Maternity Photography as a genre is kind of peculiar if you think about it…  By the time the end of pregnancy rolls around, most moms have gained a substantial amount of weight. It’s healthy. It’s good.  …but no mom is excited about it!

Just yesterday a soul-sister of mine was at my house for her baby shower.  This girl is gorgeous, let me tell you, and she’s one of those women who has the figure where a belly button ring makes sense.  But even she felt larger than life.  I didn’t really notice any particular weight gain other than her actual baby bump, but she certainly did.  And EVERY woman I photograph for maternity pictures seems to feel this way.

So why are women happy to be photographed when they’re pregnant at all?!…

Because motherhood from the first minute is amazing. (I could seriously rattle on for an hour about how unbelievable it is that a person can grow a tiny human, but I digress.)

I believe that photographs of a woman carrying a baby are as gorgeous as they are because of the relationships behind the bump that are forming.  The woman, becomes a mommy, and the man becomes a daddy.  It’s the beginning of their whole world changing. (Did you see my post about relationship newborn sessions? This maternity topic and that one go hand-in-hand.)

Emotion plays a significant role in maternity photography.  In many cases, dads are a huge part of the sessions.  Yes, I literally am posing, and photographing a belly, and making sure I avoid things like double chins, and wide arms, but I wouldn’t say thats what the session is really about.  It’s about drawing out the woman’s love for her husband, and the man’s for his wife, and photographing THAT.

Now on to why you’re really reading this post…

WHO:

Maternity sessions are usually mom + dad, but siblings are welcome too.

WHEN is the best time to take maternity pictures:

It’s up to you when we shoot.  A bigger belly photographs the best.  However, most women don’t prefer to wait so long that they have cankles, and are grumpy 24/7.  …annnd babies can certainly be early, so that’s another reason to not put it off.  Shooting the session between 30 and 36 weeks is about right.

WHERE can we shoot:

Most sessions are in studio.  It is very important to me that I control my light and shadow enough that I can keep arms looking slim, and love handles to a minimum.  Plus that tender love that I talked about drawing out makes more sense photographed in studio.

There is one perk now.  Since we are now in my new studio space, just South of Lexington in Nicholasville, with quite the outdoor scenery, we’re much more able to shoot a couple images outside, weather pending.

HOW LONG:

Sessions last about and hour; maybe a touch more.

WHAT TO WEAR/BRING to your maternity session:

Let’s talk.  I wan’t to hear what kind of images you want to make, and what you will end up doing with your photographs..

HOW MUCH:

Obviously this one is up to you.  After the session fee, the choice is yours.  But at our ordering appointment, I’ll coach you on one thing.  ..not going crazy on maternity images.  Yes, I actually want to help you NOT get a million images.  For lots of women, this is may be the first time they feel like they look beautiful in a photograph, plus they’re emotional, and they can’t wait to meet this kid they’ve been preparing for.  So, some are temped to ‘get them all.’  And if that’s important to you, okay great, but I never want my clients getting home and wondering “what am I going to do with all these 4x6s???” and experience buyers remorse.  What follows after that splurge, is she feels less excited about newborn photographs.  Newborn images are my passion, my first love (photographically speaking), and I know they hold the most value in mom’s hands.  I KNOW those images are going to be far more important to her.  So, if there is ever a choice you have to make maternity or newborn pictures.  Choose newborn every time.

So what’s a good plan for maternity photographs?  Here are some ideas:  a coffee table book of all your favorite maternity images is a perfect way to start a library.  Coffee Table Books are insanely popular among my clients.  A canvas or two for the master bedroom is a nice place to hang images that are more intimate in nature.  The baby’s nursery is a great place to hang the light-hearted, fun, laughing images. And hubby and your mom usually likes a couple small desk prints to keep.

Pricing info is unpacked here on the Investment Page.  Look for the Collection at the bottom that is designed with maternity clients in mind.

You can review my maternity gallery HERE.

What’s next:

Please CONTACT ME asap to schedule your maternity session.

