Pregnant Portrait tips & pointers

[mlawrenc]

I am going to be shooting a set of photos of a 7 month pregnant friend of mine,

and am looking for any tips in posing, as I have never taken this type of

photos before.

 

Thank you,

 

Mike

[pia]

Hi Mike,

I have done several maternity sessions. I use a black or white nylon wrap that I bought from Joann's Fabrics. It is about three yards for the top and 3 for the bottom and I shoot on a black background. I usually start at 3-4 months and each month after that and then once they have the baby I shoot one more session with the baby and then do a collage that includes one pose from each session ending with one with the Mommy holding the baby. If they only come in for one session, I always recommend 7 months since they don't look too big and still have a nice sized tummy. I also offer a maternity book that I create 7x7 with blurb.com and charge between $125. and $175. for it. It is custom designed and sometimes includes photos of the baby from a session at about 2 weeks of age.

Peg

[pia]

A couple more images.

[pia]

One more

[alex_hollmann]

I second the black background idea - looks good and it provides continuity if you're going to do a month-by-month series. When I photographed my wife, I used side-lighting and then a reflector on the opposite side. I felt a more dramatic lighting accented the beautiful forms. And in terms of clothing, the less the better, I think. For this reason I'm afraid I can't post my shots here.

[catherine_oostdyk]

I've also shot many maternity sessions. Visit this link: http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/storesearch.aspx?p=32361

 

and click on Jessica & Justin, Sandra & Herbert, and Randy & Cathy Oostdyk (<- those are ones of me!)