i'm nervous...first maternity shoot this weekend!

[Life in Motion]

asked to take some maternity pics this weekend. it will be my first shot at maternity. any tips from anyone that has taken maternity before? is there anything different or harder would you say than taking regular portraits? i'm kinda nervous so any advice in general would be great . the girl saw some of my stuff on facebook i did for a friend. i'm still at an experimental stage and she said she didn't care she liked my style and wanted me to experiment on her (woe...stomach drops). hmmm...shoulda said no maybe...but here goes nothing. can't get better without practice lol

[mpimage]

My only piece of advsie is...

Just do it! Be creative and have fun!

[SusanH1970]

You'll have a blast! Maternity is SO much fun. I've only done a few but what I've learned so far is:

1. Avoid flat lighting - pregnant mommas need soft shadowing and depth.
2. It's all about the belly - mom should have at least one hand on her belly for most shots.
3. If she wears dad's shirt for any shots, use a clothespin to gather it in the back to fit her.
4. Because pregnant women often get a double chin, shoot from slightly above and have mom tilt her head up to you to avoid accentuating a double chin.
5. Shots with dad kneeling in front of mom and holding/kissing the belly are always fun! Same with an older child. Just please don't do the ones where mom and dad compare bellies, LOL (unless they ask for it).
6. Don't focus on the belly alone - get some closeups of mom's face as well, and also some full-body shots.
7. Get some serious, dramatic photos, as well as some fun, silly ones.

These are just off the top of my head. If I can think of anything else I'll be sure and post it. Do a search on Flickr for "maternity" and you'll find literally thousands of poses. I have a few in mine if you'd like to take a look.

[Life in Motion]

thanks susan for the advice . it was so much fun. the couple was so great and excentric....i'll post some on sys later . not too bad for my first maternity shoot. the couple seems really happy with them anyway

[ML Photography]

You already got some amazing advices, thake them into accounto and you'll be fine...

Be respectful and try to bring out emotions from the shooting.
Good luck!

[JAD40]

What timing! I had my first maternity shoot yesterday, and I found this a couple days ago. I've been teaching myself photography for almost a year now. My best advice is to just have fun. Make a list of shots you would like to capture, and just take off with it. I feel like my most favorite shots aren't the ones I completely plan out.

P.S. I know one of the past members stated not to do the "comparing bellies" shot. I couldn't help it. Haha!

Luke and Victoria on Flickr - Photo Sharing!