And since you’re pregnant, Let me direct you some other posts that are relevant to PRE-baby mommas…

When to SCHEDULE your newborn session

When we SHOOT a newborn session

6 things to know when searching for your newborn photographer

The post Maternity Photography appeared first on Robin Allen Photography.

Searching for a good newborn photographer can be kind of daunting.  Most of the time parents don’t even know what to look for.  Here’s a starting point to help you out…

1.  Newborn Photographers vary drastically. Here are a few points to consider:

POSING

Have you ever caught yourself on one of those security camera monitors?  Or glance over to a mirror you didn’t know was there? You see yourself and you immediately correct something.  Our natural stance often leaves something to be desired.  That’s posing.  But for the professional photographer we need look every tiny detail. No one wants to hang a nice canvas in their home that has some glaring posing mistake.  Here are the most common corrections… bad posture, double chins, wide arms, tense shoulders stiff by the ears, fake smiles, crooked jewelry, bra straps showing, crooked wardrobe, hair doing something funky, and about a hundred other subtle adjustments that make a world of difference.

Many times photographers either don’t notice the problems while they are still shooting, they don’t care quite enough to fix each problem, or worse, they see the problem but don’t know how to fix it without being awkward.

Speaking of awkward…

WEIRDOS

One of the most important things I’ve seen photographers have or lack having is likability!  Can you believe that?!  Think about it.  If the people in the hot seat like their photographer, trust her, and even think she’s funny, the expressions on their faces are bright and genuine.   Conversely if the photographer makes them uncomfortable in any way, their faces look forced or fake, and certainly not a warm as they could be.

It’s very important to feel comfortable with the person making photographs of your family.  No pregnant mother wants a weirdo (no matter how genius) as their maternity photographer.  No mom wants a crazy person around their shy child, and no dad wants a photographer who seems completely unaware of how they are perceived.

WORKING WITH CHILDREN

Circling back to posing… children are a delightful wild card.  All the posing expertise in the world can fly right out the window when toddlers are involved. So what then?  Give up on posing? Shoot a million frames a *hope* something is usable?  No. My personal approach is this: I get them in position and fulling knowing they fidget and squirm I use that to the session’s advantage.  We maintain 100% patience with the little ones, and keep the mood light and calm the whole time.  Threats, bribes, screens, and negotiations invite a train wreck.  The best way to get amazing images is to work with what kids can give you and patiently and happily persevere.

EXPERIENCE

lens choice, education, lighting,

FINAL IMAGE QUALITY

This one is subtle. There is a very noticeable difference in quality as it appears on a screen, verses in print.  When you see an image that you hold in your hand on a screen, you really would never see if it has really poor image quality.  One of the ugly corners photographers often cut to keep their cost down is in this topic.  Some photographers do what’s known as “running an action” on the images they give the client.  This means the images are not treated individually.  This means that all areas of the image that the computer thinks is skin is smoothed, or “airbrushed” to borrow the old-school term.  The problem is, it’s FAKE. You can see it!  The up site for the photographer is it take virtually no time to do this to 100 images. The down side is, the human decision is removed.  There are dozens of little judgement calls I make when I hand-retouch each purchased image. There are hours of care in preparing the images that my clients order.  This level of attention to detail is very time-consuming, but very necessary if I call myself a professional.

So therein lies the dirty little secret.  Many many many photographers say they “retouch” or “edit” all their images, when all the while they are running a preset on everything and not actually giving care to individual images.

 

You probably find out about photographers a bunch of different ways…  Word of Mouth, Social Media, a Google search, or you might have even seen newborn images you love at your last prenatal appointment.  (You might have seen mine at UK Midwife Clinic, PAA, Baby Belly Pregnancy Spa, and other OBGYN offices in Lexington.)

Let me encourage you to look carefully… when you are researching photographers, ask yourself if you think the photographer strives for excellence in every session?  Does he or she pay attention to small details?

(That will be especially important when it’s you in front of the camera…  In your photographs, if you see a double chin, a piece of hair laying weird, the buttons on your husband’s shirt parting, or your smile looks tired and forced… it’ll bug every time you look at your pictures.  Paying attention to details is extremely important in every single session.  Some natural positions can be very unflattering.  Posing with extreme care can make a world of difference.

