What to Wear to Your Maternity Session: The Complete Gold Coast Style Guide
By Maylea | Genesis Imagery | Luxury Newborn and Maternity Photographer, Gold Coast
It's one of the first things I hear from almost every mum who enquires about a maternity session.
"I don't know what to wear."
Sometimes it comes with a laugh. Sometimes it comes with genuine anxiety. Pregnancy changes your body in ways that can feel unfamiliar and sometimes uncharted, and the idea of standing in front of a camera while those changes are still unfolding can feel daunting, even for mums who are otherwise completely comfortable in front of a lens.
So this post is my complete answer to that question. Everything I know, from twelve years of photographing pregnant women on the Gold Coast, about what works, what doesn't, what will make you look incredible, and why you probably already have more options than you think.
And if none of that convinces you, I'll tell you the thing that actually solves the problem entirely.
First, the Most Important Thing
Before we talk about fabrics and colours and silhouettes, I want to say this clearly: the clothes matter far less than you think.
The mums who look most stunning in their maternity portraits are not the ones who wore the most expensive gown or spent the most time planning their outfit. They are the ones who felt like themselves. Comfort and confidence translate directly into images in a way that no amount of expensive styling can replicate.
With that said, here is what I have learned actually works.
The Golden Rules of Maternity Session Styling
Rule 1: Celebrate the bump, don't hide it.
A maternity session is one of the few times in your life when the most photographically interesting thing about you is your belly. Flowing, draped fabrics that skim the bump work beautifully. Figure-hugging styles that show the shape of the pregnancy are equally stunning. What tends to work less well is anything boxy or shapeless that obscures the bump entirely, because the whole point of a maternity portrait is to document this specific, extraordinary shape your body has taken.
Rule 2: Soft colours photograph better than bold ones.
This is especially true on the Gold Coast, where our natural light and landscape palette is warm and golden rather than cool and dramatic. Creams, whites, taupes, dusty roses, sage greens, and soft terracotta tones all work beautifully in our environment. They don't compete with the landscape, they complement it. Bright bold colours, hot pinks, electric blues, vivid patterns, can overwhelm an image and draw the eye away from the mum and the bump.
That said, deep jewel tones, emerald green, burgundy, midnight navy, can be stunning in the right setting, particularly for studio sessions where the background is controlled. If you love colour, let's talk about your specific palette before your session.
Rule 3: Fabric matters more than style.
The fabrics that photograph best are those with movement and texture: chiffon, lace, silk, jersey, knit, velvet. These fabrics respond beautifully to light, create gorgeous movement in outdoor sessions, and photograph with a softness and dimension that flat, stiff fabrics rarely achieve. Avoid anything synthetic and shiny, which can reflect light awkwardly, and anything with a strong pattern or logo.
Rule 4: Think about your whole look, not just the outfit.
Your hair, your nails, your jewellery, these details show up in close-up shots and detail images. You don't need a full glam team, although I love when mums treat themselves to professional hair and makeup for their session. But a fresh blowout, a coat of polish on your nails, and a piece of jewellery that means something to you will all contribute to images you love.
What Works for Beach and Outdoor Sessions
The Gold Coast's outdoor locations, from the beach to the hinterland to our beautiful parks and waterways, have a natural warmth and organic quality to them that suits relaxed, flowing styling beautifully.
Best choices for outdoor sessions:
Long flowing gowns in chiffon or soft jersey create stunning movement in coastal breezes that is very hard to replicate in a studio. Wrap styles can be adjusted to show more or less of the bump depending on your comfort level. Off-shoulder styles are flattering on almost every body shape during pregnancy. Barefoot is absolutely fine and often looks more natural than shoes on a beach.
Colours that sing outdoors on the Gold Coast:
Cream and ivory against sand and ocean creates a timeless, almost editorial look. Dusty rose and terracotta work beautifully against greenery. White at golden hour takes on a luminous, warm quality. Sage green blends seamlessly into hinterland settings without disappearing into the background.
What to avoid outdoors:
Very dark colours on particularly bright sunny days can result in harsh shadows and high contrast that makes editing more complex. Pure black is striking but loses detail in direct sunlight. And anything that the Gold Coast breeze will turn into a battle, very heavy fabrics or structured pieces, will make you uncomfortable and slightly distracted throughout the session.
What Works for Studio Sessions
Studio sessions offer a different kind of flexibility. Because the background and lighting are controlled, there is more room to work with richer colours, more structured styling, and a wider range of looks.
Best choices for studio sessions:
Form-fitting styles that clearly show the shape of the bump work particularly well in a studio setting where the background doesn't compete. Lace or textured fabrics respond beautifully to studio lighting. Layered looks add visual interest and depth. Richer colours including jewel tones work better in studio than outdoors.
