8 mistakes to avoid before and during your pregnancy photoshoot

Quick answer: The three biggest mistakes are the ones almost no one sees coming. A leftover swimsuit line from August. A wedding ring still on a swollen third-trimester finger. A partner who shows up at minute one and is done an hour and a half in. The fourth is booking too late — the right window is weeks 28-34, after that come the heaviness and the risk of going early. The other four are technical: nude seamless underwear under sheer dresses, makeup 30-40% heavier than your everyday face because studio light eats colour, three-quarter or profile instead of facing the camera straight on, and enough water before you arrive. Each one has a specific rule below.

Most of the moms who walk into my studio at Ronda Universitat 33, 50 metres from Plaza Catalunya, have already decided to book. They don’t need me to sell them again — they need to know what to avoid so the shoot turns out the way they pictured it. This list comes from patterns I see repeat every month, not from generic blog advice. Each mistake has an "if X, then Y" rule so you can fix it before you leave the house.

When is it too late to book?

The instinct is to push the date back — "I’ll wait till the bump shows more." That’s exactly when most moms miss the good window. Once week 35 rolls around, the swelling, the tiredness and the broken sleep arrive — and that’s not what you want your face to look like. On top of that, there’s something you can’t control: the chance of going into labour early and having to cancel.

There’s a pattern I see almost every week: the line "I’ll do them once the baby’s here." In practice, no one does. The baby takes all the energy and pregnancy photos slip off the priority list. Wait too long and three things hit at once: tiredness, heaviness, and bad nights of sleep.

The window I recommend, based on what I see in session: weeks 29-33 if it’s your first pregnancy, weeks 27-32 if it’s your second or you’re expecting twins. On a second pregnancy the bump shows earlier because the abdominal muscles are already looser.

The rule: if X, then Y

If it's your first pregnancy, book for week 30-32. If it's your second or you're expecting twins, go earlier — week 27-30. Reserve 6-8 weeks ahead. Studios in central Barcelona fill up quickly, especially between October and December when pregnancy shoots overlap with Christmas sessions. When you're ready, you can check the pregnancy photo shoot in Barcelona and compare available dates.

Which underwear ruins sheer dresses?

This one happens more often than you’d think and almost no one sees it coming. You arrive in the underwear you wear every day — bra with seams, lace thong, wide straps. I pull a tulle or chiffon dress from the studio wardrobe, perfect for the light we have that morning, and it turns out we can’t use it: the seams print through every shot.

The problem isn’t the underwear itself. It’s that it locks off part of the wardrobe we have for you. At Wonderstory there are maternity dresses, fabrics and pieces that only work over a nude seamless base. Come prepared and that door stays open. Don’t, and we just work with whatever opaque thing you brought.

The rule: if X, then Y

If you're going to use the studio wardrobe (fabrics, sheer dresses), bring a nude seamless underwear set. If you're sticking to your own opaque pieces, you don't need to. For the rest of the wardrobe prep, there's a separate piece on the studio maternity session with what's available.

Does everyday makeup work on camera?

Here’s a technical surprise that catches almost everyone. Studio light combined with the camera sensor strips up to 50% of the colour out of your makeup. What looks like enough in the bathroom mirror reads flat in the photos. And when you’re standing next to a well-lit pregnant body, that flat face drags the whole frame down.

You don’t need a transformation. You just need to push it. Brows brushed and a touch stronger, contour defined, matte base — satin shines under studio strobes and creates reflections you don’t want. Lip with colour. I don’t recommend heavy false lashes: I prefer something more natural, because that’s also how I retouch.

"So she looks beautiful, but still recognisable." — Tami, founder of Wonderstory Studio

The rule: if X, then Y

If you have the budget and the time, book a professional photo makeup. If you’re doing it yourself, go 30-40% heavier than your everyday face — especially brows, contour and lip. Zero shine on the base. And if you’re unsure, lean stronger rather than softer: less always reads dull on camera.

Does your partner need to be there for both hours?

Partners arrive excited on shoot day. The issue isn’t the attitude — it’s the runtime. A typical pregnancy shoot runs ninety minutes to two hours. The first 60-75 minutes go to makeup, light setup, and your solo shots. The couple shots come at the end, ideally when everyone’s still fresh. In practice, after an hour and a half on the studio sofa, the dad has "let me out of here" face — and it shows up in every frame.

The rule: if X, then Y

If the shoot starts at 11am, your partner is better off arriving at noon with energy. If he insists on being there from the start, just be honest with him: there's a lot of waiting. What he's missing isn't important — the makeup and your solo shots don't need an audience.

Why does the front-facing pose flatten the bump?