You can see my recent work here on my site… Maternity Gallery, Newborn Gallery

Even the very best photographers will be imperfect, and even the really young ones can be sort of lucky from time to time, but so many of the photographers are just simply not yet seasoned to notice these details.  Also, many are too lazy to really care much.  It takes session after session of learning from mistakes to learn to look for unflattering spots, and have the poise and know-how to correct them before they are photographed.  I have certainly not “arrived,” but with almost 2 decades of professional photography under my belt, it means I’m not “practicing” on my paying clients.

2.  You can’t redo a newborn session…

Everyone knows someone with a wedding photographer horror story.  They’re easy to come by, and why wouldn’t the be?  Most people are not excited about the price tag, everyone seems to have a friend who is a “photographer”… so in the effort to get a steal, the young bride hires the buddy with the new, expensive camera. That’s where the horror comes in.  Big important day + amateur photographer friend = Bride wishes she sprung for the professional photographer.

Newborn photography isn’t much different.  Did you know newborn sessions are best shot at within a tiny window of about a 5-9 days old, and at 14 days that precious window has closed? (more on that here)  So, by the time you get to see your images, your chance for a redo is long gone.  It’s extremely important to get it right the first time!

 

this one might just be the most important…

3.  Professionals vary on price

Photography is not mechanical. It’s not a matter of a job done well, or a job done poorly.  It’s more of a question of beauty and emotion.  If you were shopping for a commodity, then sure, shop based on price. But you are not, otherwise you’d be all set with your selfies from the hospital.

Some budding young image makers treat themselves like they are running a widget factory… Just crank out as many widgets as possible, post their portfolio to a pretty website, advertise like crazy on social media, and price themselves as competitively as the can, and watch the moms come running.  I’m tired just thinking about it!  They do scores, if not hundreds of mini sessions a year.  Their post production usually looks they only batch-edited the images and ran the gamut of images through facial retouching software. Then their clients are given a hundred images, none of which are really amazing enough to make large wall art with.

That’s a very general, very grim outlook on some photographers, I admit.  But, the heartbreaking part of it is it has nothing to do with their talent.  Some of these people are so stinkin’ talented, but throughout the process they forget about the person at whom they point their camera.

You, friend, do not want one hundred images where you look

 

4.  The early bird gets the worm

Not that I’m calling myself a worm, but if it’s important to you that you reserve a certain newborn photographer, then do that ASAP.  I have a cap on the number of sessions I choose to take each month.   This post explains when you need to reserve your newborn session.  The reason you reserve your photographer this early because we shoot the session so soon after your baby is born.  If you wait until baby is here, you are making a gamble that probably won’t work out so well.

CONTACT ME to get on my calendar and reserve your session!

 

5.  Would you like your newborn photographer to also be your maternity photographer?

Pregnancy photography, to me, is about love, beauty, and intimacy.  Two become one, and baby makes three.  Many of my maternity sessions involve a LOT of dad.  It’s not just about mom’s round belly that we focus on during the session, but it’s their relationship that is the true subject.

Most of my maternity clients come to me for my specific style of shooting maternity images. For my more ‘intimate’ images, I am careful to keep mom as beautiful as her husband sees her.  Yes, she has probably gained a bunch of weight at this point, and we’re not able to use creative wardrobe to mask that.  I only use my light and shadow and careful posing to keep the extra weight from getting in the way.

And not all my clients really want intimate maternity images.  Plenty of women are much lighter in their goal.  These clients are hanging colorful, fun images in the nursery and living room.  I love both ends of the spectrum, and the majority of my clients do both during the maternity session.

See this info on my maternity sessions

 

6.  If props are important to you..

A seasoned newborn photographer has tons of props, however there is always that one small thing that mom would like for the session that is very specific.  If that’s you, you do not have to be limited to JUST  what your photographer owns. You can order your very own perfect pieces now.  Some of the best boutiques for newborn props, bows, headbands, and costumes are on Etsy, and my favorite, No2 Willow Lane Boutique.  You’ll want to line them up right away.  (Don’t forget, babies can come early. 😉 )

BUT! What if you don’t need the props after your session???…  😎 Check this great deal Willow Lane and I have partnered to bring you.

