Free template · 12 questions
Maternity photoshoot questionnaire
Maternity sessions have a deadline and a guest of honor nobody can schedule. Ask about the due date, energy and who's joining, so the session is easy on your client's body and full of moments they'll want to show their child one day.
When to send it
As soon as the session is booked, ideally for around 30 to 34 weeks.
Paste them into HoneyBook, Dubsado, Google Forms or an email.
Client questionnaire · Maternity
The basics
- When is your due date, and is this your first baby?
- Who's joining: a partner, older siblings, pets?
- Do you have a name picked out? Would you like to include it in the session or keep it private?
Comfort
- How is your energy, and what time of day do you feel best?
- Is anything uncomfortable right now: standing for long, lying down, heat?
- Should we plan breaks, snacks or a place to sit nearby?
The look
- Outdoors, in the studio or at home?
- Would you like to wear a fitted gown, your own clothes, or a mix? Would you like help choosing?
- How do you feel about showing your bump: covered, partly, or bare?
- Anything you'd like to include: ultrasound photos, tiny shoes, a letter?
On camera
- How do you feel about being photographed right now?
- For partners: how comfortable are you on camera?
How to use the answers
Schedule around energy
Keep the session under an hour, plan seated poses, and book the time of day they named. A rested client photographs like themselves.
Give partners a job
Partners often feel like props. Give them a role: reading to the bump, whispering the baby's name, holding the ultrasound photo.
Get the profile shot early
Shoot the classic side profile in the first outfit, before anyone gets tired, then move to looser, more emotional frames.
The question forms get wrong
Most clients don't know how they like to be directed.
So they write “we're awkward” and leave it there. Send the Good Side camera quiz with your questionnaire: two minutes on their phone, and you get their camera type and a session plan with prompts in order.