Maternity Photo Shoot

[Teresa]

http://store.garyfonginc.com/puf-01.html Try this out

that would be great to use but my camera does not have a place for a hot shoe that wont work...
i have even tried a piece of tissue paper or regular paper over my flash and if the flash isn't bright enough, it wont trigger my slave flashes. i am looking into getting a wireless trigger IF that will work with my lights

 

[Sweetsomedays]

Honestly I would save up and get a Canon Rebel or Nikon D40.

 

[Teresa]

hubby keeps "teasing" me about buying me a DSLR for christmas but not sure if he really will.
hard to save up when we dont have a lot of money coming in.
read post in another thread about our income

 

[kundalini]

Right, so I'm gonna throw my 2 cents worth in the ring if nobody minds too much. Out of curiosity, I have read through several of the threads you have begun asking for help and advice. Teresa, you need to take onboard the advice of these people who have been offering it up to you and in the spirit that it is given. They have placated your general lack of knowledge for the basics of photography with sage advice and the empathy of being in your footsteps at one time.

And yet, you only wish to express your excuses of why you had to do this or the difficulties for you having to do that. In my opinion (IMO), you do not appear to be sincere in the application of fundamentals that are required to take photos that are worthy of charge, much less accepting the nuances given to make the present exhibitions more appealing for the future. Photography is not something you can just wave a magic wand over or sprinkle some fairy dust on to immediately have earth shattering photos. It takes time, dedication, education, perseverance, mistakes, lots of mistakes, determination and a general knowledge of the fundamentals, regardless of your equipment.

I would suggest you to invest >$20 for the book Understanding Exposureto gather the foundation of taking photos. It explains Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO in a way that is easily understandable. Additionally, as mentioned, enroll in a photography class in your local community college.

I don't mean to be rude, but continual excuses are unacceptable from these fine people, whom I have a great deal of respect for, to prolong spoon-feeding you the information, that you should already have in your possession for being a paid photographer. If my words bother you, perhaps you should look at growing a thicker skin. The critiques of all your other photos on all your other threads are valid mostly. There is a difference in critique and criticism. One intends to inspire you to improve, the other wishes to bring you down. The difference between the two is for you to decide.

 

[bellacat]

Well said kundalini :thumbup:

 

[dpolston]

<standing "O">

 

[Teresa]

Right, so I'm gonna throw my 2 cents worth in the ring if nobody minds too much. Out of curiosity, I have read through several of the threads you have begun asking for help and advice. Teresa, you need to take onboard the advice of these people who have been offering it up to you and in the spirit that it is given. They have placated your general lack of knowledge for the basics of photography with sage advice and the empathy of being in your footsteps at one time.

And yet, you only wish to express your excuses of why you had to do this or the difficulties for you having to do that. In my opinion (IMO), you do not appear to be sincere in the application of fundamentals that are required to take photos that are worthy of charge, much less accepting the nuances given to make the present exhibitions more appealing for the future. Photography is not something you can just wave a magic wand over or sprinkle some fairy dust on to immediately have earth shattering photos. It takes time, dedication, education, perseverance, mistakes, lots of mistakes, determination and a general knowledge of the fundamentals, regardless of your equipment.

I would suggest you to invest >$20 for the book Understanding Exposureto gather the foundation of taking photos. It explains Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO in a way that is easily understandable. Additionally, as mentioned, enroll in a photography class in your local community college.

I don't mean to be rude, but continual excuses are unacceptable from these fine people, whom I have a great deal of respect for, to prolong spoon-feeding you the information, that you should already have in your possession for being a paid photographer. If my words bother you, perhaps you should look at growing a thicker skin. The critiques of all your other photos on all your other threads are valid mostly. There is a difference in critique and criticism. One intends to inspire you to improve, the other wishes to bring you down. The difference between the two is for you to decide.

1) Like I have said before, I have no money to go to college NOR a jr college. trust me, i even signed up for a "sign with baby" (signlanguage) course at the local jr college for $95 BUT we didn't have that for me to go. Yes, student loans are nice and available but not for someone who still has $20,000 to pay off on her old student loan from 4 years ago.

2) I have been doing research until I am blue in the face here on line.....I know it isn't the same as a college, a class or a book but it is a start, right?

3) Some of the stuff said was in fact criticism.

