My first shoot, a friend's baby belly

[julia4480]

Well, I survived my first "shoot". My friend generously gave me her baby belly to take pictures of! We had a lot of fun, and I think the pictures turned out decent... soft in some, some whites are a little blown in others, but I am posting the three best here for your kind C&C.

We set up in her kitchen next to a window on a very cloudy and rainy day. I hung a white sheet across from the window from the ceiling and used a black sheet as a backdrop, which surprisingly worked out great. No other additional light was used except the overhead kitchen light. I put a diffuser on my pop up flash and used it at times when needed. I copied poses I had seen online and elsewhere... a bit cliche, but I wanted to focus on what I was doing...

The mom loved the pictures, so I am happy with that. However, I always would like to learn more...so give it to me guys Thanks!

 

[FattyMcJ]

Personally, when I think of a maternity shoot, I think of seeing the "Mother" as she is. The whole, mother. A robust abdomen just doesn't have the same effect, on me, as seeing a "pregnant woman". That's what maternity is about, in my mind. The woman, the mother-to-be.

That aside, I like what you did with the symbolism. I like the hands of her other children on her belly, acknowledging where they came from and yet welcoming the new addition with love and protection.

I like the last photo the most though, the hands in the shape of a heart.

Congrats on surviving your first "shoot"! :thumbup:

 

[jackieclayton]

hey Julia! glad to see you shooting again! these are great, i love the ones with all the hands on her belly!!

i did a maternity shot for a friend too and i found a couple of flickr groups about maternity posing and stuff... got some good tips and ideas for the future. if you have a flickr account i'd suggest checking out some of the groups on there.

 

[julia4480]

Personally, when I think of a maternity shoot, I think of seeing the "Mother" as she is. The whole, mother. A robust abdomen just doesn't have the same effect, on me, as seeing a "pregnant woman". That's what maternity is about, in my mind. The woman, the mother-to-be.

That aside, I like what you did with the symbolism. I like the hands of her other children on her belly, acknowledging where they came from and yet welcoming the new addition with love and protection.

I like the last photo the most though, the hands in the shape of a heart.

Congrats on surviving your first "shoot"! :thumbup:

Thank you so much I have some of the whole mom and the whole family, too...but haven't done anything with those yet and focussed on my personal faborites first...

 

[julia4480]

hey Julia! glad to see you shooting again! these are great, i love the ones with all the hands on her belly!!

i did a maternity shot for a friend too and i found a couple of flickr groups about maternity posing and stuff... got some good tips and ideas for the future. if you have a flickr account i'd suggest checking out some of the groups on there.

I stole some ideas from some of the flickr pictures.. lol. And thank you. I am pretty proud. I still have to work on a LOT lol... but one thing at a time is usually the way to go LOL!!

 

[dyliebug2]

I think for your first shoot it turned out pretty good. Did you take any picture of the mother as a whole? Or just the belly for all of them? I loved #2- I love the hands on the belly and will definetly be stealing that idea for the future. ;-)

 

[julia4480]

Thank you I have shots of the mother as a whole, as well, just posted the ones I thought were best...

Yea, I was fairly pleased with the results for my first shoot. I would love to work on crispness of the pictures, as well as focussing... but not bad with my camera, my kit lens and a couple of sheets LOL.

 

[Aayria]

I love the last shot with the hands shaped as a heart, with her wedding band in the shot. These are all great for a first shoot! You did a nice job of making the skin tones smooth and flattering. Often I see maternity shots that make the belly look almost harsh or too sharp. You pulled off a nice focus without the harshness, if that makes sense
I'm also having my first "shoot" with a friend who is "lending me her belly" (LOL) for practice, and these gave me some great ideas, thank you!

 

[gsgary]

Sorry but i'm going to burst the bubble, the lighting in all of them is very flat due to auto mode and pop up flash making them look like snap shots with a point and shoot

 

[julia4480]

Hi, thank you for your input! I actually used Program mode, and tweaked when necessary. I did use flash in some, but used a diffuser!

 

[julia4480]

Oh, and I also edited these to an extent in photoscape...