for-one event deal is pretty smart. Perhaps schedule your shoot around a birthday or a holiday to similarly take advantage.
Silhouette It
For a really artistic photo idea, you can copy Jenna Compono from MTV’s The Challenge. She and husband Zach Nichols went with a silhouette for her maternity shoot. This style of photography really highlights the bump, and it’s very forgiving about anything else since everything is mostly in shadow.
Black and White
A similar alternative to the silhouette is the black-and-white photo. It keeps the vibe but shows off more of your face and outfit. Gigi Hadid kept her shoot very simple with a black-and-white photography style and a basic outfit — unbuttoned jeans and a sports bra. Then what really stood out was her beautiful bump.
Flowy Fabrics
As Shawn Johnson shows, you can’t go wrong with a flowy outfit and a bit of wind (or a fan) for a maternity shoot. It’ll make you look like the goddess you are, and photos capturing movement always look so sophisticated. You can replicate the idea with a piece of gauzy fabric, a lightweight gown, a sheet, anything.
