The Art of Pregnancy Photography (23 page)

“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.”
—Terri Lee

Like many photographers, Terri likes to use a long lens when possible, especially when shooting outdoors.

Terri has an extensive background in the arts; she spent fifteen years as a retouching artist before becoming a photographer. With digital imaging, she can easily retouch her images and can provide a wide variety of photographic styles and finishes for her client. Terri likes some images in black & white, or sepia, or cyan; she’s never quite sure how an original image will look until she’s played with her creative options postcapture. “I don’t prefer one look over another except as the image demands,” she says.

Marketing
. Terri finds marketing her own work difficult and prefers the idea of outsourcing her marketing as she believes someone else could toot her horn better than she can. She feels that maternity photography is an unfamiliar and often scary idea for many prospective clients and that marketing the concept works best when the sessions and images are described and explained, with sample images being shown. This approach works especially well when coupled with an enthusiastic endorsement from another client.

Because of the visual nature of the photography business, Terri feels it is important to produce high-quality, colorful, eye-catching marketing pieces. Her own materials can be found in the waiting rooms of local pediatricians’ and obstetricians’ offices and can be easily slipped into a purse while a client is waiting for an appointment. Clients leaving her studio also take her marketing pieces and share them with friends and family. Word-of-mouth advertising is one of the most effective ways to expand the client base.

On occasion Terri attends community and charity events to meet potential clients. She also donates services and auction items to charitable groups whose members fall into her preferred demographic. Additionally, she recommends speaking to interested groups, where your wonderful images can be shown and questions can be answered in a group setting.

Without the marketing she has done, Terri feels that she would not be able to create the work she is most passionate about—maternity and newborn portraiture.

TIM MEYER

Background
. Tim Meyer has worked as a full-time professional photographer since 1979 and currently serves as the chairman of the portrait division at the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA. He has achieved the prestigious Master of Photography, Photographic Craftsman, and Certified Professional Photographer distinctions from PPA and also holds a Master’s of Art degree from California State University—Fullerton. He has had numerous one-man exhibitions of his fine-art portraiture around the country.

Tim finds pregnancy portraiture satisfying and says, “Men have always considered a pregnant woman beautiful. It is perhaps tied to our natural feelings as fathers and our love for the woman with whom we share the experience. It is exciting to see how maternity portraiture has become such a large part of the portrait marketplace and how it is appreciated by men and women alike.”

Photo by Dea Bachand.

Working with Clients
. Tim finds it is more difficult for male photographers to photograph women in what approaches a “figure study” style of imagery. He always works with a female assistant in the studio. Not only does that put the women at ease, but it allows his female assistant to help them with clothing adjustments. Tim notes that it is important to consult with the client before each session to determine what style of portrait they would like and what level of modesty is appropriate for them. Not doing so before a session can create an awkward situation, he warns.

Tim observes that creating pregnancy portraits is very rewarding both to the photographer and the subject. He feels there is a joy in seeing clients excited about quality, creative photography, and that it is especially rewarding because pregnancy portraiture is new to many clients. Tim says his clients have told him wonderful stories about sharing their images with friends and family and the amazing and joyful responses they have elicited.

This portrait is a contemporary take on a lighting style popularly used in the 1930s. The use of two edge lights complements the pregnant form, and a spotlight highlights the face. Photo by Tim Meyer.

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“It is exciting to see how maternity portraiture has become such a large part of the portrait marketplace and how it is appreciated by men and women alike.”
—Tim Meyer

Technical Tips
. Tim feels that a 60–80mm lens is a great choice for full-frame digital SLRs and says that any lens that is about 1.5 times longer than a “normal” lens for a 35mm-type camera would work well.

When lighting their pregnancy portrait subjects, most photographers prefer large light sources—usually a window or a large softbox. This type of light tends to be very forgiving and also renders the shape of the body beautifully when it is properly used. Tim often uses soft light too but sometimes lights mainly for the face, employing some of the more dramatic studio lighting techniques to add impact to the portrait.

Marketing
. Much of Tim’s client base has been built up through word-of-mouth referrals from previous clients. Developing marketing relationships with pediatricians and maternity or “mommy and me” groups has also worked well for Tim, but he warns that you need to choose a group that serves your target demographic. Maternity portraiture has changed and grown dramatically over the past few years, Tim observes. Whole new generations of women, older women, are having children. They are looking for new ways to capture the emotions of that experience, and pregnancy portraits fill that need.

GAIL PATRICE

Background
. Gail Patrice of Patrice Photography of Gold River has been a Sacramento, CA, area photographer for more than twenty-five years. Gail trained formally at the West Coast Photography School, the Golden Gate Photography School, and California Photographic Workshops. She later served on the board of both the Golden Gate Photography School and California Photographic Workshops. Through her work with other studios in her early years, Gail gained a background in portraiture, wedding, and commercial photography.

Personal Satisfaction
. The growth of Gail’s pregnancy photography specialty has been gradual. At this time, maternity portraiture accounts for about 10 percent of her client base. Most of her first-time maternity clients are women whose weddings or families Gail photographed in the past.

Photo by Eleakis Photography (Roger Ele).

Gail finds photographing pregnant women very rewarding. She loves the challenge of creating a unique image and capturing a beautiful, historic moment of a woman during this nurturing and loving stage of her life—whether it’s their first baby or fourth! Every session is different and memorable: one mom came to the session in labor with her fourth pregnancy, and Gail wondered if she was going to become a midwife!

Gail also enjoys creating couple images that feature the woman’s rounded form. “One really big advantage of being a female photographer is that I am comfortable with nude or seminude subjects and have my own wonderful memories of being pregnant,” she says.

Gail notes that there is so much attention given to the mom-to-be that the dads sometimes feel left out. “I want them to know how special they are too,” she adds.

Technical Tips
. Gail uses only northern natural light for her maternity portraits, which streams in through the windows of her warehouse-district studio. (Unfortunately, there is sometimes a lack of privacy—not to mention the distraction of loud machines and men walking by the studio!) Gail uses white or silver panels to provide fill. She prefers simple backdrops and finds that skin tones look rich with black backgrounds. She is constantly on the lookout for rich, soft fabrics to wrap seminude pregnant subjects in.

Gail shoots with a Canon 20D and tends to use an ISO setting of 100 or 200 to avoid grain. She began her career using medium-format cameras and fixed lenses, and she now really enjoys the flexibility that using a digital SLR with a zoom lens affords.

Gail loves to show skin tones in her images and uses simple fabrics to wrap both mothers and couples in. This image was captured with her Canon D20 at an ISO of 400, a shutter speed of 1/80, and an f/6.1 aperture. The background was commercial carpeting. Available light and a gold reflector illuminated the scene. Photo by Gail Patrice.

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