Pregnant photoshoots – the stomach is not the main thing!

Photographer Anna Evgrafova tells how to conduct a “pregnant photo shoot”, and why the stomach is not the main thing.

From lace peignoirs to rock and roll

More recently, photos of pregnant women looked the same: the expectant mother in lace peignoir in the studio with some kind of mimicry interior. At the same time, the emphasis is certainly on the stomach, hands in two positions: on the stomach or under the stomach. I myself shot for a long time the only way.

The pregnant women’s photo session was so strongly associated with lace peignoirs that many girls skipped shooting such an important moment in their lives, reprimanding: "No, no, it's not mine at all." What is most interesting, shooting in a peignoir, in itself, is a successful format, very popular, but this is just one of the possible images that really does not suit everyone.

What happened next? Little by little, photographs of pregnant pop and movie stars and top models began to appear on the network. The style of these shootings was very different from the generally accepted one, and the girls saw that the photo sessions of pregnant women can look much more diverse, and each one can choose an image for themselves. This immediately affected the situation - there were much more people wishing to be photographed during pregnancy, participants in photo shoots began to be more creative in shooting, and the range of images expanded. For example, I shot a girl, she had a bright rock and roll image. More recently, only stars were decided on this. But in fact, it all depends on the character of the heroine, her interests, what is close to her.

In my opinion, this is great, because pregnancy is an important stage in the life of a woman and in the life of the family, and at this time you definitely need to have time to take photos as a keepsake. For example, it’s very interesting for me to consider photographs of a pregnant mother, because I know that I’m already in my stomach, and will appear soon)

Preparing for a photo shoot

Where to start if you decide to take a photo during pregnancy? I usually advise girls to start by looking for photos that they like. Now on the Internet there are a lot of beautiful photos of pregnant women, and you can find examples, references that your photographer will be guided by in preparation for shooting.

There are photographers who shoot in the same style, girls like the style, and they choose it. I have a different approach, I try to understand what a person likes, how he will be comfortable, and depending on this, we determine the style of shooting. This can be, for example, a home photo session in a light reporting style, or a more staged boudoir shooting in a peignoir, or a glamorous fashion shoot.

Pregnant photosession - outdoors or in the studio?

Then we select locations. And here the question arises - where is it better to conduct a photo session of pregnant women - in the studio, at home, in the country, in the park, on the street?

If the girl is shy, it is better to arrange a photo shoot in the studio or at home, away from prying eyes. Or if it's winter) Or if a girl wants more candid photos with an open tummy, in beautiful lingerie.

You can hold a cozy home photo shoot. For example, once the guys and I met in their kitchen, drank seagulls, ate some puffs, and we got a very warm photo shoot. With my friends, the photographers, we arranged a photo shoot in their home, but in the end, we hung out the backgrounds, put out the light, got the props, and we got a small photo studio. Of course, a pregnant woman’s photo shoot can be done outdoors, in the country, in the park, or on the street, if you are ready for a photo walk. Locations in the air are much more diverse, the studio in this regard limits a little.

Pregnant photosession - with or without a husband?

It depends on the style of shooting and how comfortable the girl is. If this is a two-person shoot, the emphasis will be on the relationship of the couple, if alone - on the image, feelings, internal state of the heroine of the shoot.

By the way, a good idea for a family photo session of pregnant women can be not only shooting with her husband, but also shooting three together, and four if the family already has children.

Once the third participant in the photo shoot was a pet - Jack Russell, it is a fashionable breed now, they are very active, agile, such dogs always add spontaneity to shooting.

And once I had a completely unusual photo session for pregnant girlfriends) Two friends became pregnant at about the same time, and decided to take pictures together. It turned out the story of how they sit, measured their bellies, it looked very nice. When a woman becomes pregnant, her brain in any case switches to this topic, and it is more interesting to communicate with pregnant women than with other people. And it turns out, if your girlfriend is pregnant too - it's just perfect)

Dress for photoshoot pregnant

During the shooting, you can change the image two or three times, this is a common practice, but you need to think through the images for a “pregnant photo session” in advance.

Usually girls send me variants of some bows, we discuss, decide what is more suitable. If we go into some fashion, magazine shooting, then we are looking for something ultra fashionable, if it's a family shoot, we pick up the family onions. In our time, there are no restrictions - a pregnant women’s photo shoot is easy to imagine both in lace underwear and in jeans.

In fact, in most cases, there are enough basic things. For example, to create a family bow that suits almost any pair, it’s enough to choose jeans and shirts, or t-shirts. In my opinion, a win-win option for clothes for a pregnant women photo shoot is knitted dresses, some tight-fitting things that emphasize all the necessary shapes. And no, to shapeless hoodies. They categorically are not suitable for creating a beautiful image for a “pregnant photo shoot”.

Makeup

Of course, I highly recommend using the services of a makeup artist. For the result to be 100 percent, you need to make an effort, make a make-up and hairstyle, and then everything will be perfect. This is a professional photo shoot, and make-up must also be professional.

Time

A photoshoot for pregnant women should not be delayed, because this is a rather active action, in any case, I work this way. During the shooting, we move a lot, and do not want the girl to be tired. The optimal time is one and a half hours, and if a change of images is implied, then two. But no more.

Nuances

Since there is not much time for shooting, discuss all the important nuances for you with the photographer in advance. If you want the photo to have any specific angles, poses, lighting, be sure to voice your desire. It depends a lot on whether you end up with exactly the kind of photos you want.

What is the period of pregnancy for taking pictures?

You decide it yourself. They used to wait until they were 8–9 months old, but this year it happened so that several girls told me almost the same thing in a row: “I don’t like the big belly, let's take it off early”, and we took pictures in the sixth month, when the pregnant tummy is pictured already visible, but it is still not very large.

The stomach is not the main thing!

At some point, I began to catch myself thinking that I was shooting: “a woman and a stomach”. Here’s the belly here, and now here, here’s the belly like that, and like that, and like that. All attention is concentrated on the pregnant belly: hands on the stomach, under the stomach, and in all photos, the stomach must be present.

This may sound unexpected, but the stomach in the shooting of a pregnant woman is not the main thing. At some point I understood this, and started shooting differently) The face or hands of a pregnant woman are no less interesting than the belly) As part of the photo shoot, I certainly take classic photos of pregnant women, but there will be much more just cool portraits, with mood and emotions , in the style we chose, without a strong emphasis on the stomach.

Once I shot a married couple, my friends, in the autumn on the street. Initially, they did not want to focus on the stomach, it was more important for them to get photos that would remind not of the size of the abdomen, but of an important moment in the life of their family. The girl was in a coat, and in some pictures it is generally not noticeable that she is pregnant.

And this approach - to capture an important moment in family life, emotions and experiences of this moment, and not the size of the abdomen, seems to me the most interesting.