Maternity shoot - belly pictures.

[TSEE]

Ok so I had my first session maternity session yesterday, I probably spent 3 hours on these and got close to 200 shots. I had a hard time picking my favorites so bear with me.
I'm real pleased with how these turned out, I just LOVE my studio lights, they're AWESOME. =o) Oh and the preggo is my SIL of course, about 35 weeks pregnant.

How do you think I did for a first session?

ETA: My name isn't that large in the final pictures my BIL & SIL are getting...just so you know. ;o)

[TSEE]

and 4 more....cuz I couldn't decide.

[photov]

These are great! I love #4...I have never seen a shot quite like that. I like the pp in #5 very well also.

[sorashell]

Very, very nice. #2 is probably my favorite, but all of them are wonderful.

[KaplanMultimedia]

Great job. 3, 4 & 5 are my favorites but they all look great! :D

[queenbee288]

Greats shots. I like them all except #3. It is hard to tell what I am looking at if I didnt already know. #6 and #7 are my favorite.

[Shutter22]

I love 5 and 7. They are beautiful.

[KeriH]

I like all of them actually. #3 is precious! I've never seen that done!!!

[littlehouse]

These are awesome!! I'd love to know your lighting set up because my friend is prego with twins and she wants belly shots. Any suggestions you can give from your experience would be wonderful!!!

[Amorous]

All are great, but #3 and #4 are my favorite.

[Mercy299]

I agree all are great but 6, 7, and 8 get my vote.

[TSEE]

These are great! I love #4...I have never seen a shot quite like that. I like the pp in #5 very well also.

THanks photov. I'm pleased with the results, I honestly didn't expect them to be quite that good myself. My SIL is real pleased too, so much she can't decide which one to make an enlargement of for this weekend. LOL I might have to print her off several. ;o)
Yeah I like #5 in that version, wish I had had another flower but that works (wanted a pink one since they're having a girl).

[TSEE]

Very, very nice. #2 is probably my favorite, but all of them are wonderful.

Thanks April.
Like I said, I'm pleased with the results, they turned out better than I had thought they would. And I believe #2 is the one my SIL is leaning towards if she HAD to pick one for this weekend, altho she's hormonal and changes her mind so much I might have to print her off several. LOL
Thanks again!

[TSEE]

Great job. 3, 4 & 5 are my favorites but they all look great! :D

Thanks Joel.
The baby booties turned out great, its one of my favorite shots. #5 with the B&W and color accent on the flower looks best like that, it pops more than the color version.
Again, like I said, I'm pleased with them. Turned out better than I thought. And so far its been my FAVORITE session, if I could get enough business just doing maternity and infant I would! LOL

[TSEE]

Greats shots. I like them all except #3. It is hard to tell what I am looking at if I didnt already know. #6 and #7 are my favorite.

Thanks Char.
I like #3 altho like you said for some it might be hard to tell what it is. A different approach that's all. Its one of my favorites just becuz it isn't so typical, only thing I would have done differently is have had baby booties instead of the shoes, I couldn't find the booties! ARGH!
Thanks again.

[TSEE]

I love 5 and 7. They are beautiful.

Thank you Danielle! =o)

[TSEE]

I like all of them actually. #3 is precious! I've never seen that done!!!

Thanks Keri.
LOL Yeah I know, the reason I posted so many was cuz I liked the all for different reasons and all I posted were good enough to share. #3 I saw a similar version of just a few days ago and wanted to try just becuz it wasn't so typical, only thing I would have done differently is have baby booties, but the shoes worked since they're expecting a girl. I hope I find the booties, I know I have them in a box SOMEWHERE! LOL

[TSEE]

These are awesome!! I'd love to know your lighting set up because my friend is prego with twins and she wants belly shots. Any suggestions you can give from your experience would be wonderful!!!

