1st maternity shoot!! When to shoot and ideas?

hey all, I just got asked to do a maternity shoot by my girlfriends friend. She is around 14 weeks and barely showing. When would be a good time to shoot this and any pointers on what kind of shots to get? I have never shot a maternity shoot before so this will be interesting and FUN!

I have searched google images on the shots and looks like most are about to POP when they had theirs done...

Any input would be greatly appreciated!
Dave

I would wait till she starts showing a little more.....

I'd say between 33 and 37 weeks depending on how big/comfortable she is.

I personally prefer really straight forward non trendy style poses.

Here's one I just did.

I've done this for a few friends, as a complete amateur just having fun. We actually did them every fortnight so they'd have a record of the pregnancy as it progressed - it's quite a time commitment but very good practice.

I like to pose them against a bare wall with their back to the left of the frame, so their belly sticks out to the right. Maybe it's just me & it might have to do with the way we read from left to right, but I personally think this seems like the 'right' way around when looking at the image.

We start with their shirt down for a few shots & then they lift it up to show the bump - this usually involves some laughter which helps with nice natural expressions. I ask them to move their front elbow forward a bit so the curve of their back is showing, which helps to illustrate the full size of the bump. They usually look a little stiff at first when trying to do this so I ask them to relax their arm while keeping it slightly forward. If their partner or someone else can be there & make jokes or get them to relax in some other way it can help a lot, although this depends on their personality; some people are happier with nobody else in the room.

If you take a series of these with similar background & framing it makes a really nice set at the end of the pregnancy. I give my friends a disk of the images & also include some 'result' shots of the newborn at the end

There are many more interesting things to do with pregnancy sessions, and looking at the sites of a few pros who specialise in this has given me some great ideas which I may be able to try out one day. Usually though my subjects just want a few snapshots for memories and are not really keen enough to commit to going to a scenic venue or doing more involved posing. Especially if they already have children, they just may not be willing or able to spend very much time on the exercise.

Best of luck with it - let us know how you go!

I think high-key lighting works really well on pregnant women

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/chimpsinties/8​435562906/

I moved this to TALK so you can get more comments. If you have an image to share, or someone has a imagine to share with you, they can still put that here.

I did my first last week too and loved it! Here's some of my shots - http://www.paulabeaumo​ntphotography.co.uk/bl​og.html

Thanks Adam and Paula for sharing your shots! Gives me some ideas Love the shots you all got!

Thanks Savethemoment anf Chipsinties for the tips!! I will definately keep those in mind when the shoot comes around! I was thinking a few HighKey shots also. I think I just need to talk to the client and see what kind of vision she is looking for to start with then kinda take it from there. And I know, some clients really dont know what they want so I need to be prepared to "give" some ideas and direction.

Thanks again everyone for some great insight and ideas! Keep them coming!
Dave