Maternity Session with a Ballerina! *Pic Heavy*

[Aayria]

Yes... my sister in law is a ballerina. She is so gorgeous, and I cannot believe she is nine months pregnant in these!

I posted one from this session yesterday, but I just had SO much fun with this shoot I really wanted to share more. Not so much for C&C (although it is always welcome!) but just because I couldn't *not* share these.

*I am going to be away from the computer the rest of this evening through tomorrow, so my apologies if I dont' get a chance to reply until later this weekend. Thanks for looking!

1)a

1)b

2)

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9)

 

[tirediron]

I really like these ('though what is the white flare in 2 and 5????). I'm sure the poses would mean a lot more if I actually knew something about ballet, but regardless, I think they're unusual and interesting. I can imagine she's well pleased. Good job!

 

[DanFinePhotography]

i :OVE these with the exception of 2, 6 and 7 as the poses look awkward to me. Otherwise these are really good

 

[Mustlovedragons]

Love 5-8.

 

[Scatterbrained]

Really strong set, but the ray of light escaping from her armpit in the first one is distracting, which is sad 'cause that is an excellent shot. I see it again in the family shot.

 

[pgriz]

What scatterbrained said. Other than that, your sister-in-law is a beautiful woman, and she is positively radiant in her pregnant state. You've captured her with her partner and the rest of the family really well. It is obvious that they are comfortable with you and are relaxed and open. Very nice set. Yah, the flare is a bother, but the essentials are all there. Do you get to shoot the birth (or shortly thereafter)?

 

[Raizels]

I really like these! Only the pose in 6 makes her legs look strange.

 

[vtf]

Really strong set, but the ray of light escaping from her armpit in the first one is distracting, which is sad 'cause that is an excellent shot. I see it again in the family shot.

^^^^agreed'
but wow, love the shots.:thumbup:

 

[peanut170]

I think these are really good, just curious what lighting you are using? I would like to do some portraits, but would like to figure out what lighting i need first. thanks

 

[Aayria]

Thanks for the comments everyone! I have just a moment at the computer before I head out so wanted to take a moment to reply.

I fixed the first one.. the comment about light shooting out of her armpit made me LOL =P

I'm not sure how I feel about taking the light out of the family shot, but will play around with it later and see if I still like it without =)

As for shooting the birth, I hadn't thought to ask her that. It would be amazing if she was up for it. We do at least plan on getting together afterward for a newborn session, but I might have to run the birth photography idea by her. She's always been a very easy going person and was super easy to work with, so it might be something she'd love to have. Thanks for the idea!

To the poster asking about light- these were all shot with natural light, and a simple white foam board reflector. The sky was very overcast that evening so we had some great natural-softbox effects to work with. I do have a large studio softbox I work with for indoor photo shoots, and may experiment with outdoor flash down the road, but so far I've really enjoyed working with the available light. =)

*Insert KmH and reply about the benefits of using flash* Sorry KmH!

 

[rCOSIO]

Awsome set! ... #6 and #9 are GREAT! Love your watermark by the way as well

 

[mwcfarms]

I really love number 9, am fond of 5 - 9. Great job on natural lighting.

 

[Arch]

You did very well with these, excellent photography :thumbup:

 

[eilla05]

I am in love with 4 and 9. The rest are great as well but those are my favs

 

[Derrel]

You did pretty well with these....although I think on #6 there needs to be more room for their feet at the bottom of the frame, to give them some "ground to stand on". Similarly, on shot #7, she needs more room to "look into"--she's looking right out of the frame.

The B&W shot #5 reminds me very much of an old Mary Pickford B&W studio shot....but again, she needs a bit more room...her head being cropped off hurts this shot...shots 5 and 7 seem to be variations of the same basic pose...it's okay, but she needs more "room" in the frame.

The woman has absolutely lovely, chiseled features....great cheekbones, chin, brow,a super-cute nose...just a super-attractive female form...almost sculptural in her beauty...a beautiful subject often tends to override technical or compositional flaws in photos,and many people have a difficult time seeing past beauty when trying to C&C pics like these.

One observation about #7...the veins in her hands appear very prominent...one way to minimize that "problem" is to have the woman elevate her hand(s) above her head for 10-15 seconds,right before the shutter is tripped...that will cause the veins to get smaller...this "problem" is often fairly noticeable on super-fit, lean people, like her...so it's not a problem really...I speak in "air-quotes" you know!!!!

Overall, decent set. I don't like hubby being out of focus though in # 3. The setting for the entire family group shot in #6 is simply lovely....needs more foot room, and the background halo effect...is that natural or post work? I don't want to appear to be bashing on your shots. Most of my C&C's involve me detailing what I see as needing improvement,and less on feel-good or atta girl type stuff...overall, I think your work is getting better and better,and it seems to me that you're going to "make it" as a family photographer because your pictures keep getting consistently better,and on average even your absolute worst stuff is better than many other similar level people's better stuff...if this was football, you'd be on the varsity squad, not the JV squad...