
Black and white maternity photoshoot
Every session here produces black and white frames, and many mothers choose them over the colour versions. These are ours, in four groups: classic portraits, couples, silhouettes, and frames with children.
Classic portraits
The quiet centre of the page. A mother on her own, usually in a fitted dark gown, against a medium or dark grey backdrop, with soft light from one side. Not every frame is still: a good share have a drape thrown into the air, and a few add a wide-brim hat or a feather boa, and a few use white feather wings, a set that has since been retired. A handful are bare bump framed by a loose cloth. If you only choose one group in black and white, choose this one; it is the version that sits comfortably above a sofa or at the end of a corridor.
Several frames wrap the bare bump in a loose cloth with bare shoulders, which reads as classical sculpture. Another group are full length: one gown, one backdrop, nothing moving. The frames in black boots and a hat are the boldest in the group.
Couples
Two people, close, in tones that match without trying. Most are on grey, in dark clothes, with his hands on the bump and your head tilted towards him. A few are seated on a stool or a fur bench, and a few hold a scan or baby shoes between them. Without colour, the gesture becomes the picture: a forehead against a temple, a kiss on the cheek, a laugh he did not plan.
Knits sit well in black and white, where texture replaces colour: a grey cardigan open over a bare bump, a husband's ribbed sweater beside you. And the frames where both of you wear black against a light backdrop are the closest thing here to a classic studio portrait.
Silhouettes and high-key
Two ways of losing the detail. In a silhouette, you are lit from behind against white, and the outline is everything; most frames here are exactly that, with a white block or a chair for the pose, and about half are couples. High-key frames are brighter than the face can bear: skin and fabric nearly merge with the white, and only the dark shapes remain. A few use a circle of light with your shadow on the wall.
The circle-of-light frames, shot from the front against black, are the most graphic of all, with your shadow falling on the wall beside you.
With kids
The smallest group on the page and the most tender. A mother in black on a dark grey backdrop, a daughter in black with arms raised, a son in a white shirt with his forehead on the bump, a family of four on the floor. Without colour, expressions carry everything. A football and a father on a white block make the one frame that is pure play.
There are also two frames with a father and his daughter and no mother in the shot, and sibling frames with a boy's forehead resting on the bump. The football frame is shot against white, and is the only one that is pure play. ---
Some of the outfits in these photographs belong to our clients and may not be available to hire. We cannot tell at a glance which ones, so if you see something you love, send us a screenshot on WhatsApp and we will tell you whether it is in the studio wardrobe.
Why black and white, and when
What it does. Black and white removes everything that is not shape and light. The bump, the hands on it, the line of the shoulder, the fall of a drape. Colour can distract from those things; black and white cannot. It also forgives: skin tone evens out, and a backdrop that is slightly uneven becomes simply tone.
The four groups on this page. Classic portraits are the quiet studio frames: a fitted black dress, a grey or white backdrop, soft light from one side. Couples are the two of you, often very close, where the lack of colour makes the gesture the whole picture. Silhouettes are lit from behind against white, so the outline is everything; faces are optional, which some mothers prefer. The frames with children are the ones where a toddler's expression carries the photograph.
Black and white, or colour. Where a frame exists in both, we show both on the site, and you receive both. The decision does not need to be made before the session. During selection you see each preview in colour and in black and white and choose frame by frame.
What to wear for it. Black, white and solid mid-tones all work. Sequins and crystals photograph as texture rather than sparkle, which is its own look. Patterns and prints are the one thing to avoid, since they become noise without their colour.
The silhouette, specifically. The silhouette frames on this page are made against a white backdrop with the light behind you, so your outline is dark against bright. It is the most private of all maternity photographs, because it shows the shape of the pregnancy and nothing else, and it is one that mothers often share when they share nothing else.
With a partner or a child. The couple frames and the frames with children are built the same way as their colour versions. Black and white suits them especially when the two outfits do not quite match in colour; the problem disappears.
Can I ask for only black and white photographs?
Yes. Tell us during onboarding and we will light and style the session for it. You will still receive the colour versions in your selection gallery, so you can change your mind frame by frame.
Do black and white photographs need less retouching?
Less visible retouching, usually. Skin and background even out on their own. We still tidy stray hairs and refine shape where a pose has not been kind.
Does a silhouette work at any week?
Yes, and it is one of the few photographs that works as well at 38 weeks as at 32, because it asks nothing of you but a profile. ---
Want it in black and white?
Every session gives you both. See what a session includes.
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