Every photo shoot is a little bit different but I thought it might be helpful to walk you through what to expect when you get to the studio, especially if you’re feeling a few nerves about booking a pregnancy shoot.
When you arrive at the studio, I’ll meet you at your car and we’ll take the short walk up the pathway to the studio. My studio is tucked away in my garden so there’s no-one who will be looking in or disturbing us.
When we get into the studio, we’ll take a few minutes to hang up any clothes you have and look at accessories that you’ve brought along to include. I’ll show you the range of maternity dresses that I have on offer so you can see if you’d like to include any of them in your photo shoot. We’ll also chat through the type of images that you’d like to create and about how nude you’d like to be. There’s absolutely no pressure there, if you’re planning to stay fully clothed then I’m not going to try and convince you differently – it’s your session and we’ll create whatever you want.
Quite commonly, people come with underwear that they’d like to be photographed in but they’re not quite sure if they’ll dare to bare. I usually recommend just starting the session and seeing how you feel. There’s a little bit of strangeness when you first start posing in front of the camera, but after a few minutes, you’ll be relaxed and (dare I say it), enjoying yourself. Every single time this has happened, the mum has decided to go for it and I don’t think they’ve ever regretted it. As I say, there’s never any pressure but if you’re on the fence about creating nude or partially nude images, bring along your good underwear just in case then you’ve got the option!
Once we’ve ironed out what you’d like to do then it’s time to start the session. Even if you’re planning to create nude images, we start fully clothed so you’ll begin in your favourite maternity dress or outfit.
My studio is divided into two halves – one white and one dark. We start on the white side which is perfect for creating light, airy, bright and colourful images. We’ll gently move through some poses (your comfort is my priority so you just need to say if anything is uncomfortable and we’ll change things). This side is where we’ll also create some silhouette images which are a great way to show off your shape (you can see some examples here).
Any seated or reclining images will usually be on this side too plus those including props like scan pictures. Once we’re done here, we’ll cross the studio the ‘dark side’. The wallpaper here is a classy black on black damask and the light is much more focused so it’s ideal for highlighting your shape and letting everything else fade into darkness. That’s why this is a good side of the studio to create nude, partially nude or underwear images. I never create any images that show nipples or the pubic area so, although you may be nude in the studio, your modesty will be protected in the finished pictures.
When you’re all done with creating your images, you’ll get packed up and ready to leave. We’ll have a quick chat about how long it will be fore you see your finished pictures and the level of editing that you’d like. For example, if you have any stretchmarks, whether you would like them removed in the finished product. Generally people do ask to have them taken out but whatever your choice is, is good with me.
I’ll also get you to sign my consent form. It asks four questions. Firstly whether I have your consent to take your images and then whether I have your consent to store them in a secure digital environment for a period of up to 18 months. I definitely need your permission for both of these but I guess otherwise you wouldn’t be coming to visit. The next two questions are whether you’d like to sign up to my mailing list (I send out emails about special events about four or five times a year) and whether it’s OK for me to use up to three images for my blog, social media, and portfolio. Obviously both of these are entirely optional but just to reassure you that, even if you do give me permission to use your images, I’d never use nude / partially nude ones unless you’ve expressly given me permission to.
Then it’s time to head back to your car and get you on your way so you can start looking forward to seeing your gallery.
As soon as your pictures are ready, I’ll upload them to your private gallery and send you the link and password. You simply follow the link, and put in the password and you’ll be taken straight to your gallery.
To select the three images that are part of your package, you add them to your favourites list and choose ‘Share with Photographer’ when you are done deciding. I’ll upload them at print resolution (10×8″ 300ppi) and send you a new code to allow you to download them.
If you’d like to order any more images, then you do that directly from your gallery. There’s a little shopping cart in the top right hand corner of each image in gallery view or a text link above the image if you are looking at them individually. Clicking on either of these will bring up the price list and allow you to add items to your shopping cart before checking out. I accept bank transfer and credit / debit cards payments via PayPal (you don’t need to have an account in order to use this facility).
So that’s a walk through of a typical maternity photo shoot session. Of course, just get in touch if you have any other questions and I’m always happy to help.
