Maternity photo shoot help

dsbauden

Hi guys,
I'm going to do a shoot for a friend who is pregnant and wants pictures of her round belly. I'm not used to photographing people as I mostly photograph nature, skies and flowers, so any recommendations would be great. I want them to turn out well as she said this is the only baby she is having.
Thanks for any advice and for this forum. It has really been informative.
Di

bruto

An interesting shoot. Some of what you go for will depend on what she really wants and how much humor the situation calls for. You can, of course, just ask her to find whatever pose is comfortable for her, and make a full body portrait. If you are doing a portrait, try to keep distracting background at a minimum, and try to make sure she is fairly far ahead of it, so that it remains out of the focus range. Outdoor light will probably be diffused enough to eliminate harsh shadows. You might try aperture priority mode, and fill flash, too.

I would suggest also that you consider setting her up with some of the things that might be associated with a baby. If she has already gotten some baby shower items, or the like, one might find a creative way to put them in. Or if there is already a nursery room ready, see if you can take a few with her in that environment.

Finally, if you want that round belly to be really prominent, and want to inject a little humor into the situation, zoom your lens (I'm assuming you have the kit 18-55mm) all the way to 18mm, and get really close. Aim straight for her belly button. Wide angles up close tend to produce exaggerated perspective.

dsbauden

Thanks Bruto, I appreciate it so much. She has a good sense of humor so I will definitely work some of that into the shoot. I'm still very much a novice so all help is appreciated.
Di