Welcome to the Family Stylin Style Guide to DIY What to Wear for your Maternity and Newborn Sessions! This guide is meant to provide you with the resources you need to style your maternity or newborn session on your own.

After you read this guide you will know how to:

• Choose your best neutrals to wear for your photoshoot
• Find and Choose a dress to wear for your photoshoot
• Find and Choose outfits for your baby
• What is best for your partner to wear
• Find and Choose outfits for siblings to wear
• Determine what makeup and jewelry is best for photoshoots

This style guide also contains a template to help you find the right colors to wear. With links to where to find dresses and outfits and tips to get it all done you’ll go from confused to confident in no time! I hope you enjoy this and find it helpful 😊, and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Maternity Shoots

Being pregnant and having a baby is one of the best times in your life! I’ve got three kids of my own, so I know it can also be a very uncomfortable time too….especially towards the end of pregnancy. Putting on the extra pounds to have those beautiful babies can make you feel a bit self-conscious too. So, when you schedule your newborn or maternity photoshoot you may be concerned about what to wear during the session to look your best!

Dressing your bump is often the most fun part! Since your belly is the focus of the shoot you’ll likely want to show it off! There are so many options now for maternity sessions from robes to dresses. There’s so much to choose from! You can easily achieve any look you want if you know where to find the pieces (more on that later).

NEWBORN SESSIONS

After you give birth, your tummy doesn’t magically disappear and return to pre-pregnancy size. You’ll likely still look pregnant for a little while after your baby is born. If you have scheduled a newborn session shortly after giving birth, you may be concerned about your belly and not want to show it in the pictures. Your belly is of course nothing to be ashamed of. It’s completely normal to still have a tummy, but I completely understand not wanting your belly to be the focus of your newborn session…that’s the baby’s job!

Luckily, there are many flowy options of dresses and outfits to choose from that will help to take the focus off of your post-partum belly and on to your new bundle of joy. If you instead want to document the changes in your body, stretch-marks and all, we will go over some options to get that done as well. Your pregnant and post-partum body are beautiful and strong and made a whole human, so whichever way you lean, there are beautiful options available to meet your needs.

How to Choose the Color of YOUR Dress and outfits

First, let’s talk about color. The color of your dress matters even more than the style! I recommend getting a Color Analysis done before the shoot to make sure that the color of the dress you choose is the perfect shade for you. It’s the number once way to get the best pictures possible. You’ll receive a collection of the very best colors to wear in your photoshoot, taking into account both the participants in the photoshoot and the environment. It’ll make choosing your outfit that much easier simply because you’ve got to stick with the right colors. It helps to narrow down the endless options available to you.

But, if you don’t have the time to get a Color Analysis completed to find the range of colors you should choose from, there is a shortcut that can help you to choose a few good neutrals for you.

There are four places on your body that will give you your best neutral colors. (You can do this for each person in the shoot.)

• Your Eyes
• Your Skin
• Your Hair
• Your Lips

Despite what we’ve been told…Pure black, dark browns, bright whites and ivories are not neutrals that are flattering for everyone! People can have either warm, cool or neutral undertones…and those undertones determine what families of colors look best on them. And sometimes the colors we all think of as neutral are not the best choices.

The simplest and most reliable part of your body to use are your eyes. If you take a very close up and clear image of your eyes you can see what your darkest neutral should be in the line around your iris. That is your own personal version of “black”.

The main colors in your eyes, the darkest and lightest colors, will also work as neutral colors for you. To get the exact shade upload the picture of your eyes to your computer and download the ColorPick Eyedropper extension for Google Chrome.

Take the hex number that is given to you there and plug it into this Canva Template. I also included your lip color as a neutral on the template. Take a close up picture of your lips and use the same process to add that color to your palette as well. Boom! You’ve got your own personal palette of neutrals that will work for you every time! Use this palette when shopping for dresses.

I do this for clients when I shop for them. After a color analysis is completed I get a complete range of colors that work for each person in the shoot, not just the neutrals. I compare those colors with the colors that are best suited for the environment the shoot is happening in. Together, I get the absolute best range of colors to choose from that make everything blend and compliment each other. The clothing compliments the person and the environment, so that your eye isn’t distracted from what the focus should be in the photo, your faces! There’s a quick tutorial on the Family Stylin Instagram that shows you how to pick the best colors for your environment. Check it out!

Dresses for Maternity Shoots

When it comes to maternity outfits, I’m very partial to dresses for mom. I usually prefer dresses for women in photoshoots in general, with a few exceptions for specifically styled shoots. But, for a maternity photoshoot, I think a dress serves a woman’s body best. Dresses are comfy and flowy and hug just the right places.

Check out our Shop the Blog Page for Dresses you can rent for maternity sessions. They have some of the most beautiful options available for Maternity Sessions. Robes that are full of stars and frilly dresses just made for a pregnant body. Most are pretty reasonably priced, they range from $60 and up. You can get an amazing dress that would normally cost hundreds to over one thousand dollars for a fraction of the price, and then you don’t have to keep a dress you may never use again.

