Becoming a maternity photographer is potentially one of the most lucrative niches in photography. Maternity shoots often lead to newborn shoots, which can lead to a variety of other shoots. But there are a lot of things to consider and we plan to dive deep with our guide on How to Become a Maternity Photographer.
For more from this series, checkout our previous posts on:
- How to Become a Newborn Photographer
- How Do I Become a Real Estate Photographer?
- How to Become a Videographer
Pregnancy is one of the most precious, most beautiful life events there is to experience. It’s a highly symbolic milestone that heralds an oncoming new chapter for the couple — parenthood. That said, it makes a lot of sense for expecting couples to hire professional photographers to capture stunning portraits to celebrate this amazing moment in their lives.
If you’re a budding professional photographer who’s looking to get into maternity photography, or a complete beginner wanting to go pro starting with this genre, these tips just might help you launch your business and start making money as a maternity photographer.
Develop a Unique, Personal Style as a Maternity Photographer
How many photos of mommas-to-be standing in some backcountry field with their hands wrapped around their baby bumps did you see this week? Exactly. To be perfectly honest, a lot of maternity sessions end up with the same, cookie-cutter poses and look. So if you want to secure a fulfilling and lucrative career for yourself, you’re going to need to produce a portfolio with maternity portraits that will get your target audience to stop scrolling and start paying attention.
Here’s a secret: originality is a complete and utter lie. There’s maybe a handful of original ideas that’ll come out from time to time, but 99% of what is out there are just new iterations of a previous look inspired by the work of other photographers. The key is to find a style that resonates with you, add your own alterations, see if you like it and then repeat — that’s how you eventually develop your personal aesthetic that past and potential clients will identify you with.
Explore both ends of the spectrum and see what clicks. Scour hundreds of photos on Pinterest and Instagram and familiarize yourself with what people are already doing, and then add the changes that you think will make a maternity portrait much stronger. Perhaps try to move away from natural light photos and start learning how to light a subject in a studio or on-location. Instead of wardrobe consisting solely of long-flowing gowns, maybe experiment with more striking, high-fashion themes for a change. You’re just starting out so you have all the freedom you need to build a body of work that will outshine the competition.
That doesn’t mean going too crazy with studio lighting equipment or mastering Photoshop compositing wizardry right out of the gates to get anything portfolio-worthy. Here’s D.C.-based maternity and fashion photographer Ksenia showing how you can shoot dramatic maternity photos at home with affordable gear.
What makes your location unique?
Find the locations in your area that will help you stand out – or make money. When I lived in Maui, shooting on the beach isn’t necessarily unique as anyone can shoot there. So you may have to find other ways to stand out, which could be combining a maternity session with a family session, making sure you get silhouette shots, etc. Adding in some shots with greenery… basically anything that can help you stand out from the average photographer. Here’s some shots from a recent session:
Marketing Your Maternity Photography Business
Sometimes, all you need to get the ball rolling is to secure your first-ever paying client. But since you’re still quite green, convincing expectant couples to book you may pose a challenge. It can be rough, but it can be done. Here are a few things that you can do to up your chances at snagging your first paid work and maximize your revenue as a maternity photographer.
Offer Discounted Rates – Before you go any further, figure out how you’re going to price your services. SLR Lounge has done an awesome piece that discusses how you can structure maternity photography pricing in detail. Now if you’ve got a strong portfolio, offering your services to expecting couples shouldn’t be such a hard sell especially at a 20% discount. That should give potential clients more incentive to book you right then and there before they move on to other pros.
Targeted Ads on Google and Facebook – Did you know you can target pregnant mothers on Facebook? Not only that you can target them within 10 miles of your zip code. You could focus on a specific age demographic, perhaps 25-39 who own a home, with a household income of $100k+ (if you’re a high-end photographer, you’ll want to target people with more disposable income). On Google, you can target people who search for “Maternity Photographer Your City“. Test your ads with different demographics and see what’s profitable. I’ve found targeted ads to be very profitable, you should aim to earn $1000 with every $100 you spend on ads.