Thanks littlehouse. Gosh I'm so terrible at explaining. I used continuous lights (despite what everone here told me, but I like the fact that I can see the results and actually learn to use them on the go...this was the first REAL session since I had gotten the lights, I had them out of the box once before to try them) mounted on stands and the light bounced off white umbrellas. I had 2 light sources, one on either side of the camera, for some shots I moved one closer or just turned the other one off for different light effects.
I experimented a bit til I got the results I got, and only two backdrops (one black and one white) and a few props like flowers, a cheap $1 a yard fabric from Walmart and the shoes. That's pretty much it. I had my SIL bring several maternity outfits; white button up, silky shirts (figured the fabric would get a nice shine in the prints from the lights), maternity jeans and black pants. Then just tried different poses and shots.
Only one 2 shots I forgot to do, one was a heart shape made with my SILs hands ontop of white fabric (I tried it 2 weeks ago, but didn't like how it turned out) and the other was one with a tape measure around her tummy (close up of course). Other than that I just shot so I got a good mix of pictures. Probably took close to 70 poses or so, I've printed off 66 of them, and burning 129 onto a CD for them (did it for free, in exchange to get something to put in my portfolio), some of the 129 are different versions of the same photo (color, B&W or color accented). I almost felt it ashame to do them in B&W becuz they looked so good in color, before I've used B&W effects to hide some flaws that were visable in color. I didn't WANT to do these in B&W. LOL I dunno what else to tell ya, I'm new at this too. I'd say research some good poses online, that's how I got some ideas rather than trying to come up with some on the fly with them here. And have fun! =o)

[Kristy]

I love, love, love these... I have a huge soft spot for maternity photos, and you have done an excellent job with these. The black background is so classy looking, and your lighting looks perfect. Which lights did you end up buying? Soft box? Looks like you are a quick learner as these are wonderful. I hope to see the newborn photos when baby arrives! :)

[TSEE]

All are great, but #3 and #4 are my favorite.

Thanks Amorous, obviously I had trouble deciding my favorites too since I posted so many. I'm really pleased with them.

[TSEE]

I agree all are great but 6, 7, and 8 get my vote.

Thanks Mercy299. :D

[TSEE]

I love, love, love these... I have a huge soft spot for maternity photos, and you have done an excellent job with these. The black background is so classy looking, and your lighting looks perfect. Which lights did you end up buying? Soft box? Looks like you are a quick learner as these are wonderful. I hope to see the newborn photos when baby arrives! :)

Thank you so much Kristy. =o)
Ya know what, I loved this session, if I could be a photographer that just specializes in maternity and newborn then I'd stick with it, but I don't think I'd get enough business from just those in my area. This truely was my favorite session so far and I'm SO pleased with how they turned out, 100x better than I had thought. I ended up using my continous lights, 2 of them with the white umbrellas bouncing the light, just played around with moving them close and farther away or turning one off for different effects. No softbox, hubby don't have mine ready yet (yes he's building me one).
Oh yes, I'll share newborn pics as well when she decides to make her appearance...she's due on April 4th and I just CAN'T WAIT! LOL :D
Thanks again for the comments Kristy.

[Ross McT.]

#6 is my favorite. #3 is interesting, but its just not all that clear as to what your looking at, at first.

My wife and I will be doing similar shots in a few weeks, and these have helped out my cause.

[TSEE]

#6 is my favorite. #3 is interesting, but its just not all that clear as to what your looking at, at first.

My wife and I will be doing similar shots in a few weeks, and these have helped out my cause.

Thanks Ross. Yeah 6 is one of my top favorites as well, I dunno why, the simplicity of it? #3 is also one of my favorites just becuz it isn't a typical maternity shot, hopefully the shoes will tip you off on what you're looking at. And I think the full size version is a bit more clear than this smaller one actually. I always loose quality when I resize for some reason. =o/
I'm glad you got some ideas tho. :)

[Ross McT.]

The reason that I like #6 is that its not the typical one hand on the bottom and one hand on the top of the belly shot. I have been searching past posts and every one seems to have the same shot just at different angles.
I'm glad that someone is doing something different. :)

[TSEE]

The reason that I like #6 is that its not the typical one hand on the bottom and one hand on the top of the belly shot. I have been searching past posts and every one seems to have the same shot just at different angles.
I'm glad that someone is doing something different. :)

You're right, alot of them are the hands on the belly ones. I researched poses online for months prior to this shoot and took those that were a bit different but made sure I had classic poses in there too for the portfolio.
One way to get business is to do something no one else in your area does, right? ;) #6 was such a simple shot too...just 2 yards or $1 fabric at Walmart tucked the ends in her strapless bra and there ya go. I've noticed that most of the shots I like are the simple ones. Just goes to show that don't go overboard on these things, the simpler the better. :)
Good luck shooting yours, I'd love to see what you do if you're willing to share when you're done of course!

[Ross McT.]

Good luck shooting yours, I'd love to see what you do if you're willing to share when you're done of course!

I'm willing to post them, the question is will she let me? :lol: :lol:

[TSEE]

I'm willing to post them, the question is will she let me? :lol: :lol:

LOL. Tell her so its so you can get better by having others looking at them. That's what I told my SIL, she told me "anything to help you get better and get more business in the future". :D She's a sweety.