When a camera points at you, the reflex is to face it square, smile, keep your shoulders straight. That’s the ID-card pose. In maternity photography it’s the worst pose: it flattens the volume of the bump and the belly reads as extra weight, not pregnancy. The round shape you’re documenting just disappears.

"Almost every mom walks in thinking she doesn’t know how to pose — but ten minutes in, she forgets the camera is even there." — Tami, founder of Wonderstory Studio

I say this in every session because the pattern keeps repeating. Posing isn’t a test, it’s a starting point. What works: three-quarter or profile, one leg slightly forward, one hand on the bump. The photographer guides you, but understanding the principle takes the stiffness out of the first ten minutes.

The rule: if X, then Y

If you're free to pick, start with profile and a hand on the bump. If you tense up, move — three steps, turn around, let me catch the in-between. The good shots usually live between two poses, not in the poses themselves. If you want more visual reference before coming in, the maternity session page has examples by trimester.

How much water should you drink before?

Studio lights heat the room more than you’d expect across a 90 to 120 minute session. If you arrive dehydrated, the dizziness, the tiredness and the dark circles under your eyes show up right around hour two — exactly when the best shots happen. Outdoors in Barcelona in summer, the effect doubles.

Quirónsalud recommends around 2.7 litres of water a day during pregnancy, roughly 10 glasses. That’s not just for the shoot — that’s the baseline. For the day of the photos specifically: add 500 ml two hours before you head to the studio. Bring a bottle and a light snack.

If the session is outdoors at Parc de la Ciutadella, Barceloneta or Park Güell between June and September, midday sun is off the table. Either first thing in the morning or evening golden hour — and with double the water.

The rule: if X, then Y

If your shoot is in the studio in winter, drink as you usually would and bring water. If it's outdoors at Barceloneta or Parc de la Ciutadella between June and September, double the water and book first thing in the morning or evening golden hour — never midday.

Do summer tan lines still show in October?

This is one of the mistakes that surprises me most when we discover it mid-shoot. You booked for October, spent July and August on the Costa Brava or in Barceloneta, and the bikini line is printed exactly where the sheer studio dress shows the most skin: chest, shoulders, hips. Your skin reads two-tone in every frame.

I see it every autumn. The pattern is predictable: summer plus a post-holiday session equals lines. Pregnancy skin tans differently and the lines take weeks to fade. Tell me ahead of time and we plan around it. Find out on shoot day and we adjust the wardrobe on the fly — but you lose options.

The rule: if X, then Y

If your shoot is in September or October after beach time, skip swimsuits with sharp lines for the last 3 weeks. Alternative: an even spray tan 24-48 hours before the session. If the lines are already there, tell the studio and we'll plan clothes that cover them without losing the look.

Why does a tight wedding ring ruin hand shots?

It’s a small detail, but it ruins a lot of frames. In the third trimester your fingers swell — that’s normal pregnancy physiology, not something you can avoid. The ring you wear every day leaves a red mark around the finger. The watch sits tight and looks uncomfortable. And it turns out a lot of pregnancy shots centre exactly there: hands on the bump, fingers laced with your partner’s, the ring detail.

The fix is simple once you know it. The ring mark takes at least an hour to fade if the ring’s been tight all day. It’s not something that disappears during the shoot.

The rule: if X, then Y

If your hand is swollen, take off your watch, wedding ring and any other rings at least an hour before you leave the house. If you don't want to lose the wedding ring in the shots, move it to your other hand or wear it on a chain. Either looks fine on camera and skips the mark.

How to walk into the shoot without these mistakes?

Once the logistics are sorted — date right, underwear compatible, makeup pushed, ring off, water in — only the thing that actually matters is left. You feel comfortable, and I can do my job.

As Ariana Montecino puts it in her Google review:

"It was our first photoshoot and we walked in with a lot of doubts about how it would go (we’re shy) and a bit of nerves. [...] during the session, she made us feel super comfortable, calm, and above all we enjoyed every moment."

The first doubts are normal. What disarms them is practical prep — and that’s exactly what this list is: the things you don’t want to leave to chance, so the nerves wear off in the first ten minutes.

If the date’s already set and you just wanted to make sure nothing slipped through, you can book your pregnancy photo shoot directly — the studio is in central Barcelona, 50 metres from Plaza Catalunya. If you’re still comparing photographers, there’s a piece on how to choose a maternity photographer with the criteria that matter beyond price.

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Tami · Photographer and founder of Wonderstory

I founded Wonderstory in Barcelona in 2019, and the mistakes on this list I’ve watched repeat in real sessions — not hypotheses, just patterns.