What should you bring to your maternity photoshoot?

Bring less than you expect. The studio wardrobe covers gowns, fabrics, bodysuits, accessories and statement pieces, so the things worth packing are the ones nobody else can supply — the pieces that mean something to you, and the small practical items that keep the session moving.

The short list

• Nude, seamless underwear that does not leave marks
• A strapless bra if you own one that fits now
• Clean jeans you can move in
• A blazer, if a polished look appeals to you
• Heels, and something flat for everything else
• Jewelry that means something — a ring, a piece from your mother
• Something of the baby's: a scan photograph, tiny shoes, a blanket
• A hair tie and anything you need to touch up your own hair
• Water and a snack

About underwear

This is the one item worth thinking about the night before. Tight elastic leaves marks that stay on the skin for an hour and have to be retouched out afterwards. Nude and seamless, put on shortly before you arrive, solves it entirely.

Bring the meaningful things

A ring, a scan photograph, a pair of shoes bought too early, a blanket somebody knitted. These are what make the gallery yours rather than a set of beautiful photographs that could belong to anyone. Bring them even if you are not sure they will be used.

If your partner or children are coming

Pack for them the way you would pack for yourself: clothes they have worn before, shoes already broken in, and a spare outfit for a child. A lint roller earns its place in the bag more often than anything else on this list.

What the whole family should wear

What you do not need to bring

• Maternity gowns — the wardrobe has them
• Fabric, bodysuits or statement accessories — also here
• A list of poses; every pose is demonstrated and directed
• Anything you bought for the session and have never worn

Before you leave the house

Eat something. Sessions run longer than people expect, and being hungry shows in a face faster than anything else. If hair and makeup are included in your experience, they happen at the studio before photography begins, so arrive with clean dry hair and a bare face unless you have been told otherwise.

You will receive preparation guidance before your appointment, so nothing on this page should be the first you hear of it.