Maternity Shoot PLUS one . . . <<<UPDATED>>>

SarahLee

SarahLee

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Yes I know I've always said that I don't particularly like shooting people, but I've been asked to do a maternity bump shoot for my niece next weekend . . . and who knows? I might even get hooked on it :D

Anyway, we've looked at a lot of bump shots together for inspiration and I've gone through a load of ideas with her for poses and styles - so I now know pretty much what I'm going to do with her, her bump and her OH.

However, she also has a 20 month old son who she'd like to include in a couple of shots, but TBH I'm struggling for inspiration. Anyone got any suggestions on poses to incorporate him and bump? . . . assuming that he'll stay where I want him to for long enough to take the photo. It may just be a case of grabbing whatever I can :lol:
 
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I'm not much good at offering advice, but the idea of the son peering/peeping over the bump appeals to me - mum lying on her back with son looking over towards the camera, or towards mum.
I took a few of my wife while she was expecting our second and had both her and my eldest standing exposed belly to exposed belly while looking up or down at each other and they worked well.
Good luck !
 
Hi Sarah, as you know I did mine recently.

I have just added a couple more to my thread btw....

I was going to suggest a shot like my last one with the bow but with the little one pulling the bow to open it up.... might take a decent amount of patience to get it right but would keep the little lad amused and wouldnt require eye contact...

Dan
 
What about a simple side on view of the 20 month old kissing the bump?

Also a fun shot with the child drawing over the bump with lipstick could get messy but fun.

Paint the child's hands and get them to place them on the bump and take an after shot image, records the bump and the child's hand size at the same time.

A few more ideas for you to consider.
 
:thumbs: Thank you guys. Some really good ideas there to give me some food for thought.

Steve, Love the idea of the little one peering over the bump. I'll definitely give that one a try. I like the belly to belly suggestion too, but I think he's possibly a little too small for that.

Dan, I'll pop back over to your thread now - but the idea with the bow is genius :thumbs: We've already got a bow shot on our list of poses, so if we can entice Mason to have a play with the pretty ribbon that could be a real winner.

Adam, Thank you!
Kissing the bump was something we wanted to try, but at his age I'm not sure that he'll take direction. It's another one to try though, and he's a cuddly, kissy child so he might actually do it spontaneously.
You've definitely got me convinced on the artistic merit of the handprints. That's a great memory shot of both kids . . . I'm just not quite 100% convinced on the mess element of it though :lol:
 
Sarah the messier the better, the child will love it, guaranteed a great big smile unless they hate getting their hands dirty like my kids lol. Just get a vinyl backdrop.

As the child is 20 months old and not that tall get your Niece to kneel and then you can get some nice and natural hugging the bump shots.

Have fun that is the main point.
 
Adam_K said:
Sarah the messier the better, the child will love it, guaranteed a great big smile unless they hate getting their hands dirty like my kids lol. Just get a vinyl backdrop.

As the child is 20 months old and not that tall get your Niece to kneel and then you can get some nice and natural hugging the bump shots.

Have fun that is the main point.
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:lol: :lol: :lol: That sounds like the voice of experience re: the mess!!!

Not sure that my fabric backdrop will stand up to it, but that's a good tip on the vinyl.
As you said the main thing is having fun, and we're both really looking forward to it. She's promised to try to grow the maximum "bumpage" over the next week in preparation :D
 
Adam, I love the handprint idea, that's one I might have to 'borrow'!

Sarah, one tip is to take some stickers with you, sometimes I've managed to get toddlers to point to or kiss a small sticker that's strategically placed so it looks like an affectionate touch! Even hide one on Mum's tummy and get them to look for it.. you can always pp it out afterwards if needs be. :D
 
Ooi Elli hands off I have not used that one yet, I want exclusivity lol

Damn good tip, but the Mum might not be happy being waxed during a photo session.:lol:

Oh yes used to have a muslin but got fed up every time a baby weed on it, take it down, wash it, iron it, never again. Vinyl every time now, so much easier and more durable.
 
Adam_K said:
Ooi Elli hands off I have not used that one yet, I want exclusivity lol
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:lol: Well it looks like I might beat you both to it (although I doubt that my efforts will be of the same standard as yours;) )

p.s. Adam, are you implying that mum might have a hairy belly? That could get you into all sorts of trouble :bat:
 
I wasn't the one to mentioning hairs Sarah! Just thought that the removal of the sticker might hurt a little, but would be a fun image.

Good luck with it I am sure the will turn out just fine, just give me a credit line for the idea:rules: lol. Looking forward to seeing all of our ideas in a follow up thread, no pressure to deliver.:razz:
 
:thumbs: Thank you both for the encouragement.
Sunday 13th is the day, so I'll be posting an update (and some photos) soon afterwards. I don't know if I'll get through ALL of the ideas - you've just been too generous :lol:

Feeling a mixture of excitement (rubbing off from mum-to-be) and nerves because it's not something I'd usually shoot. Insects and aquatics are my usual subjects . . . but on the plus side, I suppose at least Mason will present a bigger target even if he won't stay still or go where I want him to :D

All in all it should be a fun afternoon for both of us plus the little one.
I'll keep you updated.
 
Picked a good day for it, not superstitious then?

You will do great but use kids paint for the hands shot and not gloss, white spirit stinks and mum to be will not be impressed.
 
:thumbs: Well I survived !!!

Really good, fun day - and from the first look at the unprocessed pics, I'm happy with what we got. My biggest paranoia was not getting anything print-worthy and given that her first arrived 3 weeks early there might not have been a second chance.

I had no idea that portrait photography could be so enjoyable - in fact I'm finding myself looking forward to the newborn shoot.

I'll be traveling with work over the next few days, so I won't be able to have a good look or process them Until Thursday / Friday, but I'll be posting some up on here as soon as I can.

Thank you again to everybody who offered help and advice.
 
Glad to hear it went well, they get slightly addictive though! Looking forward to seeing your pics.
 
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