First Maternity Session - Perhaps NSFW-ish for C&C

[oldmacman]

Mother to be wanted an outdoor maternity shoot for her first pregnancy. She is ver comfortable in her skin, and really pushed the boundaries on some of the shots (not posted here). Anyway, as this is my first go at it, I'd appreciate some feedback.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

 

[Light Artisan]

Photography wise, I like them - but man she looks depressed.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

I avoid maternity threads like the plague but this one had your name on it and I just had to take a look. Yes, I usually like what you have to say so I wanted to see your work.

And this goes along with my way of thinking much better than the usual crap. It was just a couple weeks ago that I said the only maternity shot I can think of is a nude one. Now, of course, she is not really nude. But close enough. Although I would really like to see the shots you can't post here...

To be honest, I don't really like your style but it really doesn't matter. To each his/her own.

I have to go but I'll come back and comment some more.

 

[oldmacman]

Photography wise, I like them - but man she looks depressed.

Maybe tired. She had worked all day and is six months pregnant, plus I took her on a hike to get these shots. You think her expressions kills the pics?

 

[oldmacman]

I avoid maternity threads like the plague but this one had your name on it and I just had to take a look. Yes, I usually like what you have to say so I wanted to see your work.

And this goes along with my way of thinking much better than the usual crap. It was just a couple weeks ago that I said the only maternity shot I can think of is a nude one. Now, of course, she is not really nude. But close enough. Although I would really like to see the shots you can't post here...

To be honest, I don't really like your style but it really doesn't matter. To each his/her own.

I have to go but I'll come back and comment some more.

So you generally like my style, just not on these pics. Or, you don't like my style at all and just came to see shat kind of mess I made?

 

[GeorgieGirl]

Looks like she might be having a boy???

 

[tirediron]

Hmmm... I'm not sure. There are two distinct sets of images here in my mind. The first there are very "Lord of the Rings" or "Harry Potter" in their setting, and while I like them very much as images (however I do think there's some room for compositional improvement), especially #2, they're a very definite departure from traditional materinity shots. I think her expression is very appropriate to the setting, but is definite not the usual maternal glow one sees. Again, not bad, just different.

The next three are very much more of a 'traditional' materinity style, at least to me. I think #5 is the strongest of the lot; she has a great expression, and I really like the lighting.

Thoughts on composition:

1. She has a tree growing out of her head; enough said.

2. Again, a tree growing out of her head, and I'm not fond of the tree forming the LH side of the image; rather like she's staring into a wall or barrier.

3. Too much image on the right. I would like to see her moved farther back from the LH edge, and cropped so that she is slightly off centre in the image.

4, 5. Dead centre in the image; just a slight crop would help both of these.

6. I think this one works very well.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[oldmacman]

Looks like she might be having a boy???

Yeah, I asked and she said she didn't know what she was having. I thought it might influence the colour of the fabric she chose for colour shots.

 

[oldmacman]

Hmmm... I'm not sure. There are two distinct sets of images here in my mind. The first there are very "Lord of the Rings" or "Harry Potter" in their setting, and while I like them very much as images (however I do think there's some room for compositional improvement), especially #2, they're a very definite departure from traditional materinity shots. I think her expression is very appropriate to the setting, but is definite not the usual maternal glow one sees. Again, not bad, just different.

The next three are very much more of a 'traditional' materinity style, at least to me. I think #5 is the strongest of the lot; she has a great expression, and I really like the lighting.

Thoughts on composition:

1. She has a tree growing out of her head; enough said.

2. Again, a tree growing out of her head, and I'm not fond of the tree forming the LH side of the image; rather like she's staring into a wall or barrier.

3. Too much image on the right. I would like to see her moved farther back from the LH edge, and cropped so that she is slightly off centre in the image.

4, 5. Dead centre in the image; just a slight crop would help both of these.

6. I think this one works very well.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

Thanks for taking the time to comment. Much appreciated.

 

[gsgary]

I think the first one is best, but why didn't you shot it landscape, another thing i like is no silly hart shapes with the hands and crappy blocks over the stomack of the babies name

 

[Studio7Four]

Contrary to many on this site, I do like maternity images (when not boring and cliche), and overall I like this set. You're lucky to have had such an adventurous mom-to-be. I think her expression in most of them comes across as peaceful/serene (or maybe a bit tired, which is understandable for any woman that pregnant), not depressed.

I generally like the lighting you used. The OCF in the first two kind of comes across as if she is standing in a beam of sunlight in an otherwise shaded forest, which works. In the third one I would have balanced the light a bit more between ambient and strobe and/or gelled your strobe to achieved a closer-to-natural balance. As it is, though I really like the lighting as it illuminates her, she seems out of place (too bright/wrong color temp to match her surroundings). I like the lighting in the next two (4&5), how you used the setting sun behind her. The lighting balance in 5 is much more what I was talking about in 3 - she has clearly been illuminated, but at a quick glance you can't tell if it's necessarily OCF or possibly a reflector, which tells me the balance is much more natural.

