I could tell, after developing the first pregnancy progression photos my husband took for me, that I would have to take matters into my own hands. He's not a bad photographer, but he thinks I'm beautiful. This makes it hard to convince him to spend several minutes making sure pictures don't show my arm flab or a goofy facial expression.

After taking pictures of myself during three pregnancies, I have learned some tips that might help you enjoy looking back at how you've grown while expecting. Here are a couple of pictures I took of myself while about five months pregnant with my third daughter:


It may surprise you to learn that the second picture was taken fourteen minutes after the first. What made such a big difference?

1. Pay attention to your background and foreground. In the first shot, the counter in front of me and view of my living room behind me distract and make the whole picture seem cluttered and trashy.

2. Wear fitted clothes. A comfy shirt that falls across your chest and abdomen makes you look less like you're pregnant and more like a caramel apple. That dip between chest and tummy works wonders.

3. Stand up straight. Mom was right. Shoulders back and head high make anyone look thinner, show off your tummy, and make you seem more confident.

4. Smile. You're pregnant! Later, you'll get a kick out of seeing your smug look in photos, but you'll kick yourself if you try to frown like a model.

5. Angle your body away. Turning at an angle to the camera instead of facing it with your whole body both makes you look slimmer and emphasizes your tummy.

6. Stick out an elbow. There's a reason actresses on the red carpet stand in those odd poses. Putting a hand on your hip slims the upper arms, makes your torso look slimmer, and defines your beautiful prego shape.

7. Fix yourself up. Hair and makeup. I guess that's pretty self-explanatory, right?

8. Find good light. If your bathroom light fixture is an overhead light that casts your face in shadow and makes your skin greenish, take the time to drag a lamp in and set it on the toilet.

9. Think about it. It's amazing how obvious it is to me that when I took my first photo I was thinking about how miserable my cold was making me. In the second, I was thinking about how gorgeous pregnant women are, and how much I would love looking back at that moment. Attitude shows!

10. Take 20 pictures for every one that you keep. If you take lots of pictures, you're much more likely to find one you love. Then you can throw away the ones in which you sneezed or look queasy because you tried to smile without showing your teeth. (See #4.)

Bonus Secret Tip: Although I took these example shots at home, I took the majority of my maternity photos at the Motherhood Maternity store in my local mall. I would gather some flattering outfits that I couldn't afford, ask for one of the large changing rooms in back, and prop my camera (with self-timer) on the stroller holding my older daughters. The lighting in there is fantastic, there is never toothpaste to clean off the mirror, there's enough room for full-body shots, and I get pictures in better clothes than mine. I would always buy a $5 t-shirt or clearance dress so the clerk didn't hurl anti-nausea candy at me until I left.

Enjoy your photo shoot--I'm willing to bet you look far more beautiful (and less fat) than you'll realize until you look back at your pictures later. So have fun with it!

Have any other photo-taking tips to share? Leave a comment!

Great article! A life-saver tip that my friend gave me a couple of weeks ago when she took my belly shots...

To avoid 'saggy chin', press your tongue to the roof of your mouth.

Great article! Even when a woman isn't feeling so great in pregnancy, she should be able to have really good-looking photos as a memento.

I SO AGREE! I felt so vain prettying up for my shots, but I look at them all now and think, DANG! I rocked pregnancy pretty hard, LMBO!:P

No matter what, just take the pictures! You may feel like you look awful now, but you'll really want to have these later. I promise.

Don't forget the trick for nude or scantily clad photos! Crop your photo off by mid-thigh, and you'll look much slimmer by getting rid of the "ice cream cone effect"!!! :P

Your "bonus tip" is a fabulous idea - I wish I'd thought of it back when I was pregnant! And I absolutely agree with Valerie - I didn't take any pics of my first pregnancy and I always regretted it. I took lots more with my second, but am already feeling like I didn't get enough.

Fantastic article! I only wish this was around when I was pregnant.

Great pics by the way, just lovely!:)