Maternity Shoot. C&C Please!! =D

[Mandalynnphoto]

Hey Everyone!

Last Saturday I did a photoshoot with a woman I work with. She is excepting her 2nd child next month. I used to work at Glamour Shots, and would give people my personal business card if they wanted more pictures. Well, about a month ago I got a call from a lady I took pictures of a year ago and she is expecting and wanted me to do her maternity shots. This lady will be my fist paid photo shoot and since I haven't taken pictures in awhile, the girl in these pictures agreed to be a model so I could get back in the swing of things and get some practice. I have 2 Elinchrom lights and a make shift backdrop made up of sheets and fabric. I shoot with a Nikon D50.

Here are some pictures I took and would love all comments and criticism so I can perfect my shots for my real first time paid gig.

My 2 cents are that I need to rent a 3rd light to put on the backdrop to add depth between my subject and the background. Other than that poses, exposure, my post processing skills, anything you liked to say yay or nay about or give me some tips is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

 

[Trever1t]

not too shabby! I really do like #2 the best, nice framing and light.

 

[Mandalynnphoto]

Thanks!

 

[tirediron]

Moving to the Professional Gallery.

 

[tirediron]

C&C per req: Not bad; definitely head and shoulders above most first time maternity sessions, however a few thoughts.

1. A nice shot, but definitely not a maternity shot. Avoid disembodied hands and perhaps consider a slightly larger frame. The messy hair bottom is a bit of a distraction. Nice work on the eyes however.

2. Not bad; I think your key light might have been either a bit high or a bit narrow; not the fall-off/shadow around her belly. A couple of questions come to mind: What is she looking at? If the subject is looking away like this, we need to know what or why. Whose hand is that on her belly? (nb. I know it's hers, but the lighting makes it look like a man's hand with a white shirt cuff, and, why all the empty space image left? This would be a great composition if this were a product shot, but as a personal shot? Not so much. Easily fixed with a crop however.

3. The whites seem a touch hot here; there's little to no apparent detail and her skin is a bit too bright as well. Again, the hair is messy; two seconds with a comb would have had it flowing nicely on the pillow/sheet and been a great improvement.

4. Square to the camera is a pose usually used to minimize subjects with fuller figures; in materinity work we generally want to emphasize the subject's figure. Consider turning her 20-30 degrees away and having her look back toward the camera.

5. Selective colouring, name in blocks on the belly; trying to capture all the materinity cliches in one shot? I know that clients often ask for things like this, but we owe it to them to do our best to talk them out of it. IF you have to do it (the client insists) then make sure that there's enough "mommy" in the shot; as-is it doesn't really like a person at first glance.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[Mandalynnphoto]

Thank you so much for your feedback!!

One thing I can def. agree on is her hair. It has been a year since I have done a photo shoot and last time I did that was at Glamour Shots (the gods of all cliche..lol) When I worked with them we had a make up artist in the studio helping us with their hair and make up, so i never really had to lay hair prettily before. lol. Def. need to work on that.

I did want to upload my original photos too. See if maybe the highlights and such that you are talking about I did in post production. I did a lot of work, but not really. and i wound't call myself an expert in photoshop. lol. I def. had to fix a lot of backdrops, you'll see.

The 2nd image is actually a portrait but I added the extra background and made it into a horizontal. I did that because I was looking online for maternity ideas and found a lot of photos shot that way. I do know what you mean by what is she looking at though. I was also thinking about shadowing a close up picture of her hands on her belly in the shape of heart in the empty space. Again cliche I know, I need to get out of the Glamour Shots mindset. lol.

As for the belly shot with the blocks, I took another one with her face in it as well. I'm uploading it now, so you can see what it looks like, but I haven't don't any editing to it yet.

Anyway, here are my original images...

 

[tirediron]

The 2nd blocks image is, IMO, MUCH better. The whites don't seem to have suffered in processing; I'm guessing they were shot about 1/8 stop too hot. Especially when shooting subjects in white, always have your highlight review on your LCD and check it regularily.

 

[Mandalynnphoto]

Ok, great! Thanks!!!

 

[DiskoJoe]

I like the original with the block much better then the crop. It honestly took a sec to realize that that was her stomach in the crop. Not much to define it with the cark clothing and background.

 

[bluebellephotos]

I love the one in the blue dress! It's fresh, natural and shows the purpose of the picture. Your pictures are pretty good. Good luck to you as you get back into it!

 

[bluebellephotos]

I like the original with the block much better then the crop. It honestly took a sec to realize that that was her stomach in the crop. Not much to define it with the cark clothing and background.

I agree!

 

[socal82]

Good looking set. I really like number 2. How many lights did you use?

 

[Mandalynnphoto]

I like the original with the block much better then the crop. It honestly took a sec to realize that that was her stomach in the crop. Not much to define it with the cark clothing and background.

True. It's a pose I had to do when I worked at Glamour Shots, but I think i wil stick with the zoomed out one.

 

[Mandalynnphoto]

I love the one in the blue dress! It's fresh, natural and shows the purpose of the picture. Your pictures are pretty good. Good luck to you as you get back into it!

Thanks so much!! You have no idea how much that boosts my confidence!

 

[Mandalynnphoto]

Good looking set. I really like number 2. How many lights did you use?

Thanks! In all, I only have 2 lights. I'm not quite sure what watts they are. But I think in this particular photo, I only used one light to try to get a dramatic look.