 

 

RECAP

 

  Helpful links for the preggo momma… 

 

When you need to SCHEDULE your newborn session

INVESTMENT PAGE…. session fees, and other pricing

Robin Allen Photography newborn gallery

Robin Allen Photography maternity gallery

contact information for Robin Allen Photography

Newborn session experience

Ordering Props from No2 Willow Lane 

Baby’s First Year Photography Membership

 

 

The post 6 things to know when searching for your newborn photographer appeared first on Robin Allen Photography.

Every *purchased* image undergoes  retouching to remove blemishes, mistakes and other unsightly things.  Many people refer to this as Photoshopping an image, or a decade ago I heard the term “airbrushing” a lot.  Some budding photographers say “editing”.  The point is, the images are cleaned up… Much like how you run the vacuum before your in-laws come for a visit.

So what blemishes would be addressed in retouching?…

If you would clean it up with makeup or a bath, that’s what needs retouching!  Snot, zits, acne, cradle cap, stork bites, flaky skin and bruises are obvious.  Crusties anywhere on the skin, red blotches, dark circles, eye boogers, and stray fly-away hairs are even more common.  Adults, even when they’re still young, have age spots and wrinkles.  …

The topic of wrinkles starts to get tricky.  Wrinkles begin to cross over from “blemish” to “character.”  I don’t ever remove character.  If I remove a person’s character, they quickly become “not them self,” and then I have over-retouched an image.  Over-retouching is always worse than under-retouching.  So many of these things are purely a judgement call.  This is a definite instance where I would ask, “would I want this “fixed” if it were me or my child or my husband?”

I am a plastic surgeon! HA!

There is also “plastic surgery” and “doing laundry”…  ‘Why YES, I’m happy to shrink your love handle,’ and ‘of course I’ll remove the spit-up from your shirt.’   ‘Dirt on you son’s khaki pants? no problem!!!’  If you ever have a question about what I might address, don’t hesitate to ask!

One thing retouching is NOT…  Professionally retouching an image dose NOT mean running an Action on a batch of images.  These are Photoshop presets that photographers can buy that do an auto-smoothing of skin.  Generally speaking it looks pretty fantastic on a screen.  But get these images in print, and you see the gross inadequacies. skin-smoothing quickly begins to look embarrassingly like you are now fake, plastic dolls. Yikes.

Editing is also not the same as retouching….  “Editing” is not an agreed upon term.  For me, editing means I cull the 200-400 shot images down to only the best, unique, 30-60 images. I then make sure all the images have the correct exposure and color balance (that’s light/dark and warm/cool), and I also crop. Cropping means cutting out the irrelevant areas of the image so the eventual print is well-composed.  From one photographer to another, “editing” can mean different things, so it’s a good idea to ask when they mean by the term.

Bottom line… As a professional, I make the continual judgement call to “help” what actually NEEDS to be helped.  Everything else, I leave it alone.  Less is more.

Portfolio Galleries

The post What is Retouching and Editing? appeared first on Robin Allen Photography.

It’s a good idea to….

Bring to your newborn session:

