A Baby's Story - Julie Hughes

30 31 Imagemaker professional This is part one of a series of articles on pregnancy, birth and newborn photography, taking you from the first breath to the first steps of life. Be sure to attend the Annual Convention at Coventry in January where Julie will be presenting the complete series We are looking for brave models. If you know anyone who is going to be eight months pregnant or who will have a newborn in January please e mail Julie at abbeyoflondon@adelphia.net

The perfect roundness of a mother’s belly, the way her husband looks at her.... the first cry, that moment when we fall in love with the most perfect baby in the world:, all of these moments are gone as soon as they appear. That is why you should have baby and maternity plans for your clients.

Our studio just kind of fell into maternity photography when a lot of my brides did what comes natural after they got married, they got pregnant. Can you believe that when they first started calling me several years ago, I turned them away because I had no idea how to photograph a pregnant woman, as in those days before internet and Demi Moore, I had never seen a picture of a pregnant belly. All of the sudden about 8 years ago, pregnant woman (naked I might add) started appearing on covers of magazines, so I began cutting them out, and looking on the internet for ideas for my brides that where turning into mommies. I wanted to be ready the next time some one called for me to do this service. Sure enough, one of my adorable little brides was pregnant with twins and of course she wanted to be photographed naked. OH MY! I had never, at that time, photographed anybody nude. I was mortified. Thank-God for my trusty assistant Liz who had worked in a doctor’s office and was really comfortable with naked people.

Julie Hughes If you have little or no experience with figure studies buy a good book or check out appropriate web sites for ideas on fine art nude photography and get a friend or hire a model to work with you extensively. Your clients trust you with their reputations and lives. I have done a lot of this type of photography, and actually give my clients the work product when I am done. I then destroy the images that they do not buy. Unless you have a signed client release, never show or exhibit their images. To be naked is to be very vulnerable, and my client’s privacy and wishes are foremost in my mind. However, with this type of fine art photography, many clients are flattered to have you use them so it never hurts to ask.

I was fortunate enough to have a beautiful bride become a beautiful mommy, and she was very comfortable in her beautiful skin. She let me experiment with her in all sorts poses, and I really learned a lot about what works, and what doesn’t. Some important points to remember: Have a comfortable quiet environment to work in. Do not schedule anyone else when you are working with pregnant ladies. ALWAYS work with a female assistant. Never work alone. Have the daddy there, and also a part of the action. Showcase the father in a least 30% of the poses. Posing with the couple is very similar to romantic wedding photography but instead of the rings there is the beautiful belly to look at. Also feature dad’s hands on the belly; you can also have daddy kneel in front of the belly, and have both of his eyes in the camera He can also kiss the belly. Posing should be intimate, and use of soft focus is highly recommended. Experiment with poses where the subject’s eyes are not in the camera. Having them appear to be unaware of the camera adds to the level of intimacy I am trying to achieve. Always ask, and make sure that mom to be is very comfortable. Make sure you have plenty of bottled water on hand as pregnant ladies get very thirsty A very nice changing area and well stocked toilet are also a must

Start with fully clothed portraits, and ask her to bring a favourite robe or dressing gown, solid colours only. I always have a consultation with the couple prior to the photo shoot so they can decide how far they want the photo session to go. I show them slide shows of images that I have releases for, including birth and newborn slide shows so they can see what there options are. We offer beach and studio maternity photography, and have packages that include both. Decide what kind of clothing they will be wearing, and obviously for darker clothes, we want a darker background, and for lighter clothing we want to stick with mid-key tones, or pure white.

If the couple decides they want some more intimate portraiture, do that last. Be quick when your subject is nude. Do not practice, or take your time with paying clients. Do something gratis, and explain to your client you might be a bit long-winded if you plan to do lots of different poses while she is nude. Be sure to have your assistant offer the robe or a cover-up at every opportunity and ask if your studio is a pleasing temperature to your client.

We have a good selection of high key dresses many in lace plus drapes including a long bridal veil that we dyed purple which looks wonderful draped over a nude body. Have a female assistant do the wrapping for her; use a small clip to secure it in the back.

We always keep cheesecloth both in its natural state, and dyed darker colours for gently wrapping mom to be. Winding it around the breasts, leaving the belly exposed, and then wrapping the hips. The wrap adds visual interest, and covers up undesirable parts. Graphic nudity should never be the goal of a portrait artist.

Even pregnant women do not want to look fat!!! Use side lighting with reflector fill only to illuminate the belly, and face, letting swollen arms and legs drift delicately into the shadows. In Photoshop, we use the liquefy tool to push in waist lines, hindquarters, and trim down arms. Gently blurring undesirable body parts also works well. Liquefy can also be used to round up a lop-sided belly. Many pregnant ladies have very dark nipples due to hormonal changes, and most if not all of my moms want these softened or barely visible in the finished portraits.

Finding prospective mums is very easy if you are also a wedding photographer. Have albums, and enlargements on display of pregnancy and birth in your studio so you are planting seeds early. When they book you for your wedding services, keep her on your mailing list, and mail portrait and baby special offers often. Even if she does not get pregnant right away, we often have brides buying "Watch me Grow" gift certificates for pregnant sisters and relatives. We will always "gift" our clients with a pregnancy session (never say free) because if we can get her hooked on our studio experience while she is pregnant, we will often keep her for life. If you get her going crazy on the first baby (yahoo!) she will almost always do exactly the same for the second and third one. We are into making all our clients our Abbey of London studio family, and strive to treat all of them the way I would want my own family treated.

Julie Hughes Image 2 No matter whether my client comes to my studio for a bridal portrait, or a pregnancy portrait, we will make her look good. Before the client leaves the studio we set a projection appointment. When they see the images for the first time it is a slide show on a 40x60 screen set to emotional music. We strongly feel that you should never show your client an un-retouched image. When she sees them we want her to cry because she thinks they are so beautiful, not because she looks fat. Our goal with maternity photographs is to gain mom’s trust, and respect so we become her family photographer for a lifetime. At the time of her portrait presentation, we hope to sign her up for our "watch me grow" album plan. We also give her information about photographing the birth. We are now selling baby plans just like a wedding package, and find that the add on sales over the course of the year more than equal our best wedding sales. I’ll leave you with a few more images for you to try on your clients. Next issue we will talk in detail about the watch me grow album plan, and photographing births both at home, and in the hospital setting. I can’t wait to meet many of you at the January Convention in Coventry where we will be speaking about the "Baby Business" through the first year.

Photo Quote: Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter. - Ansel Adams