Newborns have the cutest faces and it is always fun to feature them. Of course we never know what experssion we will get.
Cutie
This little girl decided she loves the camera. She was a very happy baby while at my Phoenix studio. That makes my job as a photographer much easier. I always allow a little extra when photographing babies to make sure we can get some great photos.
February was the month for Maternity photos. I had a ton of pregnant moms come in for photos (no pun intended). It is always great to see the happiness these new babies are bringing the families.
Another thing I was happy to see was so many brought the dads and siblings in for some photos too. Nothings better than getting the family photo where everyone is in anticipation of the new child.
This is one of my favorite styles for maternity photographs. The future mom does not look at the photographer, but instead looks off thinking about her pregnancy.
Maternity Waiting
And of course you see I love to create these photos in black and white. I find B&W adds to the feeling.
The Baby Movie
Like I said last week, I would have another fun maternity photo session idea. Pregnancy is such a fun and special time that it is the perfect time to start having some laughs. Coming attractions movie poster is another of my crazy photographer ideas.
Maternity Pin-up "You're a Daddy!"
Sometimes it can be fun to be a bit more creative with maternity photos than tradition. My photographer mind is always going off into left field with ideas. We had a great time creating this photo as a fun pregnancy pin-up that everyone got a big laugh out of. Come back next week to see another fun idea.
This time of year here in Phoenix is especially tough on our pregnancy portrait clients. The heat is tough on everyone, but extra hard on those expecting.
I always tell my maternity clients to stay hydrated and help themselves to the bottled water in the refrigerator. I rather we take a few extra breaks to keep everyone comfortable. Of course I crank the AC down to make sure the studio is nice and cool too.
I don’t do outdoor shoots this time of year, it just isn’t safe. Too easy to overheat.
One of the classic maternity photos is known as heart hands. Basically is the formation of a heart with your hands on your pregnant belly.
Heart Hands for Maternity
As you can see, it is possible to create a very well shaped heart with your hands. It does take some practice though. So go ahead and practice a bit in front of a mirror before you come in for your maternity photo session and when your photographer ask you to make a heart, you’ll be ready.
This question is second only to when should I get my maternity photos? Ideally you want to get them in the first week to 10 days max. They grow so fast the first month. You want to capture just how tiny they were when they first arrived.
Newborns are always a challenge as they tend to live on their own schedules and moods. So I always allow plenty of time. No need to rush. Plenty of time for feeding and diaper breaks. And sometimes they just need to be held a bit to be comforted before the next shot.
Many parents decide to do an album to document the first year. Starting with the newborn photos and then every 3 months up to the first birthday. It becomes a keepsake that will be treasured for a lifetime.
Whatever you decide to do, the sooner the better for your newborn session. Like I mentioned before, ideally 10 days old is the maximum age for their newborn photo session.
Siblings always are a nice addition to a maternity photography session. They show how the new child is becoming part of the family. As a photographer I will discuss the shoot with the future mother before her appointment. I suggest that the siblings be brought to the studio for the last part of the session. This allows the creation of the rest of the photos without having young children getting bored waiting. Which in turn will result in better photos with them.
I often will catch a moment when everyone is just being themselves. These photographs tend to make very special maternity memories. I call this shot got your nose.
Pregnant mom has got his nose
This type of playfulness is just the kind of memory one wants to remember.
My job as the photographer is to always be aware and to bring a comfort level to the maternity session that allows for true family interaction to be captured. You can easily see how much fun is going to be had with this new baby.
This week saw a lot of bulging bellies on the maternity photography clients. Each mom had her own style that I worked with to capture that perfect collection of photographs to remember her pregnancy. After all, my job as a photographer is to capture memories so they can last a lifetime.
Feel the kick in this B&W maternity photo
Everyone of the bellies I photographed this week was unique. Some moms worry about stretch marks on their growing bulge, but I tell them that retouching can remove them if they prefer. Retouching is include in all but one of our maternity photo packages.