4) The only paid job I have had and will have is this wedding/bridal portraits for this girl in the engagment shots and that is all. All the other photos on my website or on here are of friends (That haven't paid yet and cant due to financial difficulty...worse than me) or are all family just helping a girl out!

 

[Johnboy2978]

In that case, I might suggest the following:
Check out the book or buy it at your convenience the one suggested by Kundalini (terrific post by the way). Until you have mastered the basics of exposure, stick to free shoots which will gain you a lot of experience and some portfolio building and post them in the People and Pets forum. Posts in a "professional" forum will net you the type of responses and critic that you have garnered here. The people and pets forum are more for general pics where you'll get comments like "cute baby" and "what kind of lens did you use there". You won't feel the need to defend your pics and in the interim will gain some valuable experience.

 

[JIP]

I don't want to pile on here but "mobile studio" is no exscuse for the quality if these images. Bouncing your flash would have helped immensely here. Oh yeah if you can't afford to buy "understanding exposure'" and I can completely sympathise it is available at your local library (am I correct in reading in youe sig that you are from Dallas???"

http://catalog.dallaslibrary.org/web2/tramp2.exe/form/A0fvp301.000

 

[dpolston]

Jip... error on the link

 

[wildmaven]

but i have to put it all the way to 1000 (not sure what that is but it is a number from NR30" all the way to 1000 and i guess i have the F stop all the way to 8.0 or else the picture will be too bright

Not knowing what the 1000 means shows me that you don't even know the controls of your own camera. Why not start there. Download the manual if you don't have it. Go out and shoot plants, birds, rivers, your child, etc until you learn how changing everything works. Knowing your camera, so that all the options are second nature, are necessary before you even think of taking on clients.

As for your small working spaces, for a while I was shooting in an 8' x 10' space. It can be done, but only IF you truly understand your camera and its limitations.

The first thing you really need to do, however, is to take responsibility for your pictures. They are YOUR work of art. All those other things you mentioned in your other threads can be dealt with. We ALL encounter demanding clients, small work spaces, horrible weather (it rains here 90% of the year), etc. But we ALL take responsibility if those pictures don't turn out. And...most of us post our photos here expecting criticism and learning from it. It's very easy to say "oh...that happened because of global warming", but it's much harder (and more professional) to say, "you know...you're right. How can I make this better?"

 

[Los Angeles]

These photos are just plain tough to look at.

 

[BobEdens]

First something that you already know. ITS ALWAYS YOUR FAULT you're the photographer, they're your pictures, its your fault. She didn't wear makeup? got no sleep? bad mood? fight with husband? put the camera back in the bag and go home. Its hard after spending an hour and a half constructing my $400 completely portable studio to look at the subject and say "If you're not going to do your part, I'll go shoot birds." but I've done it. If he/she's doing you a favor letting you take the photos and looks that bad, its not a favor. I shot a girl Saturday for free because she is active duty Army and I wanted to thank her. I shot her and the photos are acceptable but after the shoot I gave her hell for showing up with no makeup on. She looks good, but a good MUA could make her amazing.
Why should anyone settle for good when they are capable of amazing?

Now for my question. I've been asked to shoot two pregnancy sittings. One is a girl I've known a while and one is a professional photographer and agent. (who likes my style, [shrug]) Both of these girls are pretty, being pregnant gives a woman a certain "glow" that you can see but can't define. I will not dress these women as a tent. So what are the options?

considering nude is not an option and you want to show how wonderfull being pregnant is. (boy thats a good concept) what should they wear?

The only thing I can come up with is
A) very lacy bra and panties white if they are tan, black if they are pale - pose them such that as little of the underwear shows as possible
B) The husbands shirt and lowcut jeans

what else might make the shot work??

 

[dpolston]

Try this

http://www.truebluephotography.com/main.php

This is a member here (Photogoddess) and she does really natural maternity shots. In her site, you need to find the "great expectations" section.

btw: the last one I did was a nude session ala Marilyn Monroe on the cover of Playboy circa 1953.

 

[elsaspet]

Hi Teresa,
I didn't have lots of money for books or school either.
However, the LIBRARY is free. Also, there are several photo groups that get together a few times a month here in Dallas. Many of the folks in the groups are either pros or experienced ametures. You might try hooking up with some of them.