Tips for making pregnancy portraits you will love

Taking snapshots of your growing belly can be a fun way to document the evolution of your pregnancy, especially during your last trimester. But it can also be tough to capture flattering shots. Here are a few suggestions I have come up with on taking maternity snapshots at home.

While you may not want to hang these homemade photos on your wall, as you would with professional ones, you and your baby can still appreciate them for years to come. More importantly, use the experience of photography to have some fun with your new body. It won't be like this forever. Capture it.

1. Enlist others - It’s almost impossible to take a good photo of your own belly. Ask a friend or your partner to help you, both with taking the photos and coming up with creative ideas for them.

2. Set the stage - Choose your backdrop. If you are at home, find a simple, uncluttered scene, like a wall or a window. Remove distracting elements like plants or other items that won't really add to your photo.

3. Lighting - Make sure you have adequate lighting. If the room is too dark, then your photos might appear out of focus. Using natural light, such as near a window, is ideal, but be careful to avoid direct sunlight because it creates too much contrast. Use the flash only if you must. But I recommend turning it off if you can and use indirect lighting. Silhouettes can also be fun because of the shape of the new mom.

4. Clothing – When choosing what to wear, remember you want to expose your belly. I recommend form-fitting clothes without any obvious branding or patterns. Or, be a little bolder by getting your wedding gown out or pulling out that feather boa that you thought you'd never use.

5. Make-up - When applying make-up, focus on evening out your complexion. Don't go too heavy, because on film everything appears darker. Just make a little effort. Even a small amount of makeup will make a difference.

6. Poses - Experiment with a variety of different poses. Do you practice yoga? Pilates? Try posing with your hands on your belly, but also lift your arms up. Why not include your dog, cat or child in a few frames? Take a risk. Be unique.

7. Photo Composition – This is your final step. Here is where the photograph is made. It is helpful to answer a few questions. What is the primary subject of the photo? Should the focus just on the belly or the whole person? How is the head angled? How does the chin look? Hide those areas that are uncomfortable for the model, such as stretch marks (unless you want those to be part of the composition). Putting some thought into composition means that you will get a much better photograph.

8. Timing - If you are only going to do it once, the I recommend photographing 6-10 weeks before your baby is due. If this is something you really like and want to document your changing belly, then I recommend photographing every four to six weeks. And if you want a fun idea, try doing it in the same place with the same background. you could even put a tape mark where to place your feet.

More fun ideas. Try photographing the belly every month in the same spot and then you can put the images together. If you have an interesting dream during your pregnancy, think about using it as inspiration for a photograph. Are you craving certain foods? Add them into your photo. Are you having issues with your pregnancy, like extreme exhaustion? Photograph it. You are the artist here and now it is your turn to make a photo that not only is of your belly, but I encourage you to make a photo that also imparts some other information about where you are at emotionally, physically, and mentally during your last trimester. The pregnant body is beautiful, capture the memory. You only have nine months.

For more inspiring photographs of pregnancy see my book, Portraits of Pregnancy: The Birth of a Mother, available signed on our site at www.jenniferloomis.com OR on Amazon.