Taking pictures of my (ever expanding) bump wasn’t something I really planned on doing until recently. There are no pictures of me pregnant with The Toddler. Well, ok, I’ve found one, but it’s at about 14 weeks and I just look a bit like I’ve had dinner. I’m not super self conscious about my body, but I think that, like a lot of people, the idea of a lens concentrating on my stomach makes me feel like perhaps I shouldn’t have eaten that third penguin before lunch today.
Then the other day I was reading the ‘wish I took pictures like that’ blog Capture by Lucy and I noticed that she had a section on pregnancy photography and I thought, well, why not? I’m not overly planning on doing this again so it might be nice to have something to look back on. It’s not like I have to put them up in my front room. Although I umm… appear to be publishing them on my blog so strangers can look at my belly. Once again I fail to have thought this through properly, eh?!
Lucy takes photo’s professionally, so if you are round her way in Weston Super Mare and want something gorgeous I’d recommend that you go and see her, however if you aren’t that a way it’s worth looking at her blog for a few hints. I’m also very keen on Marie Donn who takes lifestyle photo’s closer to my neck of the woods and is also great to look at for bit of inspiration. My favorite hint from these was that if you take the photo from slightly above then it helps to remove any double chin issues!
Because I am not a professional photographer and don’t have a decent camera, I used an ipad to take these shots. I asked my friend Tanis to take the pictures for me because she had previously mentioned getting photo’s done of her bump and therefore I reasoned would be the friend least likely to think I had lost my marbles. The benefit of asking a friend is although you may feel silly yanking your belly out in front of them, you can get it done while the kettle boils which is much more suitable for people like me who don’t really have the time for much else!
The main thing you need is a room in your house with good natural light. At risk of sounding like a total sloven I’d also say look for the walls with the least messy toddler handprints / marks from your bike / splatters from opening wine bottles as this will help get the blank backdrop that a photography studio would have.
My other handy hint would be to make sure in advance that you are wearing clothes that won’t leave lines on your body at all. My pregnancy leggings are the stuff dreams are made of, but if I roll them down they leave a rather tell tale line across my stomach. I went for under the bump jeans and a vest I could roll up.
My final hint is photoediting, because I figured anything I did would look a lot more classy in black and white! I used Picmonkey, which I’m a huge fan of. I’ve previously had some issues with the images when I print them so I emailed them and this is their detailed responce on how to get your images print ready:
“When printing you want 300 pixels for each inch of print. So, if you are going for an 8×10 you’ll want 2400 x 3000 pixels. This is way bigger than you need for displaying on a screen… but, don’t skimp on ’em when printing! You can adjust the pixel size using the Crop tool or the resize tool. Do this before you do anything else.
Next, after you’ve finished all your edits go to the Sharpen tool. Zoom the image to 100% and add a little too much sharpening. Yes! A little more than you think it needs. Printing requires more sharpening.
Finally, save as a PNG instead of a JPG. JPG louses things up a bit… PNG doesn’t. So, if your printer supports PNG – save as PNG. The files are bigger but the prints are better.”
So there you go! If you’ve taken some pictures during pregnancy yourself, or had some done professionally I’d love to know how it went, do let me know below!
Capture by Lucy
Wow!! Thank you so much – well it’s more of a pocket money hobby at the moment – I don’t say I am a professional but wow if you think they are good enough then you have made my day!!!
Lovely pictures to save and look back on in the future! xxx
Kate
I think your stuff is gorgeous 🙂
Mel
Gorgeous xxx
Kate
Thank you 🙂
Sinead
Great post! And particularly like pic of you with your older boy! Very sweet! I’m 22 weeks with an already giant bump, will try out some of your tips!
Kate
Yes, do! I’m only 24 weeks but umm…am quite big…
Rachel
Lovely bump and great pics x
Kate
Thank you , have just consumed another cake to ensure bump stays well on track to super hugeness…
hannah
Absolutely beautiful pictures 🙂 I love them.
Kate
Thank you 🙂
mumma
Oh, such lovely photos Kate. Am slightly concerned that your belly button seems to have disappeared in the second pic – did you airbrush it out or is it just hiding a bit lower down? Keep eating the cake! xx
Kate
Ahem, well its coz it’s half sticking out at the moment so I think t just makes my belly look super round ;o)
Liska
Wow this is incredibly helpful – I would never have known any of those things.
I had professional photos done (Boudoir Photography) by FYEO (For Your Eyes Only) when I was 40 weeks.
I went to the expense of buying the album – funny to look back on when now I can barely afford to eat – the crazy things you do when you are on a nice salary versus the now me = SAHM.
Thank you for visiting my blog
Liska xx
Kate
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with paying for them if you can afford it 😉 but if you can get a few pics done yourself and be happy with those then that’s gotta be a good thing too 🙂
Marie Donn
Great post! I’m all about the memory-capture – whether it’s your own or professional (and thank you for the mention, I can’t wait to meet your bump!) – and even if you do splash on professional images, you won’t necessarily capture one a week!
Some of my favourite sets on Pinterest are ones where people have had the commitment to take images every week or month (though if I’m honest I suspect many of them are first-timers because as we know the bump looks waaaay different second (or third, or fourth…) time around!
As a pro, I guess I’d add a couple of extra tips:
Bump photos look particularly fabulous around the 33w mark – bump still perky, but visible, and your mobility can deal with a shoot.
Under-bump rocks. But if you don’t want to get the bump out, a bandeau top stretched over the bump down to the jeans or skirt is a fabulous shape-enhancer.
Think about how you live your life and the places that are important to you. Blank walls are fab for documentation of the bump’s growth but if you’re a city slicker, why not take a pic in an urban background, or if you are lucky enough to live by the sea (ahem!) then use that too!
Now enough commenting, I’ve just realised at almost 16w I haven’t taken my own bump pic yet (probably because I’m still at the stage where I look like I’ve only been troughing too much cake…)
x
Kate
Aww, I didn’t know you were pregnant! Congratulations 🙂 And thank you for the tips!