The Art of Pregnancy Photography (22 page)

Photo by Parker Pfister.

Kevin’s photos have been featured on the covers and pages of many popular magazines and photography books. He has been a Nikon-sponsored speaker, and his work with the Nikon digital camera has been the focus of the company’s advertisements. He is named in the Legends section of the Nikon website (
www.nikonnet.com
) as a prominent wedding photographer. Kevin is also a PPA Photographic Craftsman.

Kevin loves to share his Photoshop tricks and actions, and his trademark Digital Photography Bootcamp(tm) seminars consistently sell out nationwide. He is the author of
Digital Photography Boot Camp
(2006), published by Amherst Media. He is also the creator of a number of Photoshop actions that will allow you to add beautiful portrait effects quickly and easily. For more information, go to
www.KubotaImageTools.com
.

Personal Satisfaction
. For Kevin, the personal rewards that come from creating pregnancy portraits are many. He loves providing the subject with a once-in-a-lifetime image that she will cherish and hopefully pass on to the little one inside her belly. He also gets a lot of satisfaction from being able to photograph a woman who may feel a little large and unattractive, because when they create a beautiful portrait, she’s so proud and excited. “I had one client whose mother simply could not understand why she wanted pregnancy portraits made and tried to talk her out of it. After her mom saw the images, she loved them so much she bought many portraits herself,” Kevin says.

For this image, Kevin’s subject hiked down a rocky trail, through freezing water, over logs, and out onto a slippery riverbed to get to this spot (it was the client’s idea)—something Kevin wouldn’t ask a pregnant woman to do unless she was completely comfortable with it. Kevin used a tripod-mounted Nikon D1x, fitted with an infrared filter and set to the black & white mode. The image was made under an overcast sky, and the exposure was 4 seconds at f/8. Photo by Kevin Kubota.

Kevin also finds that his maternity portrait clients are always excited and eager to do whatever it takes—which always amazes him considering their condition and the fact that moving and holding positions can often be uncomfortable. He appreciates when they are willing to go outside with him and find a great spot to make the images. For one session, Kevin’s pregnant subject hiked down a rocky trail, through freezing water, over logs, and out onto a slippery riverbed to reach an ideal spot (it was her idea). Kevin notes that this is something he wouldn’t ask the subject to do unless she was completely comfortable with the idea. He also says, “I think there is something about pregnancy that makes women bolder than usual—or maybe I’m imagining things.”

Kevin says that in adding pregnancy photography to his repertoire, he has found a niche he really loves. In fact, he has come to enjoy pregnancy photography and wedding photography the most. He adds that although pregnancy photography, in and of itself, isn’t a big contributor to his financial success, it’s personally rewarding and gives him a chance to create more artistic images and display them in his studio. This inevitably draws clients to book his services for their other portrait needs as well. He feels that this is the time in a woman’s life when she is most beautiful. “It’s truly an amazing and rewarding thing to be able to capture,” Kevin says.

Professional Tips
. Kevin finds that the timing aspect of working with this client demographic can be difficult. Occasionally, there are days when the moms just don’t feel good and the session must be rescheduled. Also, the window of opportunity is relatively small to begin with. Kevin likes to photograph them just after the eighth month, when they are large enough to really look pregnant but are still somewhat mobile.

PROFESSIONAL REFLECTION

“These are the times when women are the most beautiful in their lives; it’s a truly amazing and rewarding thing to be able to capture.” —Kevin Kubota

In the studio, Kevin often prefers to capture black & white portraits, since the backgrounds are very simple and the image is all about the form of the body. Also, black & white photos can be a little more forgiving: he once photographed a woman pregnant with twins, and her belly was so large that it was literally purple from stretching. This, he decided, was definitely a black & white shot! When shooting outdoors, Kevin’s preference is typically to shoot in color.

What techniques and technical advice does Kevin share? “I love my Nikon 85mm f/1.4 lens. I also use my 70–200mm f/2.8 lens when I need to get farther away—like across a river! I think the shape of the body is more pleasingly represented with an 85mm or longer lens (with his Nikon, there’s a 1.5x lens magnification).”

