Maternity photography has become a booming industry as women of our generation show pride in their pregnant bodies and want to have some cherished images to help them remember such a miraculous time in their lives. There are some stunning and tastefully done portraits out there, like this:
With all of my pregnancies I documented the growth of my belly with some photos taken with the self-timer on my camera and it’s always amazing to look back on the transformation I underwent (and am presently undergoing)! With my second pregnancy, a great friend of mine took some maternity pictures for me, pro bono and I am so glad she did! (If you click on her link you’ll see me in my massive glory.)
The one thing about pregnancy photos is, what the heck do you do with them after the fact? They’re not exactly “hang above your mantle” material, especially if you do some like THIS:
Gah! My eyes!!!
What about you? Did you spring for some professional maternity photos? If so, were you pleased with them? If not, do you wish you had?
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Um, no, there was nothing beautiful about my body when I was pregnant. That’s not the self esteem talking, that is the honest to god truth. Even in hindsight I still feel that way. I wasn’t one of these pregnant women with the giant boobs to detract from the belly, or the little tiny basketball. I was a hippo, and my boobs didn’t grow at all either time (wore the same bra at the end as at the beginning!) – so they just kinda shrunk into nothingness as the belly grew.
I have maybe a handful of clothed photos from when I was pregnant – just snapped because the belly was in the way of something else. I also have two at-home photos of my DD with my giganto-tummy, one at about six months and one just before I left for the hospital to deliver my DS. The last one kinda scares me a bit when I look at it, it looks like my two-year-old daughter could have fit in my tummy. Both times I carried my babies right out front, large and (not so) proud, man the belly was insanely huge!!
i love maternity photos (well, not freaky ones like that 2nd on you posted!). i had some taken and am happy to have them around for me to look back on when my son is older.
I think pregnancy pics are silly. Especially the hand formed heart over the belly button. If you want to document it just snap a few candid pics of your belly as you get bigger. But seriously spend the money on the baby once its born.
I actually had pregnancy pictures done with my third baby, and now being a photographer myself I love capturing an expectant mom. (this may also be due to the fact I work as an L&D nurse). As I do my photos outdoors I am not into the bare bellies as much as capturing the moments between a couple waiting for their baby. I think it is the job of the photographer to know how to make the mom feel beautiful no matter what her size or opinion of herself. I wish I could go back and redo them. I have 3 small framed photos up in our room documenting a season in my life.
OMG. I laughed so hard because I have seen a ton of these photos! *wiping tears from eyes*
I love the first one, though. Wish I wasn’t so overweight then a prego photo would’ve been gorgeous. 🙂
Whoa! Too much information! I would never pose with hubby … something about the prego belly and daddy, I don’t know…not my favorite…I just took a few of myself or hubby took some to send to our far away family that didn’t get to witness the growth. I didn’t intend to frame any of them, so it would be kinda pointless to get professional ones. I have taken some for friends, and the ones with the sibling hugging the bump are the most memorable I think.
Dude, I can’t unsee that.
I took a lot of belly shots, but I never got around to doing anything “classy” and “elegant” because, well, I figured I’d be pregnant forever and could always get to it later. What I SHOULD have done, though, was taken more nudie pics before I got pregnant, when my body was as good as it was ever gonna be. Ah, bygones.
I love your belly pics Amanda, especially the last one with the funny face. I’m not as photogenic as you, so I steer clear of the preggy pics and usually pose with a kid in front of me at all times, even when I’m not pregnant. I’m trying to learn to like how I look, but sometimes the camera can be mean! Not so in your case, lovely pics, beautiful belly.
I had photos done for my second pregnancy, mostly because a very good friend of mine is a fantastic photographer and I knew that they would be tastefully done. I also did a henna tattoo on my belly, and she did a mini-photo-shoot then. I love the photos, but the naked-belly ones are NOT hung up around the house! They are in my scrapbook, and in my daughter’s baby book. I’m really glad I did it, though, because it was a lovely experience and I felt like we were really celebrating our soon-to-be child and her place in the family.
I like YOUR photos, Amanda (tasteful) but the naked one at the bottom? *shudder*
I had photos done of my pregnancy, but I sought out a photographer that I knew was going to take unique photos, just this side of “edgy”. She didn’t take the typical hands-in-shape-of-heart-on-belly photos… but she was excellent, in fact we’ve had her back 3 times to do photos of our daughter and family. If I ever get pregnant again, I’ll have her come back and do photos again.
I think maternity photos are fine, as long as they’re tasteful and everyone’s comfortable. Nothing worse than a photo of just how the couple got in their situation (a la Awkward Family Photos).
I just think pregnancy pics are gross.
I didn’t with either of mine but wish I would have. There are so many options from photographers nowadays. While it’s true they aren’t exactly mantle pieces, many of my clients order at least a few 5x7s for around the house or to put in an album.
What I suggest is that people book a photographer for both the Maternity and Newborn session. It’s obvious that people are going to want more pictures of the newborn baby rather than the maternity photos. A great idea is to have the photographer create an album that encompass both sessions. It’s a lovely keepsake you’ll cherish forever.
Nope…..I don’t know maybe because I’m single it always felt a bit uncomfortable being pregnant and I think I have three pictures of me pregnant (one is standing next to my dad and bro’s bellies in comparison to mine). I think some are lovely to look at but it just wasn’t my thing.
oh dear god! but you know what? how much does he love his wife to do that? (i still can’t look at it however!)
i got shots done with both kids and there’s only one i “hide”. it’s basically me with my ginormous boobs and that’s just for me cuz they were great looking and they were never and will never be that big again! 🙂
We didn’t do any photos of the nude or nearly there variety. I’m just not that comfortable with my body, heck I didn’t even let Corey take one with my shirt rolled up. While I think there are many that are beautiful, I didn’t want to see them of my self. The one you’ve posted above however, is enough to make a girl gag! While she may be pregnant and glowy he’s rather, bloated and yucky. Keep your pants on dude, we know how she got pregnant!
Ummmm….a little warning before that last one. Generally I think maternity pics are sweet, but that one was a bit much, no?
A friend offered to take some professional pics for me (for free, yay!) this last pregnancy. My husband opted out, but my 3.5 year-old joined me. I will cherish those pictures forever. My daughter’s precious face and super-sweet belly hugs and kisses captured forever – priceless
I really wanted to do a pregnancy shoot when I was pregnant with Isabelle. I waited till my bump got big enough (for a long time I kind of had a double bump where I was big but it indented around my belly button with mostly baby in the lower bump and mostly a roll of fat above) then I should have done it, I had a perfect bump and then the stretch marks overtook it. 3 weeks before Issi was due my Dr went on holiday (which she returned from about 2 hours after I gave birth) so I had to see another Dr, a male Dr whose first look at my belly resulted in the coment “Wow, you REALLY got bad stretch marks, u, wow!” And that was it, my confidence was gone, no pictures.
Love the pics!
(I also love AwkwardFamilyPhoto’s)