Maternity Session – Case Study

Maternity Portrait Subject:

34 Weeks

Maternity Session Notes:

This was the first maternity session at the Hollywood studio. Andrea showed up after a hair and makeup session off site and needed minimal time at the studio getting ready. Quite often the mother-to-be will forget to bring something to the shoot and in this case, Andrea forgot a garment she wanted to use. So we made use of a soft translucent cloth I bring to all my maternity shoots as well as one of her husbands white collared shirts which was a really nice touch. A lacy sea-foam green undergarment set was worn throughout the session. The color was a good pick for this session. It doesn’t distract and plays well in black and white. She was 34 weeks into her pregnancy which is at the tail end of the ideal 28-34 weeks. End Pregnancy bloating was not apparent .

We used 2 set ups in the studio and started on a black cove with a simple two light portrait set up. The 7′ umbrella mounted to the Godox AD600 stood at a 45 degree angle to the model and maybe 6-7 feet high to give a soft directional key light. Then we alternated using minimal fill light on the background to create separation in some shots. As a personal preference, I typically like my models to bleed out of the black though. Lastly, we alternated using a large 5 ft reflector on the opposite side of the key light for some extra fill. Starting with this simple set up was ideal because it gave Andrea an opportunity to warm up to the camera and get comfortable with the poses we were asking of her.

The first few shots we could see some of the shyness and common hesitation that comes with being photographed in your underwear by a stranger. So we spend a little more time with these to try and establish a flow. She starts to get comfortable and takes to directions very well. Common issues I find with any model on these shoots include positioning for the hands, legs, back and chin as well as rigidity of extremities like fingers. Her hair did really well throughout the shoot and there was minimal post work needed on almost all shots. After a few variations on our poses we wrap this set and move onto the next. One thing I’d check for in the future is the existence of pressure creases. We started shooting so quickly after she arrived there were still some creases on her skin from sitting with her original clothes on — as happens when one falls asleep on a textured pillow.

Our second set up for this maternity session was intended to create the appearance of backlight coming through curtains. The studio has a gigantic window along the wall next to the black cove (it’s always covered by whiteboards to keep the light controlled.) We removed those whiteboards and used them later for bounce. We mounted some nice curtains with plenty of diffusion to keep the light bright and soft on a background stand and placed the setup right in front of that big window. The Godox strobe mounted with the octobox stood to the left of the model to add fill wrap to her right side. From here we did several variations on the lighting using degrees of visibility in the curtains. Some shots they look like curtains, others they look like a faint texture. We also tried set ups with two large white reflectors in front of the model. These bounced the light back from the curtains onto the model and gave a very even brightly lit shot. We added additional light in the form of the octobox 4 feet in front of Andrea about 2 feet above her head. Lastly, we removed all the frontal lighting and shot her silhouetted against the high key back light.

Our maternity session went over by about 30 minutes. Contributing factors to the long time run: unfamiliar with new studio, and model late arrival.

Equipment:

Camera(s): Canon 5D Mark III
Lens(s): Canon 85mm f/1.8, Canon 24 – 105mm f/4L
Light(s): Godox AD600, Fovitec StudioPRO 400
Modifier(s): Westcott 7′ White Parabolic Umbrella, StudioPRO 38″ Octagon Softbox, 7″ reflector, Fovitec StudioPRO 14″ x 62″ Strip Softbox
Reflector(s): Neewer 5 in 1 40″ x 60″ (used only white), 6′ foam core v-flats
Tether: Asus Zenbook shooting into Lightroom Classic