The Maternity Photoshoot Dress

the dress is not the subject of the photograph. you are. most maternity photoshoot dresses forget that.

A maternity photoshoot dress should do three things: move when you move, adapt at the waist or open at the front rather than fasten to one week of pregnancy, and stay quiet enough in colour that the photograph is about your body and not the garment. Fabric with drape photographs better than fabric with structure, which is why linen, silk, ramie and hand-woven cotton hold a shoot so well.

Why do most maternity photoshoot dresses only fit once?

Almost everything sold for a maternity shoot is built around a fixed stretch waistband sized to one point in a pregnancy. It fits beautifully for about three weeks. That is why so much of this market is rental, and why the gown is usually not one the woman owns.

We make the opposite thing. Everything in the Maternity and Nursing collection adapts rather than fastens, because it was never designed as maternity wear. It is the ordinary collection, cut generously, in pieces that wrap or button. A customer wrote to tell us her Shanti Wrap Skirt stayed with her through a whole pregnancy. We kept the letter.

What photographs well on a maternity shoot?

Three silhouettes carry a shoot, each solving a different problem.

• The wrap. Ties where you need it, so it fits at 24 weeks and at 38. The waist is a decision you make on the morning, not one the garment made for you.
• The button-down set. Opens from the top, giving a photographer a layered silhouette, and keeps working for feeding afterwards.
• The one size gown or kaftan. One continuous fall of cloth, no waist seam at all. This reads most like the classic maternity portrait, and it will not date.

On colour, go quieter than you think. Cream, clay, sand and off-white work in any light. A botanical dye photographs particularly well, because plant colour settles unevenly and gives the camera depth a machine dye cannot.

Three pieces we would put you in

I am a designer and a Kundalini Yoga teacher in Bali. These are the pieces from the Maternity and Nursing collection I would reach for, with the honest reason for each.

The Rainbeau Linen Suka Set, from $218. A matching button-down top and wide-leg shorts in 100% French linen, in the Rainbeau botanical dye, which takes seven days of plant dyeing before the cutting begins. Every set moves through purples, pinks, blues and golds in its own arrangement, and no two are identical, so yours will not match the product photograph. On camera, that unevenness is the argument for it.

The Suka Button Down Set, from $200. The same silhouette in a plain colourway, a button-down top with a wide-leg trouser, both 100% French linen, stonewashed before it reaches you. Oversized through the shoulder, loose through the body. OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified.

The Spirit Top and Shanti Wrap Skirt Set, from $276. The Spirit Top is hand-woven Tumanggal cotton, not printed, with a texture that photographs like a textile rather than a fabric. The Shanti Wrap Skirt is 100% linen in most colourways and 100% silk in Turmeric Gold. It wraps and ties. This is the set the letter was about.

When should you order?

About ten weeks before the shoot. Everything is made to order by the artisan families who sew for us in their own homes and workshops in Bali, which takes 3 to 6 weeks from order to shipment, then 5 to 15 business days with DHL. Most shoots happen between 30 and 34 weeks, so ordering in the second trimester leaves room for the piece to arrive and for you to try it on. If you want to know why the wait exists, this explains it.

If you are choosing a one size piece, read this first. And if you want it still working after the baby arrives, choose a front-opening piece, which also makes it useful for a baby shower in between.

How should you prepare the piece before the shoot?

Wash and hang it once before the day. Linen softens noticeably with the first wash and photographs better slightly relaxed than straight out of the parcel. Machine wash cold, hang to dry out of harsh sun, and wash a botanical dye on its own for the first two washes while the colour settles. A hanger in a warm bathroom takes out most creasing. There is a full care guide if you want it.

Common questions about maternity photoshoot dresses

What should I wear for a maternity photoshoot?

Wear something that moves. A maternity shoot is mostly standing, turning and walking, so fabric with drape reads better than fabric with structure. Choose a piece that adapts at the waist or opens at the front, in one solid colour or a botanical dye rather than a busy print, in a fabric that holds a fold: linen, silk, ramie or hand-woven cotton.

What colour photographs best for a maternity shoot?

Soft, unsaturated colour photographs best, because it keeps the attention on the body rather than the garment. Cream, clay, off-white and sand work in almost every light. A botanical dye also photographs well, because the colour sits unevenly and gives the camera depth a machine dye does not.

When should I order a dress for a maternity photoshoot?

Order about ten weeks before the shoot. Everything we make is made to order, which takes 3 to 6 weeks from order to shipment, then 5 to 15 business days with DHL. Most maternity shoots happen between 30 and 34 weeks, so ordering in the second trimester leaves time for the piece to arrive and for you to try it on.

Do I need an actual maternity dress for the photos?

Usually not. A fixed maternity waistband is built for a particular week of pregnancy, which is why rented gowns often fit for one shoot only. A wrap that ties, a button-down that opens, or a one size piece cut generously will fit a bump at 28 weeks and still fit you a year later.

What size should I order while pregnant?

Order the size you wear when you are not pregnant, as long as the piece adapts rather than fastens. The Suka set is oversized through the shoulder and loose through the body, and the Shanti Wrap Skirt ties wherever you need it. Between two sizes, choose the larger. Write to support@myrahpenaloza.com with your measurements and we will tell you honestly.

You will look at these photographs for the rest of your life. Wear something you will still own.

With love from Bali,
Myrah