If you prefer to buy a dress, you may want to check Amazon. They have some options available, but just make sure you read all of the reviews and the return policy. Morning Lavender and Baltic Born have many bump-friendly options as well and are worth a try.

Look for a dress that matches the color palette of neutrals you found before. Make sure to reference those colors specifically while shopping to make sure you get just the right shades. I usually shop for clients on my computer so I can do a split screen of their photoshoot palette and the clothing I am shopping for to make sure I am picking just the right tones. It’s not very easy for the eye to choose between warm and cool colors by memory, so a direct comparison works best.

Dresses for Newborn Sessions

So, the postpartum belly. Nothing to be ashamed of…but, maybe your not feeling like showing it off as much as your pregnant belly. No problem! Below in Shop the Look you will find some dresses that will work for your new shape. The maternity robes will still work, so feel free to use those options again. Wrap dresses and empire waists will be your friend. You won’t be able to hide the belly completely, but you can minimize it and create a new focus higher up on your waist to distract the eye.

Dressing the Baby

This is the easiest part of the whole process, dressing the baby for the shoot! There are endless cute options out there and it’s just super fun! Think cute and cozy hats for little boys. Bonnets and bows are great for little girls. Try not to dress your baby in super bright colors, look for muted colors instead. You don’t have to stick to just neutral colors, but you just don’t want super bright options to take away from the babies face in the pictures.

Just as for adults, look at your babies eyes for a clue to the colors that will work best. If your baby is born with bright blue eyes, stick with blues and pastels. Gray eyes, stick in that range of colors and add in some whites and soft ivories.

Make sure to have some swaddles on hand that coordinate with your outfits and have some dimension via pattern or texture.

You’ll want to add dimension and patterns carefully so that they coordinate but don’t match. You’ll be holding your baby in some photos and if you match completely with flat colors you turn into one big blob with heads in the pictures…not a great look!

You can wear the same color families, just as long as they are in different shades. Make sure to add neutral pieces to create some contrast if you choose to not do all neutrals.

Outfits for your Partner

And now for your partner! Cozy sweaters and pants with some texture are a good choice. Think corduroy or monochromatic herringbone patterned pants. Steer clear of polos or any shirts with mascots or logos on them. Logos and words on shirts distract the eye from the subject in the photo. My favorite pieces for guys are usually from Zara, H&M and Amazon.

Outfits for Siblings

So, you’ve got more cuties to dress! If you are getting to the point where you are dressing more than 3 people it’s going to get a little tougher to manage.

Check out our Services page to see if there’s a package that works for you. I’d love to help you out with styling so you can enjoy the process and take some things off of your plate.

But, if you’d like to DIY this part as well try to stick with the neutrals you have already chosen, keeping in mind the colors that will work best on all those in the photo based on the colors in their eyes. Then head over to the Family Stylin Pinterest for ideas and links to outfits for each member of the family.

The Last Steps

Once you find or order outfits for each member of the family your going to have a few more steps to complete once everything arrives. Take a picture of all of the outfits both on and hanging next to each other or laying on the bed. Check that everything fits everyone correctly and that the colors all coordinate and flatter each person.

Try on each outfit to make sure they fit well and make sure to take some selfies together to compare your options. If you’d like some feedback on your outfits post you pictures in the Family Stylin Facebook Group and we’ll help you pick your final outfits.

Accessories for Photoshoots

And don’t forget about your shoes and accessories. Hats photograph so well! There are some examples of hats to use on the Family Stylin Pinterest Page. If you are wearing a maxi or having the photoshoot in your house, you may not even have to worry about your shoes at all. But, if you are headed outside for your shoot make sure to pick shoes that are comfy, booties often work well with most dresses.

Makeup & Hairstyles for Photoshoots

Makeup is also a little different for photoshoots. You want to create dimension by using highlights and contours. I love NARS for contour and highlighters. Sephora also has specific brushes that make the process easier. I recommend going to the store to get help choosing all of this makeup if you don’t already own some. Stick with neutral colors that work best for your skin tone, and a lipstick that is a shade darker than your natural lip color. Makeup colors are provided in every Color Analysis service, so if you are stuck here, check that out. Hair is usually best worn down and wavy or straight.

Jewelry for Photoshoots

I tend to stick with very minimalistic jewelry pieces for Photoshoots so they do not become distractions in the final images. Thin necklaces, small earrings and your wedding ring are usually enough, if you choose to wear any jewelry at all.

If you need some help…

If you’d like to get some feedback on your outfit choices, head over to the Family Stylin Facebook Page and Group to share. Post the pictures of the outfits with any questions you have and we will help you out! It gets tough sometimes to make final decisions and you don’t have to do it all alone!