A few suggestions about posing. For the most part you did well. In #1 the overall pose is great and would work for a nude in the woods, but her belly is square to the camera. With the shear running across her lap and up both sides, you can't really see any curve to the belly that says maternity shot. In #2, had you switched her feet (right foot straight down, left foot out in front), her va-jay-jay (handing over man card now if you catch the reference) would have been obscured by her left thigh and you wouldn't have needed that obtrusive trail of fabric tucked through there. I'm undecided how I feel about the pose in #4 & #5. It works fine for me from the angle of #4, I like the angle of the torso/belly and the head tilt. But in #5 there's something about the dark blue being spread out and completely obscuring her legs, as well as the light blue being both overly voluminous around her breasts and sleekly trailing off behind her, that seems out of place. Not sure how I'd recommend to do it differently in that setting, just sharing my gut reaction.

On a side note, maternity shots are the only time I don't mind the hand bra, either the single-arm-bar or the two-hand-grab. In glamour shots it comes across as contradictory ("I want this shot to be titillating, but not really."), while in maternity shots it seems like the subject is just trying to show off as much of the natural process as she's comfortable with.

One negative comment...zap photo six now! With that perspective and focal length, her feet and legs look huge and completely dominate the image. Even once you get past them, the lighting draws you right up to her face. Between all that and the fact that her belly is square to the camera and relatively dimly lit, it almost takes effort to catch that this is a maternity shot.

 

[oldmacman]

I think the first one is best, but why didn't you shot it landscape, another thing i like is no silly hart shapes with the hands and crappy blocks over the stomack of the babies name

Contrary to many on this site, I do like maternity images (when not boring and cliche), and overall I like this set. You're lucky to have had such an adventurous mom-to-be. I think her expression in most of them comes across as peaceful/serene (or maybe a bit tired, which is understandable for any woman that pregnant), not depressed.

I generally like the lighting you used. The OCF in the first two kind of comes across as if she is standing in a beam of sunlight in an otherwise shaded forest, which works. In the third one I would have balanced the light a bit more between ambient and strobe and/or gelled your strobe to achieved a closer-to-natural balance. As it is, though I really like the lighting as it illuminates her, she seems out of place (too bright/wrong color temp to match her surroundings). I like the lighting in the next two (4&5), how you used the setting sun behind her. The lighting balance in 5 is much more what I was talking about in 3 - she has clearly been illuminated, but at a quick glance you can't tell if it's necessarily OCF or possibly a reflector, which tells me the balance is much more natural.

A few suggestions about posing. For the most part you did well. In #1 the overall pose is great and would work for a nude in the woods, but her belly is square to the camera. With the shear running across her lap and up both sides, you can't really see any curve to the belly that says maternity shot. In #2, had you switched her feet (right foot straight down, left foot out in front), her va-jay-jay (handing over man card now if you catch the reference) would have been obscured by her left thigh and you wouldn't have needed that obtrusive trail of fabric tucked through there. I'm undecided how I feel about the pose in #4 & #5. It works fine for me from the angle of #4, I like the angle of the torso/belly and the head tilt. But in #5 there's something about the dark blue being spread out and completely obscuring her legs, as well as the light blue being both overly voluminous around her breasts and sleekly trailing off behind her, that seems out of place. Not sure how I'd recommend to do it differently in that setting, just sharing my gut reaction.

On a side note, maternity shots are the only time I don't mind the hand bra, either the single-arm-bar or the two-hand-grab. In glamour shots it comes across as contradictory ("I want this shot to be titillating, but not really."), while in maternity shots it seems like the subject is just trying to show off as much of the natural process as she's comfortable with.

One negative comment...zap photo six now! With that perspective and focal length, her feet and legs look huge and completely dominate the image. Even once you get past them, the lighting draws you right up to her face. Between all that and the fact that her belly is square to the camera and relatively dimly lit, it almost takes effort to catch that this is a maternity shot.

Thanks for the comments guys. Very comprehensive analysis Studio7four. Thanks for taking the time to do that.

 

[oldmacman]

why didn't you shot it landscape

I do have a very similar shot that is landscape that I made for her. It has a completely different feel because she is engaging the camera and it wasn't one of my favourites.

 

[manaheim]

I hate maternity shots, but many of these appeal to me on some level or another. Some issues with things... a bit of an adjustment of crop here and there, a tree or some obstruction in the frame that doesn't seem to contribute to the picture, etc. However, as a general approach, I like it. Just needs some tuning, IMO.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

So you generally like my style, just not on these pics. Or, you don't like my style at all and just came to see shat kind of mess I made?

Yeah, didn't make much sense without the rest of it...


I don't like your style here because you titled the thread "maternity shots."

I would have like it had you titled the thread "portraits of a pregnant girl."

In other words, I like what you did with the light and the mood but the images don't really feel like maternity shots. As mentioned by tirediron: where is the maternal glow? I agree that the last 3 are more in keeping with the idea of maternity but the light and mood are still quite dark. So it's more a question of expectation according to the title.

But I do like them as images although I agree with manaheim that they need some tuning at the detail level.

#1 would have been better as a landscape. The one you show in post #13 doesn't really work because of her expression and the tree which cuts her off. For me anyway.

#2 and 3 The tree on the left is a problem and so is the lack of speaking space in #2. She should be more to the right. Not as much of a problem in #3 since she is looking at the camera but it still is left heavy and it feels wrong.

#4 and 5 She is too centered and I feel she is there because of the way the gauze was arranged. I think it should have been placed differently so as to move her off center.

#6 I agree with Studio7Four about this last one. Show this one without the title and people may not realize she is pregnant.

Overall, nice departure from the boring standard. Just needs some tweaking. If this is a friend and not a client, I would do a reshoot so as to come up with some really outstanding images.