Introduction
pregnancy pictures• About the Guide
pregnancy picturesThe Basics
pregnancy photography• How to Prepare
Pregnancy tips• Wardrobe

Elements of Posing
maternity photography guide• Posture
Pregnancy tips• Arching
Pregnancy tipsWalkthrough - posture
Pregnancy tips• Gaze
Pregnancy tips• Expression
Pregnancy tips• The Leg Up

Pregnancy photography• Best Foot Forward
belly pics• The Crossover
belly picsWalkthrough the Crossover

Pregnancy photography• Finding a Pose
belly pics• Placement of Hands

Maternity Posing Ideas
pregnancy• The Cradled Belly
maternity• The Proud Mom
belly picsWalkthrough - Proud Mom
belly pics• The Seated Triangle
Pregnancy tips• Just the Belly
Pregnancy photography• The Hands of Love
Pregnancy photography• Over the Belly
Pregnancy tips• Peek-a-boo
Pregnancy tips• The Open Shirt
Couples:
Pregnancy tips• Face to Face
Pregnancy photography• The Kiss
belly picsWalkthrough - Couples
Pregnancy tips• The Bump
Pregnancy tips• Prom Gone Wrong

Pregnancy tips• Dad & the Belly
Posing with Kids:
Pregnancy tips• Holding the Sibling
Pregnancy photography• Bribes & Trickery
Pregnancy tips• The Sibling & the Belly
Pregnancy tips• The Juggling Act
Pregnancy tips• Dad & the Belly
Pregnancy tipsWalkthrough with children

The Camera Angle
nude pregnancy portraits• The Profile
nude pregnancy portraits• Straight On
nude pregnancy portraits• 3/4 View
nude pregnancy portraits• From Above
nude pregnancy portraits• From Below

Creatiing a Progression
nude pregnancy portraits• How to take a progression


The Maternity Silhouette
nude pregnancy portraits• Rules of the Silhouette

Nude and Semi-Nude
nude maternity photography• The Pregnant Nude
nude pregnancy portraits• Working with Fabrics
nude maternity photography• Coverage I
nude pregnancy portraitsWalkthrough - Coverage
nude pregnancy portraits• Coverage II
nude pregnancy portraits• Coverage for Couples
nude pregnancy portraits• The Demi
nude pregnancy portraits• The Seated Nude
nude pregnancy portraits• The Sweep
nude pregnancy portraitsWalkthrough - Swept Fabric
nude pregnancy portraits• The Horizontal Nude

Photographing yourself
nude pregnancy portraits• What you will need
nude pregnancy portraits• Settings

7 Common Problems with Maternity Portraits
maternity posing ideas• Backdrop Trouble
maternity posing ideas• On Camera Flash
belly pics• Harsh Lighting
maternity portraits• The Window Dilemma
maternity portraits• Lost in the Background

maternity portraits• Unflattering Wardrobe
maternity portraits• Overprocessing

maternity portraitsWalkthrough - Processing

 

Katsoulis Photography of Boston

The Illustrated Guide to Pregnancy Photography is now available for the iPad, and Kindle. The guide is filled with over three hundred pages of beautiful, instructive photographs, in-depth walkthroughs, galleries and more, demonstrating how to get great pregnancy portraits.

Katsoulis Photography of Boston

This guide is brought to you by Katsoulis Photography of Massachusetts. Gregory Katsoulis has been creating professional maternity portraits for over 10 years.

If you are looking for more ideas, please visit my online gallery of maternity photography, showcasing some of my best work.

If you find this guide helpful, please link to us from your blog, website or message board. You should also feel free to drop us a line and share your best pictures! guide@momphoto.com


Facebook Maternity

Just the Belly

In "the basics" I mentioned that maternity photography is not just about photographing the pregnant belly — that it can lead to photos that are anonymous and dull. Without some sort of context, personality or story, the photo fails to have any meaning.

Maternity Portrait PosesThe photo on the left is an example of a photo that doesn't work. Yes, it is a pregnant belly, but is says nothing about the mom-to-be, her feelings, or the form of the belly. Without context, it is nothing more than an object. In many ways a snapshot would be an improvement because it would aspire to less and achieve more.

This does not mean, however, that you should avoid making a photograph of just the belly. I take a few "belly only" photos on nearly every maternity shoot. What is important is that the photograph must have some meaning, either emotionally or aesthetically.

Maternity Portrait PosesThe photo on the right is, in many ways, very similar. However, in this case we have more context for the belly and, more importantly, the inclusion of the hands cradling the belly makes the photo about interaction between mother and child. It is also worth noting the composition - the lines and forms in the photo are much more interesting than in the photo above, left.

Many moms-to-be request to have photos taken of the belly alone. One benefit of such a photo is that if your subject is feeling uncomfortable, or unconfident, those expressions will not show on her face because her face is not in the photograph.

If you are planning on doing the "Hands of Love" pose, you will certainly want to take some if not all of your photographs as a close-up on the belly. This is fine. The "Hands of Love" pose is about the symbol made by the hands.

There are, however, interesting ways to take belly only photos. Most often these photos work as artistic abstraction. Take a look at the two "belly only" photos below:

pregnant moon bellypregnant nude

The photo on the left is exceedingly simple, presenting the belly like an image of the new moon. It is so devoid of context that you might not know it was a pregnant belly at all. It becomes purely about abstract shape. On the right, there are just enough clues to bring the context to the viewers perception. Which one is better is subjective — each viewer may have a different opinion.

Outside of abstraction, there is another reason to take a belly-only portrait. Many pregnant women would like to capture the specifics of how their belly looked during pregnancy. They want to remember how they looked; how they carried. Below is a small gallery of eight belly-only maternity portraits. Even though each photo is more or less the straight ahead photo, each photo is still unique.

pregnant bellypregnant belly
pregnant bellypregnant belly
pregnant bellypregnant bellypregnant bellypregnant belly

The women who posed for these photos would be able to look at these bellies and know which is theirs. While the photos look very similar, note that the lighting is subtly different for each. The key here is to find a way to show the character of the belly, throuh lighting, framing, pose and context. Even in the examples above, there is small amount of context with clothes, posture and the placement of the arms/hands.

N E X T