One thing I highly recommend for studio sessions: a second look. Many of my studio clients change outfits partway through the session to give variety to their gallery. Starting with one style and moving to another means you end up with two very different sets of images, which is particularly beautiful if you're considering wall art or an album.
The Secret Weapon: My Wardrobe
Here is the thing I genuinely want every mum to know before they spend hours stressing about what to pack.
My studio at Pacific Pines has a curated wardrobe of eighteen luxury maternity gowns available for all clients to use at no extra cost.
These gowns have been hand-selected specifically for maternity photography. They are designed to flatter the changing pregnant body. They photograph beautifully in both studio and outdoor settings. And they come in a range of sizes, styles and tones to suit different colouring, different bump stages and different personal aesthetics.
This means that for the majority of my clients, the answer to "what do I wear?" is simply: nothing. I have taken care of it.
Before your session, we will have a planning call or exchange to discuss which gowns from my collection suit your vision for the session. I will pull the pieces I think will work for you based on your colouring, your bump stage and your preferred look. You arrive. You try them on. We decide together. We shoot.
No shopping. No decision fatigue. No arriving at your session with an outfit you thought would work and suddenly aren't sure about.
What to Bring From Home (Even If You Use My Wardrobe)
There are a few things that come from your life rather than my wardrobe that can make a maternity session deeply personal in a way that borrowed gowns never quite replicate.
Your partner's shirt. Unbuttoned, oversized, worn with nothing underneath or with a simple singlet, this look is one of the most consistently beautiful and intimate in maternity photography, and it costs nothing. A white button-up shirt is particularly stunning and gives us the option of a few soft, natural images that are just for you.
The right underwear. This is something most people don't think about until they're getting changed at the session, so I always mention it in advance. If you're wearing anything under your gown or your partner's shirt, nude or skin-toned underwear is always the best choice. It disappears seamlessly under lighter fabrics and in any images where skin is visible. If you have a well-fitted strapless bra, bring it. Strapless is ideal because it gives you support without leaving marks on your shoulders from straps, and those marks can take a while to fade once they're there. If your bra has straps, don't worry, we can tuck them in during the session. For some of the softer, more natural looks, particularly under your partner's shirt or in our more intimate studio setups, we can also do a few images without a bra entirely, which creates a beautifully natural, unencumbered look. For clients shooting in studio, tasteful nude and natural images are absolutely something we can do. These are private, just for you, and handled with complete care and sensitivity.
Something that belonged to your baby before they arrived. A tiny pair of shoes, a knitted beanie, a folded onesie held against the bump. These detail shots are among my most treasured, and your baby will love seeing them one day.
A piece of jewellery with meaning. Your grandmother's ring, a necklace your partner gave you, a bracelet that marks a milestone. These pieces appear in close-up detail shots and carry a meaning that no styled prop ever could.
Comfortable shoes you love. Even if most of the portraits won't show your feet, you'll be standing and moving for an hour or more, and being comfortable in your footwear will help you feel and look more relaxed throughout.
What to Do in the Week Before Your Session
A few practical things I recommend to every mum in the lead-up to their session:
Avoid waistbands that leave marks. In the week before your session, be conscious of tight waistbands, socks with elastic, and underwear with strong elastic bands. These leave indentations on the skin that can take hours to fade and will show up if any of your chosen looks are midriff-baring or skin-revealing.
Stay hydrated. Well-hydrated skin photographs better. It sounds simple because it is, but it genuinely makes a difference.
Rest if you can. I know this is easier said than done in pregnancy. But a mum who has slept well looks and feels different in front of the camera than one who has been running on empty, and I want your session to feel like an experience you enjoy rather than one you push through.
Trust the process. In twelve years, I have never had a mum who looked exactly the way she imagined at the beginning of a session and felt less than beautiful by the end. The camera, the light, the setting, and a little time to relax into the experience consistently produce results that genuinely surprise people. You are going to love your images.
The Bottom Line
What you wear to your maternity session matters, but nowhere near as much as how you feel in it. The most breathtaking maternity portraits I have ever taken were not the ones where the mum had the most expensive gown or the most carefully planned styling. They were the ones where she arrived feeling ready, relaxed and trusted the process.
My wardrobe exists so that you never have to stress about this. My experience exists so that I can guide you to the choices that will serve you best. And your bump, your body and this specific moment in your life exist for only a short window that we are going to document beautifully.
If you're expecting on the Gold Coast and ready to start planning your maternity session, I would love to hear from you.
