Welcome, baby! Photography tips for parents-to-be

Getting professional pictures taken of newborns has always been popular. Now, more and more moms-to-be are opting to have maternity photos taken as well.

Elaine Rohde Pobst, owner of Elaine Rohde Photography in Jackson, has been taking maternity photos for moms-to-be for about five years but notices it's a growing trend.

"They've become more popular in the last couple of years," she says. "You're not pregnant all of your life, so maternity photos are a great way to capture that time and remember what you looked like."

Katie Blattel, owner of Katie Blattel Photography and Design in Cape Girardeau, agrees.

"I've started doing more maternity photos in the past year and have added them to my repertoire," she says. "It's a trend that's definitely on the rise, and it's a great complement to newborn photos, which I do a lot."

Photo by Katie Blattel Photography and Design

Carrie Perez, owner of Photography by Carrie LLC in Cape Girardeau, has been taking maternity photos for 11 years.

"It started becoming more popular around 2007 to 2008," she says.

Maternity photos are a great way to document your pregnancy.

"It's a time in one's life that your body looks completely different," Blattel says. "It's a very beautiful time in a woman's life and it should be documented."

It's also a time in your life that you can't get back, says Perez.

Photo by Katie Blattel Photography and Design

"When you are pregnant, you are creating life, and that should be captured and remembered," she says.

Women get maternity photos taken during different stages of their family's growth.

"Many do first baby maternity photos," Pobst says. "Some also do a picture with their first child while they are pregnant with their second child. It shows what the family looked like before the second baby arrives."

Pobst, Blattel and Perez all have suggestions to help the maternity photo shoot go smoothly.

"Wear something you feel comfortable in and something that you like how you look," says Pobst. "You want something that fits well, which can sometimes be hard to find toward the end of the pregnancy."

Photo by Elaine Rohde Photography

Blattel suggests pampering yourself on the day of the photo shoot.

"I recommend getting your hair and makeup done so you really feel good about yourself," she says.

Perez recommends a variety of clothing for a maternity photo shoot, and even has clothes that moms-to-be can borrow for the day of the shoot.

"We have maternity dresses and wraps that are very flowing and flattering," says Perez. "I also tell [moms-to-be] to bring something that's tightfitting, like a stretchy tank, to show the belly, with maybe an oversize open sweater."

The best time to get maternity photos taken is later in the pregnancy, but not so late that you are feeling uncomfortable.

"Thirty-two weeks is ideal," says Blattel. "Anywhere from 30 to 34 weeks usually works great. You want the belly to be showing, but you don't want to be at an uncomfortable stage."

Perez recommends taking photos anywhere from 30 weeks until the delivery date, depending on how early the mom-to-be starts showing and how she is feeling.

"You want to be feeling good and able to get up and down OK," says Perez. "I also offer an expectation [maternity] photo shoot included in some of our newborn collections."

Pobst compares a maternity photo shoot to an engagement photo shoot in this way: "It's like in engagement photos, it's all about the ring, whereas in maternity photos, it's all about the belly. You want the belly to be nice and round, so around 35 weeks is usually good, although some women show faster than others."