TIPS TO DO MATERNITY PHOTOSHOOT BY YOURSELF

I am a professional maternity photographer based out of Delhi and has been providing maternity photoshoot services to client in Delhi, Gurugram (Gurgaon), Noida, Faridabad and other locations of NCR region for last fie years. I have more than 12 years of professional photography experience and learned the trait under renowned photographers of USA during my stay there. 

I do my maternity photoshoot at my studio in Gurugram (Gurgaon) and I also do outdoor maternity photoshoot at various locations of Delhi region. I also sometime gets request from few expected mothers who are unable to come to my studio and are not comfortable with outdoor shoot and request for guidance about doing photoshoot on their own. So I thought to cover this in this blog for expected mother who want to do their own maternity photoshoot. I have provided few important tips for expecting mothers who want to do their own photoshoot. Follow these tips and you would be able to create memories of lifetime.

Timing of Maternity Photoshoot

As you are planning to do you own photoshoot, the important thing to plan is about the timing of the photoshoot. The entire photo session starting from planning to execution is going to be very tiring and exhaustive. So be prepared for putting in lot of efforts. Now that you are pregnant and you are already carrying the weight of a baby with inherent fatigue associated with it. So I would suggest that expecting mothers should not wait till the last minute of their pregnancy for conducting their own photoshoot.  

If you are planning to do your own photoshoot then plan it during the week of 28-32 weeks as by that time you would be able to see the curves of your tummy also and at the same time you will still be a bit energetice then the end phase of your pregnancy. Please ensure that you start the planning of your maternity photoshoot well in advance of actual photoshoot. This will give you an ample timing to arrange things without rushing for it. 

Plan Well In Advance

For all the expecting mothers who want to do their own photoshoot, one thing i suggest them which is very important is to plan well in advance. Please keep that in mind that you wont feel much energetic during the latest phases of your pregnancy. So if you are doing your own photoshoot, then plan for it during the initial months of your pregnancy.

I strongly suggest to plan out all things covered in this blog while putting together the arrangement for photoshoot. Planning a well in advance will give you enough time to make plan into action. It will also give you time to experiment with things and realign them over the time. 

Which Family Members To Be Invited

One of the most difficult issue to sole while planning your own maternity photoshoot is to decide who are from your family members would be included or excluded from it. This becomes very tricky if you are living in a join family setup or your close family members are living closeby. In Indian social context all family members want to get involved in these kind of events so it becomes very difficult to decide who all to include and whom to exclude.

My suggestion for this point is to minimize the number of family members as little as possible. If you can try to keep it within yourself and your husband only. Trust me the biggest issue during a photoshoot is the huge family being present as it completely screws up the whole photoshoot flow and it becomes very difficult to plan for pictures and execute them.

I am a professional maternity photographer and the yet the biggest issue I face during a photoshoot is the presence of large family during the photoshoot. As we Indians like to provide our recommendations in everything 🙂 which makes it very difficult to be creative during the shoot. 

I also suggest that maternity photoshoot is an intimate event which you would like to enjoy with your husband so try to keep the other family members away from the photoshoot if possible. It its impossible to keep other family members away, I would suggest to plan a time slot concept in a way that you have a dedicated timeslot only for yourself and husband and another time slot which includes other family members also.

Which Camera To Use

If you are planning to do your own photoshoot then you will be most concerned about the camera to be used for the photo session. I am a professional maternity photographer and I would suggest that as you are not a professional photographer so don’t bother too much about the type of camera to be used. If you access to a DSLR camera then use it for your photo session. In case you don’t have a DSLR then a good quality camera phone would also be sufficient for your photo session.

Dress

Finalizing the dress for your photoshoot would be the most difficult and daunting task. Selecting a good dress with right color combination would be the key for great pictures. I would suggest to follow some basic points while finalizing your dress. It is recommended to select a dress or down with solid single color. Do not select a dress which are large patterns or prints on it. Select a large gown or dress which has large drape with it. I also suggest not to invest a large sum of money on a dress. Be reasonable and set you expectations when you are selecting your dress.

I suggest that while selecting the dress for your suggest, follow the same rule. The shirt should be of single solid color and color should be in contract of your dress color. If any confusion or difficulty, single rule of thumb is to select a white shirt for your husband with a pair of blue jeans. This combination goes nicely with all poses.

Posing

You could always choose between a styled and polished portrait and a raw and candid one. Again, it’s a matter of personal preference. Make sure you . As a matter of fact, different props are used according to the theme of the whole shoot.  Placements of your body, hands plays a great role in the final outcome of the picture. If you are looking for a professional portrait then you should have a proper posing done. You can get some great tips about posing here. 

 

Finalize The Photoshoot Flow

As a professional maternity photographer, I would also strongly recommend to plan and finalize the maternity photoshoot flow. Please be aware that if you plan to be ad hoc and decide on the spot about the flow of photoshoot in terms of what pictures and poses to take then it would be a chaotic situation. So I recommend that you plan out the day of photoshoot in details in terms of when to start, number of poses, number of dresses, flow of photo shoot etc. 

This detailed planning of photo shoot flow would help you to streamline your photo session and would be a lifesaver given you are already low on energy.

 

Post Editing

Post editing of pictures is equally important to bring out the amazing effect out of your portraits. There are some great tools out there which you can use for post editing effects on your pictures. If you have photoshop then you can use these free family photoshop actions to bring out some amazing effects or you can use these free Lightroom presets for post editing of pictures. While doing the post editing, please keep in mind that your editing style should be inline with your photo shoot theme. 

 

Conclusion

While I strongly recommend everyone to take services of a professional maternity photographer to get your maternity photoshoot. But if for some reason you are not able to do it then, follow my above mentioned tips to have a good and enjoyable maternity photoshoot by yourself. 

I am a professional maternity photographer based out of Gurugram (Gurgaon) and provide maternity photoshoot services for clients in Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad and other locations of NCR region. So if you are looking for a maternity photoshoot then contact me at 8826276090 or whatsapp me at the same number. I would be honored to create lifetime memories for you which you can relish forever. 

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