karen_hendrix

Kim - Beautiful picture,as usual. I would definitely not consider this pornography, as I'm sure that you don't. Even if the fact that she was naked was more obvious and central to the photo, I wouldn't view it as pornography because it is obvious that it was meant to be a precious keepsake, not a sexual message. To me, clothes would have taken away from the innocent and pure message that was trying to be conveyed. So, why would anyone make a blanket statement that nudity over a certain age is inappropriate? I know that we all try to do our best to protect our children, but at what price? I would rather my children be comfortable with their own body, than to risk making them paranoid about it in an effort to avoid the very small possibility that someone would do them harm. Maybe someone who is more conservative with regards to nudity can respond to that.

I really appreciate this topic, it has made reminded me of how I truly feel about the subject. Living in the midwest has started to turn me too conservative in subjects like this because everyone else around here is. The entire neighborhood must have seen my two-year old daughter naked while we were potty-training her. Did the thought cross my mind that someone would view her in a sick way? Of course. But I'm not going to teach her to be afraid of the world. My child, my choice. Nobody should be judging that decision (even my mother-in-law to her dismay). - Karen

Very interesting topic. I have a 1-year old and a 2-year old and wonder when it will be "inappropriate" to photograph them nude. Two things I do believe are truths, not opinion:

-The difference between pornography and art is both in the eye of the person taking the picture and in the eye of the person viewing it. If it is intended to be art and all participants understand and agree to that, then it is art. It's only when somebody thinks about it as smut that it becomes trash.

-Children cannot keep secrets. Be prepared for the possible uproar over this issue when your child tells somebody outside of your family.

Another thought: maybe it's this paranoia and concern about child nudity that creates the obsession with pornography (similar to the weight-loss craze in the USA just leading to more over-weight people). Perhaps by not taking these photos, you could be encouraging this anti-nude mentality.

karen

Kim,

I know that you may have already shot your pregnancy pics for this woman (which were very good, by the way), but two very good websites for pregnancy photography are www.jenniferloomis.com (she is considered the pioneer in this field, I believe) and www.heatherrivlin.com (who is my personal idol as far as studio work goes). Take a look at them - they are both very talented at capturing a mood that makes women look forward to having a huge belly (which is a feat, believe me). Maybe they can give you some ideas for next time. I think the toughest thing will probably be making the moms-to-be comfortable in front of the camera during a time in their life that they are most self-conscious of themselves. But once they see the pictures that you take so beautifully, they will probably be shocked at how gorgeous they are.

Karen

I typically do portraits of children, mostly outdoors but have

recently gotten requests to do newborn pics. I typically try to do

natural lighting, but sometimes it's not enough or I need a fill

light. I was thinking that I needed a hotlight with a softbox,

since newborns rarely like a flash in their eyes, but have heard

that a hotlight can melt/damage the softbox material. Portability

is also a must as I mostly visit the new babe's in their home in

order to reduce stress on the mom and baby. I have no experience

with studio lighting. My equipment is a Digital Rebel, kit lens,

speedlight 420ex, and a 50/1.4 lens.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I would appreciate specific

suggestions of manufacturers, sizes, anything to narrow down my

research.