There’s a version of this conversation I’ve had more times than I can count.
A client books her maternity session. We talk through the vision — locations, outfits, the overall feel she’s hoping for. And then, almost as an afterthought, she says: “My husband said he’d come if I really want him to. But I don’t want to force him.”
And I always ask the same question: does he know what these photos will mean in ten years?
Because here’s what I’ve observed in 25 years of photographing expecting couples in Saint Paul and the Twin Cities. The partners who show up reluctantly — who arrive a little stiff, a little self-conscious, convinced they’re not photogenic — are almost always the ones who become the most emotional when they see the final images.
The photo of his hands on her belly. The one where he’s looking at her and she doesn’t know it. The image of the two of them together, on the edge of becoming something they’ve never been before.
Those images matter to him. Deeply. In ways he might not have anticipated.
So yes — your partner should be in your maternity photos. Here’s why. And here’s how to make the case if he needs convincing.
Why Partner Maternity Photos Matter More Than Most People Realize
This Is His Story Too
Maternity photography tends to center on the mother — and understandably so. She’s the one carrying the pregnancy, experiencing the physical transformation, navigating the enormous internal shift of becoming a parent.
But the partner is also in the middle of something profound.
He’s about to become a father. His life is about to change in ways he can’t fully anticipate yet. The person he loves is carrying their child. That experience — the anticipation, the tenderness, the particular kind of awe that comes from watching someone you love go through something this significant — is worth documenting.
Maternity photos that include the partner tell the complete story. Not just her pregnancy, but their pregnancy. Not just her transformation, but theirs.
The images that result from that inclusion are often among the most emotionally resonant images I create — precisely because they capture two people in a moment they’ll never be in again.
Your Children Will Want to See Him There
Fast forward ten or fifteen years. Your child is looking through photos from before they were born.
They see their mother, beautiful and round with pregnancy. They see the love on her face.
And then they look for their father.
Children want to see both of their parents in those images. They want to know that both people were present — not just physically in the world, but present for this specific moment. That both people were already in love with them before they arrived.
Partner maternity photos give children that. They provide evidence of a family that was already a family before the baby came.
That matters more than most people realize when they’re making the decision of who to include in a session.
The Images You’ll Both Look At Most
I’ve photographed solo maternity sessions and I’ve photographed couples sessions. Both produce beautiful images.
But I’ve noticed something consistent over the years. When I follow up with clients after delivery — sometimes months, sometimes years later — the images they mention most often, the ones they say they look at constantly, are almost always the couple images.
Not the solo shots, as beautiful as those are. The ones of the two of them together. The ones that show the relationship, the connection, the particular way he looked at her when she wasn’t looking back.
Those become the anchoring images of the collection. The ones that get framed. The ones that get passed down.
If he’s not in the session, those images don’t exist.
Common Reasons Partners Resist (And How to Respond)
“I’m Not Photogenic”
This is by far the most common objection I hear.
Here’s my honest response: almost no one feels photogenic before a session. It’s not a feeling that arrives in advance. It arrives when you see the images and realize that what you looked like in your head was not what the camera captured.
What a good photographer captures is connection. Movement. Real expressions. The way you look when you’re focused on someone you love rather than on the lens.
Partners who feel stiff and awkward in posed photos almost always relax the moment the direction shifts to genuine interaction — look at her, put your hand here, just talk to each other for a minute. That shift produces images that have nothing to do with being photogenic and everything to do with being real.
Tell him: you don’t have to be photogenic. You just have to show up and be yourself.
“It’s Your Session, Not Mine”
This one comes from a good place — he doesn’t want to make it about him. He wants this to be her experience.
But here’s the reframe: his presence in the photos doesn’t take anything away from her. It adds to the story.
Her solo images will still be made. The images of her, alone with her bump, quiet and inward and completely herself — those happen regardless. His presence doesn’t crowd that out.
What it adds is context. The relationship. The partnership. The other half of the story.
And the truth is, some of the most beautiful solo maternity images I’ve ever made came right after a couple’s moment — when she was still a little lit up from laughing with him, or still soft from leaning against him, and I caught her in that particular kind of ease that only comes from feeling completely loved.
“I Don’t Know What to Do in Photos”
This is the easiest objection to address, because it’s my job to solve it.
I direct every session. Partners don’t need to arrive with a plan or a pose in mind. I give direction throughout — where to stand, where to put his hands, how to angle his body. I give prompts that produce real expressions rather than stiff smiles. I work with what’s actually there between two people rather than imposing something artificial.
Tell him: you don’t have to know anything. I’ll tell you exactly what to do. All you have to do is show up.
“I Don’t Really Care About Photos”
This one is worth sitting with for a moment.
Because what I’ve found, consistently, over 25 years, is that partners who say they don’t care about photos often care the most when they see them.
There’s something about the visual evidence of a moment that bypasses the part of the brain that said it didn’t matter. You can tell yourself photos aren’t important right up until the moment you’re holding one of yourself and the person you love, taken the week before your child was born, and you feel something you didn’t expect.
He may not care about photos in the abstract. He will almost certainly care about these specific photos.
Tell him that. Tell him I said so.
How to Approach the Conversation
If you’ve tried the practical arguments and he’s still hesitant, here’s what I’d suggest.
Don’t frame it as something you need from him. Frame it as something you want to give him.
Say: “I want you in these photos because someday I want our kids to be able to see both of us there. I want to be able to show them that you were already that in love with them before they were born.”
That reframe — from request to gift — lands differently for most partners.
And if he’s still not sure? Ask him to just come and try. He can always step out for part of the session if he’s truly uncomfortable. But in my experience, once partners arrive and get into it, stepping out is the last thing they want to do.
What Partner Maternity Sessions Actually Look Like
I want to be clear about what I mean when I say partner maternity photos, because there are a lot of versions of this online — some of which look awkward, over-styled, or uncomfortable.
What I create is different.
I build sessions around genuine connection rather than posed arrangements. There’s a lot of natural movement, natural conversation, natural interaction between two people who know each other deeply. The direction I give is designed to produce real expressions rather than performed ones.
For outdoor sessions in the Twin Cities, I work with natural light at locations that suit the couple’s style — wooded paths, open fields, lakeside settings. For studio sessions, I create a warm and intimate environment that puts both people at ease.
The resulting images look like the two of you. Not a stylized version. Not a performance. Just the two of you, in this moment, together.
That’s what’s worth having. That’s what he’ll be glad he showed up for.
A Note on Solo Sessions
I want to be clear: if a solo session is what feels right for you — if your partner genuinely can’t be there, or if you want time alone with your bump and your thoughts — that is a completely beautiful choice.
Some of the most powerful maternity images I’ve ever made have been solo sessions. There’s a particular inward quality to a woman alone with her pregnancy that is profound and worth capturing on its own terms.
But if the reason for going solo is that he didn’t think he was wanted, or he assumed it wasn’t for him, or nobody asked him directly — that’s worth revisiting.
Ask him. Show him this post if it helps. Let him know that the invitation is genuine.
You might be surprised by the answer.
If you’re expecting and thinking about a maternity session — with or without your partner — I’d love to talk through what would feel right for your family. Maternity session spots fill up, especially in spring. Reach out now and let’s get something on the calendar.
Book Your Maternity Session → giliane-e-mansfeldtphotography.com/maternity-photography-pricing/
