Maternity Picture

One night the other week my wife asked me to get a picture of her pregnant belly. I don't have a lot of equipment yet, so this is the result of a spur of the moment set up that I tried. I had one speedlight sitting on a counter top with a sheet draped in front of it (closest thing I have to a soft box) then I had my other speedlight sitting on the oposite counter aimed at the ceiling. The background is a sheet that I hung up. It was all wrinkly so I just hit it with content-aware (create texture) and this is what PS came out with.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/23586964@N07/6​160796135/

I wish I'd had her do something else with her right hand.

wow, she still has a very tiny belly
I think the background looks good.... but definitely keep shooting thru-out the pregnancy and try to keep her other hand under the belly with shoulders turned to you a little if she is looking your way....and or have her look down (I always love those shots!) some ladies also pull of the hand in the back pocket very well.
Congratulations to both of you on the new little cuddle bug....

It's early in the pregnancy... You'll be able to shoot many more as the birth approaches. I don't like the texture that photoshop gave you--I think I'd prefer a wrinkled sheet--though with a little planning sheets can be ironed... My favourite maternity shots show the mother contemplating her new baby and forgetting about the camera. This shot is almost like "Look at me"... Your wife is very attractive, but this pose doesn't work for me. Check out other maternity shoots on here. Some are exceptional, and would be worth trying to duplicate. You don't necessarily need lots of equipment. You've managed to soften the light nicely in this shot, and you've got the lovely lady... I think you just need to work on posing. All the best to you both as the pregnancy continues. I wish you both a smooth pregnancy and easy delivery.

1. The face she is making looks like either the lights are bothering her or, she's very annoyed.

2. I don't like the texture. Remove the texture, add a layer, use a soft brush and "wrinkle out" some of the wrinkles. Or actually iron it before you use it.

3. The lighting looks flat.

4. She's oof.

Keep shooting,by the end of the pregnancy your photos of her will look like they belong in a magazine I love taking maternity shots, outside.

CONGRATULATIONS. Praying for a safe, easy pregnancy and delivery.

Okay I hate to sound this dumb, but I've not really used the brushes much. I know how to select different brushes and and change the size and hardness, but I don't know how to make it do what you're talking about.

The lighting and everything was just thrown together in the kitchen at night with what little equipment I have, because she wanted something to post on Facebook. That's also why I didn't take the time to iron the sheet or anything.

I have some ideas of some daytime (natural light) stuff I want to try, but my new work schedule seems to be making that a little difficult.

Can you post the picture without the texture? I'll show you what I mean.

Here you go. Sorry it took so long, I hadn't had a chance to log on the last several days.

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

I would say move her farther away from the sheet.

Point bare speed light at background.

I would use second bare speed light as key light bounced off of a wall.

If you bounce off of the ceiling use velcro and white foam core to make a reflector and send some light forward. If you are close and bounce off of the ceiling without a reflector, you get dark shadows under the eyes.

I wish I could have moved her farther away from the sheet, but the room we were in just didn't have enough space. I was backed up against the wall.

I think these came out a little better.

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IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/23586964@N07/6​338543351/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/23586964@N07/6​338542623/

Have her look down at her belly or off to the side, she seems awkward when told to look at the camera, the first one of the ones you just posted is pretty good...just her expression ruins it.

Thanks, but we tried the "looking at the belly" thing. Between her scolIosis and her eye problems it didn't work out so well. I didn't post any of them because to me it just looks like she's got her eyes closed or something.The other problem is that my wife has had so many eye surgeries that her eyes don't line up correctly. That means that from most angles she only has one eye that looks directly toward the camera. It's not that noticable day to day, but it is on pictures. That's why almost every picture of her is taken from her right side. If she looks that way, then her eyes line up pretty close.

I don't say all that to sound like I'm complaining about my wife and her health problems or anything. It's just to say that we are limited in what we can do that looks right.

You're right that she isn't comfortable looking at the camera, and I'm not very good at helping her know how to pose and look comfortable.

I'm thinking maybe some different lighting..... to not highlight her face so much (though she's very pretty!) .... and maybe highlight her belly more?

Maybe that would make her more comfortable?

A friend of mine let us use his studio to get some more maternity pictures. My wife is almost 34 weeks now.
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IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/23586964@N07/6​899832565/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/23586964@N07/6​899827039/

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