Maternity

[Arya Wiese]

**Please feel free to give me hard hitting constructive critique (HHCC). I need it to grow beyond where I am currently at**

These are a few images I took today during a session. I loved how her tattoo played into the session and loved how easy they were to work with. Enjoy!

1. ISO: 200 some fill flash used and my ss was about 1/60 and my ap was at about f/4.0 for this series
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m99/bearlyhere2006a/sessions/10x20swirly.jpg

2. ISO: 200 some fill flash used SS: 1/60 AP: f/5.6
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m99/bearlyhere2006a/sessions/DSC_0099-2.jpg

3. ISO: 200 some fill flash, SS:1/60, AP: 5.3
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m99/bearlyhere2006a/sessions/DSC_0141.jpg

[Annie James]

Arya, very sweet pictures and she has a perfect ' bump'!

For me, the clothes do nothing for the shot, it might have been better for them both to have had a neutral colour sweater, and possibly not have shot full length, i.e stopped where the bump ended. The cot ? in the background is distracting too, although I think I know where you were coming from by having them stand in front of it. This is a very hard area ( maternity) as every angle has pretty much been covered, trying to avoid being trite is nye on impossible, and mostly it is what your average client might want. A photograph of 'just' the bump and the husband/partners face kissing it might have been a nice pic for the series too. I doubt if this has helped, but it was at least honest.

Annie

[Arya Wiese]

No it does help and I do appriciate your honesty Annie, Thank you for taking the time to let me know what you think. For the crib shots the client wanted some pictures in front of it as it was really cute bedding, but I do know what you are saying. Thank you oodles for the CC! :)

[Kathy Rappaport]

I try to get my clients with wardrobe to be who they are but that being said, I also opt for very simple clothes - and shoot for some monocromatic color in clothes so that there is some similarity. I might have put her in a shirt of his and braless but still hidden from the lens but covering her with the bump showing. I always ask for solid colors, no writing or logos on shirts - the strips detract.

[Paul Bestwick]

cluttered backgrounds, flat lighting. Poses in the triptych are warming up but I would explore a less sanitised looking approach.
Can't place too much value on experience & is clear you are having a go at it. I would do extensive internet browsing at the type of shots you would like to pursue.

Persistence is a huge key of course. If your talent lies in the area of photography then just like anything in life, there are keys to success.

[Arya Wiese]

Thank you Kathy & Paul for your helpful tips and CC. Below are a few other pictures from a maternity session i did today.

Please note that I do not have studio lights just my sb600 to bring in additional light along with the use of natural lighting. I bounce my flash off walls and never do direct flash onto clients. Yes I know I need help with seperation of hair and background - but what do you do when client wants black background and has dark hair and your using a flash not studio lights?

1. Flash used: Yes (auto, return light detected)
Focal length: 50.0mm (35mm equivalent: 75mm)
Exposure time: 0.0056 s (1/180)
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO equiv.: 200
Whitebalance: Manual
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m99/bearlyhere2006a/sessions/DSC_0184-1.jpg

2. Flash used: Yes (auto, return light detected)
Focal length: 50.0mm (35mm equivalent: 75mm)
Exposure time: 0.0056 s (1/180)
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO equiv.: 200
Whitebalance: Manual
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m99/bearlyhere2006a/sessions/DSC_0292.jpg

3. Flash used: Yes (auto, return light detected)
Focal length: 50.0mm (35mm equivalent: 75mm)
Exposure time: 0.0056 s (1/180)
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO equiv.: 200
Whitebalance: Manual
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m99/bearlyhere2006a/sessions/DSC_0315.jpg

[Nicolas Claris]

Nicer and more fun there!

I don't have any problem with black hair against black background, on the contrary, it blends the person into the background and makes the skin pops-up, I do like the effect… but I'm not a wedding photog…

[Kathy Rappaport]

I think you need hair light.

You can experiment. Buy a slave flash to your on camera flash and put it on the ground or light stand behind her for some rimlight. I've seen some interesting shots with a small up light from the home improvement store that is really cheap. Even a desk lamp or a flashlight....

[Arya Wiese]

Thank you Nicolas & Kathy I do appriciate your feedback. Again thank you all for taking the time to reply to this post and you have given me alot to think about! :)