Pay per lead services like Thumbtack can work as well – but YMMW as Thumbtack attracts a more cost conscious crowd.
Promote Your Work on Social Media – You’ve probably seen this one coming so get to work on those business pages. Facebook and Instagram are always a great place to start promoting your maternity photography work because these two are such image-centered platforms and they’re where most of your target audience hang out. Here’s a lovely video from Julie of Togs in Progress going into detail about the different types of social media posts you can use for crafting your social media strategy for your photography business.
Expand Your Network – Not everything lives online… at least not yet. As someone who’s just dipping their toes into the world of professional photography, you’d likely find your first clients in your locale so establishing a strong presence in your community is always a good idea. Try and see if you can offer leave-behind prints of your work in parenting workshops, birthing classes or baby boutiques. Partner up with local stylists for a project. Reach out to fellow photographers and ask if they can give you referrals for potential clients. Remember, not everyone is your competition so get out there and join some sort of mutually beneficial, professional inner circle of creatives.
If you’re not the type to actively connect with professionals in your field, or people in general, here’s 5 solid tips from Grace Wells that can help you grow your network as a freelance photographer.
Push Prints, Albums, and Wall Art – If you just send over a batch of curated photos from your maternity sessions and call it a day, you’re leaving a lot of money on the table. Maximize the revenue you can get out of every gig by offering albums, wall art and other cool add-ons you might want to include in your packages. Just don’t be too pushy! Instead, try to educate your clients about the value of printed photos and how the most precious moments of their lives shouldn’t live on a hard drive, gathering digital dust. While you’re at it, consider partnering with a local printing company to get better rates and therefore maximize your profits even further.
Fenna Holwerda of Wonder-Fotografie talks you through some of the best ways to sell more photography products that’ll increase the value of your work.
Provide a Better Client Experience
Here’s a shocker. Expectant moms aren’t professional models. They obviously want to feel beautiful and look good in their maternity portraits, but with a rapidly changing body and hormones going haywire, pregnant women can become more sensitive or feel more self-conscious about their figure. As a professional photographer, it’s your job to make them feel comfortable and ease away the amplified awkwardness they might be feeling in front of the camera.
It’s also your job to make your clients feel safe and supported every step of the way. Because pregnant women need more calories, consider packing healthy snacks and prepare hydration for the client. Remember to take care of bathroom arrangements when picking out locations for your shoot before anything else — a pregnant woman may need to go a lot more than usual. Depending on how far they’re into the pregnancy, standing around for extended periods may feel like torture so factor this in when deciding on posing and locations.
Speaking of posing, have a look at this incredible maternity posing masterclass from Pye Jirsa of SLR Lounge that covers everything from lighting, posing the hands and hips, to fixing your client’s posture for the shot.
Little things like taking care of all the miscellaneous arrangements discussed above will show the family that you truly care about their well-being. And when you do manage to go above and beyond in the client experience department, you’re more likely to receive glowing recommendations. Mothers trust fellow mothers more than anyone, probably, and all the warm reviews you’ll rack up will net you higher chances of converting more clients in the future.
Beyond delivering high-quality maternity photos, focus on the human element of your business and show genuine empathy to a client who might be feeling more vulnerable than ever. Kindness and compassion go a long way.
Conclusion
If gender reveal parties, baby showers, and newborn photography’s rise in popularity are anything to go by, then it is clear that maternity photography is enjoying just as much of a spike in demand. So to recap, here’s what you need to do to get your maternity photography business off the ground.
- Refine your unique, personal style as a maternity photographer and build a strong portfolio.
- Promote your work on the internet, while establishing your name in your local community.
- Tie in albums and wall art to your packages to maximize your revenue.
- Pay extra attention to the human element of your business. Take good care of your clients and they’ll be more than happy to return the favor.