Marketing
. Kevin notes that booking a couple’s wedding photography and creating great wedding portraits can easily lead to pregnancy, baby, and family sessions down the line. When he first considered branching into maternity portraiture, he simply sought to photograph pregnant women who had that special glow. “Some pregnant women feel beautiful and radiant when pregnant; others don’t feel very attractive at all,” Kevin says. “I can usually tell right away. I would just ask them (or my wife would, if possible, as it’s less awkward for them) if they’d like to do some photos for my portfolio,” he adds. Simply initiating this contact and creating beautiful images for these women resulted in word-of-mouth marketing and a growing client base.

TERRI LEE

Background
. Terri owns and operates Starlight Photography in Mission Viejo, CA. A photographic instructor, Terri has also been awarded a fellowship from the Professional Photographers of California in recognition of her service to the photographic industry. In 2004, Terri conducted a program at the Professional Photographers of California’s Western States Convention called “A New Life: Maternity and Newborn Photography.” In 2005, she was named PPA’s Photographer of the Year and was awarded her Photographic Craftsman degree from the same organization.

When Terri first began her work as a professional photographer, she concentrated on wedding photography.

Many of her happy bridal clients became maternity portrait clients. As her skill level and portfolio began to grow, Terri’s satisfied pregnancy portrait clients referred their pregnant family members and friends.

Other referrals have come obstetricians’ and other physician’s offices. Terri provides local doctors with portraits that enhance their waiting rooms’ and examination rooms’ decor in exchange for placing her marketing pieces in the waiting rooms. The practice has provided mixed results, but it seems to work best in offices that serve a predominance of her target market. Terri’s business is low volume by choice, but she is always pleased when her targeted marketing brings her the kind of client who will adore and appreciate what she has created for them.

Photo by Mike Lee.

Terri used shadows almost more than highlights to show the sensuous form of this pregnant woman. Fabrics are her favorite device, as they allow her to draw attention to certain areas and hide others. Photo by Terri Lee.

Personal Satisfaction
. It is of the utmost importance to Terri that her clientele approach their photography session with high expectations and confidence. Her studio provides a safe, calm, and nurturing environment in which to collaborate and create one-of-a-kind imagery.

For Terri, the honest emotional response from the client, not only to her portraits but to the process of recording the images, is the greatest reward pregnancy portraiture presents.

Terri says she likes clients who are adventurous, as they bring out the best in her as an artist. If she perceives a client to be comfortable and open minded, she will spend time doing unique lighting setups and poses. This stretches the boundaries of her imagination and makes her feel more creative. Terri dislikes photographing anyone who is uncomfortable, despite her efforts to relieve their tension. “When a subject is, for whatever reason, self-conscious or untrusting of me, I pick up on it and it seems to repress my creativity,” Terri says. “This hasn’t happened very often, thankfully,” she adds.

Terri feels there is an intimate circle of communication that extends from the parents, to the child, to Terri during each session. “I always feel privileged to be present at the moment when love is so thick in the air that we can all feel it at the same time. That is what motivates me to find that person who needs me to tell their story,” she says.

Professional Tips
. Terri creates sensitive, emotional portrayals of expectant parents and their newborns. Using available light or studio lighting allows her to beautifully capture the sensuous form of the pregnant woman—as well as the translucent, delicate skin of the newborn at a later session.

When in the studio, Terri keeps her light source as close to the subject as possible to produce soft light. Her lighting style will change often, even during the course of a single session. She thinks of her lights as a painter would, using highlight and shadow to sculpt every subject. She asks, “Why would I ever want them nailed down?” Terri hopes that every session will contain something new and different, for that client alone. “Just because you master one style of lighting doesn’t mean you are married to it,” Terri advises. Experimenting helps Terri to keep her creativity alive.

PROFESSIONAL REFLECTION