Photography

Last month I got an e-mail from an on-line friend asking me questions about taking pregnancy photos. The ironic thing was that I had just done my first ever pregnancy shoot for my friend Naomi 2 days prior. Maybe I mentioned it on the blog? I'm not sure why H. thought I would know anything about taking pregnancy photos because I really don't. But I have done it once so I thought I'd share my answer to her questions here.

First off, here's the questions in a nutshell: Any words of wisdom? I don't have a studio or lights... any suggestions for creating backgrounds? I don't know....am I crazy?

Let me begin by saying I am not a portrait photographer nor do I have aspirations to be one. If fate so decides to lead me down that path I am open to the possibility but I am not pursuing it.

I do consider myself a photographer though. I love taking photos, I think I have an eye for beautiful details and I know how to get the light I need into my camera to take the kind of photos I want. I am steadily gaining confidence in my abilities to use my camera as a tool to capture and create beauty.

1. Go for it

When my friend Naomi originally asked me to take photos of her third trimester pregnant belly I questioned her judgement. "Me?" I asked. "Are you sure?" She was sure of my abilities even if I wasn't! So that leads me to my first point; if a friend is asking you to take their photo and you have the time, do it.

I honestly didn't know how the experience would turn out but I knew I'd grow as a photographer regardless. Also because she was my friend and was asking me (not me advertising my services) I felt comfortable saying "I've never done this before but I'll do my best".




2. Don't sell yourself short

I believe strongly that my time is worth something, even if I am still learning.

I knew I'd get at least ten or so nice photos for her (I actually got dozens and dozens) and I knew it would take at least one hour to do the shoot and then more hours of processing time so I felt confident in bartering a trade for my services.

If you are just new to photography you'll want to do stuff for free to gain experience and knowledge. But if you have some skill already don't just give away your services unless that is your desire. (I should add that I volunteer my photography skills on a regular basis in my community).

3. Natural light is your friend

You know what? I don't know how to use the flash on my camera. Ok, not totally true. I know what little button to press to make it pop up but I have not taken one photo with the flash that I like so I don't use it (an external flash would solve this problem but I'm not there yet).

When my friend Naomi asked me to take photos of her and we decided to do it at my house I spent time watching where the light was best and at what time of day. So when the day of her photo shoot arrived I knew which couple rooms in my house would allow enough light for nice photos.


4. Raid your linen closet (or find a deal at Goodwill)

I'm just a 2 bit amateur at this. I obviously don't have a studio or fancy equipment. But I do have flat white sheets I bought at Goodwill last year for a sewing project that I decided would be better used for photo backdrops. I used these to cover the furniture to provide a neutral background for the photos, especially since we were in my home not hers. In somebody's own home you might want more background to tell the story of their lives.

I would of preferred to be outdoors but there's only so much you can do in January in Maine - and a pregnancy shoot outdoors ain't one of those things!

A couple other handy tools to have on hand are a step ladder (for from the top shots) and a stool (to stand on or have the person sit on).


5. Check out on-line resources

I've seen pregnancy photos on the photography blogs I read but thankfully Naomi sent me some links in the weeks leading up to the shoot to give me an idea what she liked. I was very up front with her and told her I'd do my best with what she sent but I'm not a professional (nor have I advertised myself as such).

I also assumed she asked me to take photos because she liked the style of my photography. I was open to inspiration but I'm not going to try and re-create someone else's "look". As it turns out I think we got the photos she was wanting to get and we were both happy with the outcome.


6. Remember to breathe

Literally. To reduce camera shake I find I hold my breath so much when taking photos. Plus I'm crouching down and moving around into awkward little spaces and positions that I actually feel more body aches after a photo shoot (all three I've done) than a day of hiking! I'd like to know how other photographers deal with this. Special stretches?

That's all I can think of for now to help answer those questions. I LOVE taking photos. I think taking photos of people on demand, like a portrait shoot, is very challenging. Half of it is understanding the camera, lighting etc. and the other huge part is interacting with people, putting them at ease and getting them to feel natural in front of the camera. This is the part that scares me about portrait photography and why I don't pursue this much.

A note about my friend Naomi; she is a doula and natural birth advocate. I met her 7 years ago when she attended Brienne's homebirth as my midwife's learning assistant. You can check out some of the photos from our session and her extensive resources on birth at her blog.

If you subscribe to my blog's RSS feed you might know what I'm talking about. If you don't, I'll explain.

You see when I do a photo shoot for someone I have them download the photos from our server, via a page here on my blog. The general public does not see these pages. Unless I accidently click the "Promoted to the front page" button, as I did yesterday on Spring's page. As soon as I became aware of my error, about 10 minutes later, I (er... Damien) fixed the problem. But the damage was already done and if you subscribe to my blog with google reader (don't know if other readers picked it up) you got a FIMBY post, intended to be a personal page for a client, delivered to your reader. Ack!

I feel so foolish about this mistake. There was nothing personal in that post, just some copyright instructions regarding the photos. But still... how unprofessional of me. It's been on our list for months to install password protected pages for clients. In the aftermath of that little snafu, it became a top priority and it's now done.

If you got this private post in your reader please disregard it, I'd appreciate that. If you didn't, well then please just disregard this whole issue and know I too make mistakes.

But now let me tell you about my friend Spring and the reason we did a photo shoot. Spring is a talented musician who just released her second CD this month. You can listen to samples of her music here. She's not only a musician but she's also a homeschooling mom with 3 kiddos roughly the same age as mine. She's an amazing person and mother and I'm privileged to call her my friend.

Congratulations Spring on your CD! If you live locally you might be interested in attending her CD release concert this weekend. FMI see her performance schedule here.

Yesterday afternoon I was out walking with my kids as the sun was setting; smoky mauves in an indigo blue sky. It was breathtaking. No camera. It didn't really occur to me to bring it along when we left the house earlier in the afternoon because I'm not so much in the photography state of mind these days. That is my apology for not visually showcasing more of this beautiful winter.

It's definitely winter here. I laugh when I visit all your blogs and see brown and green grass or friend's talk about daffodils blooming - in winter? I've been enjoying Sandy's photos of our Maine snow falls and icy sunrises.

This January has been a time of creative gestation. A time for ideas and dreaming and organization to work those dreams into reality. It's been a real inward time and I seem not able to point my lenses outward as much when I'm introspective. Soon I will unveil a bit of where my creative energies have been but this month has definitely been about "behind the scenes" more than "shooting the scenes".

Anyone else experience this ebb and flow in their creative work? That a time for ideas and organization precludes their usual artistic vibe? I'm pretty sure it's a natural part of the seasons of creativity. So I'm going with the flow on this one and learning to enjoy the process.