[Kevin]

All are great shots. I really like the third one. What a nice story.

[barkndawg]

turned out good - i like 1, 3 and 4

[lady]

They're all lovely, but #8 jumped out at me. :)

[Maureen Souza]

Hi Sue!!! These sure turned out wonderful. I love the baby shoes on the belly (#3) and also #6. Great job!

[TSEE]

Thanks Kev & barkndawg. =o)

[TSEE]

They're all lovely, but #8 jumped out at me. :)

Thanks Jessy. LOL #8 jumped out? You should see the one I did with a purple fabric, now THAT ONE jumps out at ya. Its one of those "BAM" pictures. LOL

[TSEE]

Hi Sue!!! These sure turned out wonderful. I love the baby shoes on the belly (#3) and also #6. Great job!

Thank you Maureen!
I'm very pleased with them. And the baby shoes are among my top favorites too, I think becuz its not a very typical shot. =o) #6 is up there too but for different reasons. Actually pretty much all of those I posted are my favorites, I had SUCH a hard time picking just 2-4 pictures, too many I liked! LOL
Now back to photoshop, I have senior pictures to edit as well.

[SezzySue]

i love #6. the first couple are nice but 6 really does it for me.

[TSEE]

i love #6. the first couple are nice but 6 really does it for me.

Thanks Sarah. :D

[Kristy]

Everytime I look at these I just love them... I keep getting thread notices about it.. And just had to comment once more. I never gave my favorites... I love the first 2 and #6 the best....#8 is a neat idea also, and I'd like to see it done with a very sheer fabric to show a little more of the belly... But you did a WONDERFUL job on all of these.

Each time I look I am reminded of how badly I need to invest in some lighting. It just makes such a huge difference (IMO). I do have a question about your black background. Is it a muslin? I was about to buy one and then decided it wasn't dark enough... I wonder if they photography darker than they look in the package.

Happy day and keep up the awesome work!

[staciecd]

4, 7, and 8 are my favorites. I've always seen the full silhouette, but these are so tasteful and precious!

Stacie

[TSEE]

Everytime I look at these I just love them... I keep getting thread notices about it.. And just had to comment once more. I never gave my favorites... I love the first 2 and #6 the best....#8 is a neat idea also, and I'd like to see it done with a very sheer fabric to show a little more of the belly... But you did a WONDERFUL job on all of these.

Each time I look I am reminded of how badly I need to invest in some lighting. It just makes such a huge difference (IMO). I do have a question about your black background. Is it a muslin? I was about to buy one and then decided it wasn't dark enough... I wonder if they photography darker than they look in the package.

Happy day and keep up the awesome work!

LOL Thanks Kristy!
I don't mind, keep commenting, its nice that other's think that they are good as well. I'm very pleased with these and yes the lighting made ALL the difference. Just look the the maternity test shot thread I posted, those two pictures in that thread were from 2 weeks before and they just didn't turn out at all (but also done on the fly with no notice or time to set anything up, just camera and flash). The #8 is great but my SIL didn't want anything to show that wasn't suppose to be showing so we ended up with this fabric that was light enough to allow the curves of her body to show thru but heavy enough to cover parts that weren't suppose to be visable. I had toulle I thought about trying but my SIL wasn't up for that much exposure! LOL
The lighting was the key I believe, that has been my best investment aside from my camera, they've paid for themselves with this session IMO, just becuz of the way the pictures turned out.
Yeah the backdrops are both muslin. The black is somewhat "sheer" but the way I fix that is add I think 3-5 contrast (not sure if that's measured in % or what, but you find it in both the RAW conversion tool and in PS under brightness/contrast) - then the backdrops seems more solid in final prints but really doesn't add enough to mess up the people in the picture. I was a bit disappointment when I first got the black muslin becuz it seemed so sheer, but the contrast tool has been my best friend. ;o)
The white muslin is actually a double, I bought a bolt of muslin fabric at Joann's (got a steal on it too, the sale price was marked 108 dollars for 108"x45yards - the girl rang it up for 60 dollars!), I thought it was too sheer so my MIL helped me cut the 45yards into 3 equal pieces and we sewed two of them together to make the white abit more solid. It works.

Thanks again Kristy.

[TSEE]

4, 7, and 8 are my favorites. I've always seen the full silhouette, but these are so tasteful and precious!

Stacie

Thanks Stacie. :D