This would work better as a diptych if her hair were light on the black backdrop.

Following up on yesterday’s optical illusion here is an illusion of a different kind. This mom-to-be came back four weeks after our first session. She warned me on the phone that she was much bigger than in our first session. Her husband said the same thing. And her sister.

36 weeks pregnant vs. 39 weeks pregnant.

A maternity portrait optical Illusion

I love this photo. On Saturday mornings I teach 4th, 5th and 6th graders about optical illusions (among other things) and I was extremely please to find that by pushing the contrast I could create the famous “vanishing gray dots”.

You may be more familiar with it in this version:

This photo is from a portrait session back in 2006.  This month she and her team won the Gold in Beijing!

I have received a lot of comments on my site, especially from other photographers, about this photo. She is probably the most fit mom-to-be I have ever done maternity portraits for. Her abdominal definition in late pregnancy was truly amazing. I think it is part of what makes the photo so interesting. (And a bit unfair!)

Gold medalist Kate Markgraf of the U.S. Olympic Soccer Team.

Gold medalist Kate Markgraf of the U.S. Olympic Soccer Team.

Here is another photo from the session:

Pregnant Olympian