• Dress for the tropics. When we’re not photographing a family shot, and we’re concentrating on your baby, dress like you’re going to the beach. The studio is WARMMM.  On that note, you are so welcome to bring your makeup and hair irons, and work on getting yourself all spiffy here while I’m working with baby. There’s no sense in arriving perfectly finished if we have decided not to start with family shots.
• Any props you would like. (obvious, I know, but who doesn’t appreciate a check list)
• *If you are making family or sibling photographs with your newborn,* see the relationships session post for good information there.  You’ll notice that there are two opposite ways of photographing relational shots.
  • DARK images use a black background.  Mom, Dad, and sibling’s wardrobe should be long sleeve, and high-ish neck black or dark brown.  This ‘look’ is going to highlight naked baby, hands, and faces; not clothes.  I’m often asked if the dark relationship images are inappropriate for African Americans with dark skin. Not at all. They’re quite beautiful actually.  It would be unprofessional of me to light my client in such a way that they “disappear into the background.”  As a matter of fact, my all-time favorite dad + baby image has the look.
  • The LIGHT images don’t actually require white, as one might assume.  Actually, don’t bring white. It’s too stark.  The object of the game here is to pick clothes that have LOW contrast to your skin.  Colors such as cream, oatmeal, various shades of taupe or tan work very well.  Layering nice texture is very welcome in these images. As with most images, solid colors are a must. Stripes, plaids, and other patterns are very distracting in the image and they literally steal-focus from the newborn and your relationship.  In both Dark and Light, we don’t want clothing to be the focus of the image.  These light images are not limited to the neutral colors. In fact, muted pinks, yellows, and even light greens have been very nice. You will just need to be careful to lay the family’s clothes out together and see if they coordinated well.  If you’re leaning toward picking up a color in your newborn family shots, its a great idea to pick a color that works well with your home’s decor since family shots are likely to be hung proudly on your walls.
• Hats or bows for your newborn. Most newborns are naked the whole time, so outfits aren’t necessary, but your hats and bows are awesome.  ESTY is a fantastic place to pick up some GREAT little props like these.  The selection is awesome, pieces are hand made, and often very competitive in price.  When you’re looking for bows for your little girl, search for “newborn headbands,” “newborn tiebacks,” and “newborn props.”  Have fun browsing. It’s addictive!
• Newborn sessions can be long, so please feel free to bring a snack.  Even an entire lunch is fine.  I’ll have drinks here, but by all means, don’t be shy to eat here.
• I have a boppy for you nursing mommas.
• Extra milk if it’s not already attached to you.  Your baby is likely to need to eat!  When he or she does need to stop and eat, I want to welcome you to make yourself at home.  If you need to nurse, by all means – nurse!  I’ll give you your privacy or stay and listen to your birth story.  Whatever makes you at-home.
• My newborn clients are strongly encouraged to review the post The Morning of your Newborn Session.  This post is for clients only, so if that’s you, and I haven’t sent you the password, feel free to cal me – 859-685-8516, or email me – robin@robinallen-photography.com
• If you are reading this weeks or months before your session, THIS POST about Props from Willow Lane is for YOU.

Bring to an outdoor session:

• 3-5 of your kids’ cutest outfits.  Outside we are likely to get through two outfits.  A third is good to have on hand if the session is going quickly and there’s time for the third.  The fourth and fifth are just in case you want my opinion on what photographs well.  For little girls, and especially baby girls, I recommend having at least one outfit that is not a dress.  Dresses require extra attention to posing, such as sitting lady-like, and fluffing the dress.  These extra efforts are not a problem, but they can be time-eaters, and your daughter may quickly tire of being told to sit a certain way.  Having a casual pants/jeans outfit is very helpful and quite cute!
• A snack for your little one.  Snacks are great for when we break for an outfit change.  Obviously bring it with you as we venture from location to location, but we do want to avoid offering food and drink at every frown or else you’ll have a mouth full of snack in every other shot we make.

Bring to a cake smash:

• The cake!  Don’t forget to bring the cake!
• Cake smash outfit or diaper cover.
• Clean-up supplies!  If we shoot in-studio, I’ll have towels and a sink, but if you like special wipes or something, bring those.
• Fresh clothes and diaper for the ride home.

Bring to a maternity session:

• strapless bra (we can tuck traps in a pinch)
• tube top if you have one.
• tight camisoles… maternity camisoles are usually ideal since they’re long enough, but regular camis work too.  This is a great way to introduce color to your maternity session… Displaying a maternity image in baby’s purple nursery?  well then bring a purple cami!
• black pants for both mom and dad.  It doesn’t matter what kind, really.  They’ll be too dark in the photographs to be able to tell if they’re slacks or yoga pants.
• black tee shirt for Dad.  He can also go shirtless for some images if you guys would like the skin-to-skin look.
• dresses or tops with an empire waist.  Its a good idea to avoid busy patterns and stick with solids where you can.  Busy prints are good at hiding the contours, in some cases and that’s exactly what we do not want to do.

The post What to bring to your session appeared first on Robin Allen Photography.