This sweet couple booked me for a bluebonnet mini session and what followed was me getting carried away in all the flowers, landscape and fields at Muleshoe Bend Recreation Area and not remembering that it was only supposed to be 20 minutes. So 45 minutes to an hour later we had some many amazing images and I found myself delivering a very large gallery!
Aside from beautiful images what also came out of it was a great example of posing for an outdoor maternity session. This article will either help you know what to expect during our session if you are my client or if you are photographer this should give you a great starting point to get a variety of images for your gallery while keeping it cohesive. I always do standing, walking and sitting images in every session unless someone really has a dislike for any of these things and if so I would just make the other sections longer.
Walking images are fun easy way to get the couple comfortable in front of the camera, especially if they are new to working with you. Depending on the lens I am using I might have them to go 25 feet from me or 50 feet and then hold hands. I will ask mom to use her other hand to go from top to bottom of the belly as she is walking. I tell them they should walk slow like a wedding march and the focus should be on each other and less on looking at me. They are always welcome to glance at the camera and smile if they want but really I want to capture the connection. Halfway towards me I will ask them to stop and pull in to each other for an embrace/kiss/etc. I like them to ask them to walk right past me so that as they get closer I can capture the details of hands intertwined and momma holding her belly.
From walking it is easy to go into posed images of the couple standing together. I like to start by asking them to go into a pose of how the would naturally stand if someone asked to take a picture of them and from there use guided prompts on ways to shift their movements. Gaze up, tilt head onto shoulder, lean in to whisper something, tell a secret in the ear, nuzzle in, have your foreheads touch and give a kiss to the temple are all things you would likely hear me say. You can easily get 5-10 images from those cues alone as you are going to take wide shots as well as close ups of hands, faces, etc.
Sitting can be tricky and really is going to depend on how the mom is feeling. If she is up for sitting I have dad sit first and then have mom sit in between his legs and cradle her by putting his hands up on her belly and letting her relax into him but not so much that she looks scrunched. You will want to walk around them and take pictures of hands, heads tilted together, close crop of the two of them as well as a wide environmental shot. I also like to incorporate her laying down with her head in his lap looking up at him and his hand if it works and doesn't look awkward resting on the belly in one. It is a great way to get a profile image of the belly with both of them!
Lastly don't forget to get solo images of momma, even if she says they aren't a priority still do them. An easy way to get several images from one pose is have her face the camera, put one hand on top of the belly and one below, give a bend to one knee and look straight at you. Shoot it straight on, then move in and do just the hands, go to the side and shoot a profile, have her gave down at the belly and lastly if you can pick a flower and have her hold it right in front of the belly to add another layer of texture.
Hope these tips help you on your next session or if the session is for you hope they make you feel more confident in knowing what to expect during your session with me!
