Many women get a maternity session in their last few months of pregnancy. But, how about taking pictures throughout the entire pregnancy? It is so much fun to watch your belly grow and although it seems like a pain to do every week, it is TOTALLY worth it. I love seeing unique ideas to shoot a growing belly and thanks to Pinterest, we've put together a great list of ideas for your "Growing Belly" sessions. The best part? You don't need to hire a photographer...you just need a camera and someone to take the pictures!
My Yellow Shirt:
When I was pregnant with Layla we decided to take pictures with me wearing the same yellow shirt (non maternity...I was pretty ambitious) every few weeks in her nursery. I love that you can not only see the changes in my belly (and butt, face, thighs...) but also see her room come together behind me. When she was 18 months old I decided to break out the shirt again and now plan to get her picture in it at least once a year. What a great tradition and something she can enjoy when she's old enough to start having babies of her own (like when she's 34). Yes, I am crazy to already be thinking ahead to traditions we can have with my GRANDCHILDREN.
Project Baby:
This Mama had the same concept as I did...only made a shirt that counted all the way to 40 weeks. She crossed off the weeks as they went by and did a few different poses for each week which are hilarious. When baby was born, she made her shirt into a newborn outfit and took their last picture with him in the shirt. ADORABLE! You can actually buy a "Project Baby" shirt at her website for $45. And I am now kicking myself for not thinking of this. LOL
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| http://www.onelittleminuteblog.com/projectbaby/ |
The Kissing Tree- Maternity Series:
This Mom is adorable and I want to be her. The photography and the creativity in each of her weekly sessions...she is my hero. She proves that you can be sentimental, funny, Motherly and still have fun in Vegas while pregnant. This series makes me want to get pregnant again, and not eat bacon everyday just so I can look cute (as opposed to a water retaining blimp) and have adorable weekly pictures.
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| http://www.kissingtree.org/my-maternity-series/ |
Pacing the Panic Room- Belly Pictures Series:
I believe my role model above was inspired by this series. It is very similar but I love the video that they put together combining all the sessions. This Momma also puts her sense of humor into the sessions and some of the poses she strikes in the video are hilarious.
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| http://pacingthepanicroom.blogspot.com/search/label/the%20belly%20pictures%20series |
A Walk to 40 Weeks:
Instead of standing in front of the same white backdrop for her entire series, this Momma walked the block...literally. These pictures are of her taking a stroll through her neighborhood. I love how they documented the weeks with "side walk chalk" and both Mom and Dad wrote little letters each week to the baby. Cute cute CUTE and SO unique!!!
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| http://pacingthepanicroom.blogspot.com/2010/04/walking-for-two.html |
Now that you have a few ideas, get that first picture taken! The sooner you start, the more pictures you'll have to enjoy. The photographer in me can't help but give you a few more things to think about when doing your sessions:
1. Pick a location (or set of locations) and stick to the theme. If shooting outside...keep weather in mind. Your pregnant belly isn't the only thing that will change from season to season.
2. Keep something consistent. This could be wearing the same shirt, to doing a similar pose for each session...something that can be compared from week to week.
3. I know pregnancy is miserable but STICK WITH IT! Don't give up...you will be SO glad you documented this time in your life.
4. Highlight special events or milestones. The Vegas trip that The Kissing Tree Mom included in her series is hilarious and I'm sure will be a great story for baby.
5. Get siblings and pets involved. You can decide if you want them in every picture or just a few sessions, but it is fun to document the changes in them as well.
6. Most importantly: have fun! Let you and your family's personality show through in your pictures.
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