Maternity photography can be a rather difficult thing to do well, because the focus generally needs to be on the baby bump, and there are really only so many ways that you can shoot it without being clichè. Of course you can choose to change the scenery by leaving the studio behind and heading outdoors, but it will probably make things rather difficult if your client wants more of an intimate portrait.
So fortunately for me, as I now begin my maternity portfolio in earnest, the "client" happens to be my beautiful wife. We are expecting our precious Ainsley Claire in August, so the time is perfect for me to jump into this new genre feet first. I have been looking at lots of other photographers' work over the past couple of months trying to get a little bit of inspiration, and this particular image was inspired by a shot from the great
Sandy Puc'.
To achieve the lighting effect, I placed a beauty dish with a 10° gridspot behind and slightly to the right of my wife, who was laying on the floor. I had my camera mounted on a tripod, and the tripod had to have the center pole inverted in order for me to get the camera low enough to the ground to get the angle I wanted. I then focused on her belly, put the 10-second timer on, and ran over to quickly drop into position behind her. Fortunately it only took a few shots to get it right, as I was getting out of breath from all the running around!
The shot was later processed in
Nik Silver Efex Pro, and then some additional dodging and burning was performed in Photoshop to [de]emphasize certain areas and really put on the finishing touches. I hope you enjoy looking at it as much as I enjoyed putting it together! If so, hook me up with a "Like" and a comment. Thanks ya'll! =)
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