DIY Maternity Pictures

As if my weekend could have been anymore exciting we also had a quick photography session with a friend of mine. The pictures came out wonderfully and I am very excited to share them!

This friend of mine is just like me, loves photography, but isn’t any kind of professional. I figured it was as good as anything, especially since this was more for me than my husband. You know how some are, they just don’t get the picture craze peeps, like me. I like to document, ummmm, about EVERYTHING! Since I know my friend has an eye for photography and we don’t have the budget to pay hundreds to a professional, we went with my version of DIY.

Once my friend agreed we knew it needed to be scheduled last week, said friend, lives about 5 hours away (sad face). Since we had the shower and many other things going on it worked out for us to drive her to the train station and shoot downtown. With limited time, and no plan we ended up with some great pictures (if I do say so, myself)! It was a tough time of day because there was a high & strong sun, but nothing that photoshop can’t take care of. And I knew that my friend would rock it, so I wasn’t worried.

My point in all of this, if you are wanting to get some belly pics and can’t afford a professional…recruit a friend. You don’t need a fancy dSLR like I have, a point and shoot would work just as well. All you need is some time, a friend who’s willing to take the pictures and some imagination. Take a look at what we ended up with, all on our own.

Here are my favorites of the bunch:

[slideshow]

I would suggest these few tidbits:

1. Look for pictures that you like to see what kind of poses you would like to end up with. Also, try to highlight the belly. (We learned this as our 3o minutes were almost half over and those are the ones I prefer.)

2. Dress nicely, but not over the top. Looking like you, not all dolled up will make for more intimate and personal shots. Otherwise, you might just end up looking like you were trying to hard and not knowing what you were doing.

3. Pick an interesting place. Try to think about places that will have benches or open areas to sit on, lay on, stand by…whatever it is that you find visually engaging.

4. Choose early morning or late afternoon. This way the sun isn’t so strong where it casts strong shadows on your face. (This is where we had some problems, we were pressed for time and had to take what we could get.)

5. Have fun! This is a wonderful time in your life and these pictures are supposed to capture the happiness between you and your partner AND your baby. Try not to stress about it. If you don’t get a whole lot that you love, no problem. You can do it again or take the few that you do love and cherish them. What are you really going to do with 50 photos of you pregnant? You only need a couple to frame or include in the baby book.