Maternity and children shoots

[blackthorn]

Hi everyone,

Just after a bit of advice on maternity and children shoots.

My boss is pregnant at the moment and due in just under 2 months time. I have a week off next month and I asked her if she'd let me take some photos of her before she pops. She also has a 2yr old who's pretty cute, so I'd like to take some shots of him as well. Actually a lot of people I know have young kids so I'm hoping to bribe them all into driving out here to do some shoots.

I've done some shots of children before (terrible ones, lol) but I'd like some advice on where to start in terms of lighting. For the maternity shots I'd like to do at least some low key style shots (I'm thinking maybe rim light from the back, or low powered light from behind to the side). And for the kid I'd like to do some, not necessarily high key, but reasonably bright with soft light and maybe some outdoor ones as well.

For young children, is it best to use 'feminine' suited lighting setups (like butterfly lighting)? I just don't want to waste the opportunity by fiddling around with lighting trying to figure out what's going to work. Obviously I'm going to have to fiddle, but it would help if I had a starting point to adjust from and hopefully some useable shots in the process.

I have a new nephew as well, born a couple of weeks ago that I may get a chance to shoot in a month or so.

In terms of what I have to work with, I have 2 strobes (300s I think) and rectangular soft boxes, a couple of shoot through umbrellas and a blotchy grey background. And any advice on clothing? I've never done maternity photos before so I have no idea what might work or not in terms of clothing. I've seen some shots with wispy see-through material.. not sure I like this style, and doesn't really suit my subject's personality either.

Thanks in advance for any tips! :)

[WhoDo]

Don't know enough to advise you with lighting, etc., but I do know what I like in this genre. Don't forget, as many seem to, that MUM is part of the process. Focussing all of your energy on the "bump" tends to leave mum out IMHO. Pregnant women have a wonderful healthy glow about them, and capturing that is worth the effort. Sure it's good to be able to say to a child down the track that "hey, that bump is you", but it would be nice to say to mum how terrific she looks too! Just my humble opinion, mind you. :)

[kiwi]

do the opposite of these

http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/photogallery/pregnancy/prepare-for-baby/awkward-pregnancy-photos-20110801-1i77r.html

[blackthorn]

bahaha! thanks for the link kiwi, I'm sure it won't be too hard to avoid repeating those :p

[Shelley]

I did a pregnancy shoot for the first time a couple of months ago and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I like simple. I have another coming up. I say to them if possible to have black boob tube and short bike type pants, also white set too (most women can usually get that). The young girl bought some black silky material which she tied around her like a sarong under her belly and wore a lacy black bra - was very nice I thought.

She was very comfortable with her body and we also did shots in pretty black knickers and bra. Her partner was in some shots without a shirt wearing jeans - it worked very well.

Though each person is different and I would shoot according to that. I did use material around her, but the simple shots were nice. I used one light and a reflector, sometimes a hairlight because she had dark hair.

When doing shoots, I have all these ideas, but in reality only some come to fruition as you can only do so much and time goes very quick.

All the best and hope it all goes well.

[scarlet artemis]

When I was pregnant with my daughter I went to a photographer friend called Brad whose main business is this kind of stuff - he advised to me get a pair of comfy stretch shorts/long pants in black and white, a crop top and/or a stretch maternity top with an interesting neckline (round, V, frill, tucked etc), jeans and a loose non patterned button up shirt. The simple clothing meant the focus was on mum dad and bump. He also shot us against a plain background - white in our case. He also supplied some body paint and had my husband write a message to the baby on the bump. He shot us with an 85mm prime lens and an ISO of 200.