Introduction
pregnancy pictures• About the Guide
pregnancy picturesThe Basics
pregnancy photography• How to Prepare
Pregnancy tips• Wardrobe

Elements of Posing
maternity photography guide• Posture
Pregnancy tips• Arching
Pregnancy tipsWalk-through - posture
Pregnancy tips• Gaze
Pregnancy tips• Expression
Pregnancy tips• The Leg Up

Pregnancy photography• Best Foot Forward
belly pics• The Crossover
belly picsWalk-through the Crossover

Pregnancy photography• Finding a Pose
belly pics• Placement of Hands

Maternity Posing Ideas
pregnancy• The Cradled Belly
maternity• The Proud Mom
belly picsWalkthrough - Proud Mom
belly pics• The Seated Triangle
Pregnancy tips• Just the Belly
Pregnancy photography• The Hands of Love
Pregnancy photography• Over the Belly
Pregnancy tips• Peek-a-boo
Pregnancy tips• The Open Shirt
Couples:
Pregnancy tips• Face to Face
Pregnancy photography• The Kiss
belly picsWalkthrough - Couples
Pregnancy tips• The Bump
Pregnancy tips• Prom Gone Wrong

Pregnancy tips• Dad & the Belly
Posing with Kids:
Pregnancy tips• Holding the Sibling
Pregnancy photography• Bribes & Trickery
Pregnancy tips• The Sibling & the Belly
Pregnancy tips• The Juggling Act
Pregnancy tips• Dad & the Belly
Pregnancy tipsWalkthrough with children

The Camera Angle
nude pregnancy portraits• The Profile
nude pregnancy portraits• Straight On
nude pregnancy portraits• 3/4 View
nude pregnancy portraits• From Above
nude pregnancy portraits• From Below

Creating a Progression
nude pregnancy portraits• How to take a progression


The Maternity Silhouette
nude pregnancy portraits• Rules of the Silhouette

Nude and Semi-Nude
nude maternity photography• The Pregnant Nude
nude pregnancy portraits• Working with Fabrics
nude maternity photography• Coverage I
nude pregnancy portraitsWalkthrough - Coverage
nude pregnancy portraits• Coverage II
nude pregnancy portraits• Coverage for Couples
nude pregnancy portraits• The Demi
nude pregnancy portraits• The Seated Nude
nude pregnancy portraits• The Sweep
nude pregnancy portraitsWalkthrough - Swept Fabric
nude pregnancy portraits• The Horizontal Nude

Photographing yourself
nude pregnancy portraits• What you will need
nude pregnancy portraits• Settings

7 Common Problems with Maternity Portraits
maternity posing ideas• Backdrop Trouble
maternity posing ideas• On Camera Flash
belly pics• Harsh Lighting
maternity portraits• The Window Dilemma
maternity portraits• Lost in the Background

maternity portraits• Unflattering Wardrobe
maternity portraits• Overprocessing

maternity portraitsWalkthrough - Processing

 

Katsoulis Photography of Boston

The Illustrated Guide to Pregnancy Photography is now available for the iPad, and Kindle. The guide is filled with over three hundred pages of beautiful, instructive photographs, in-depth walkthroughs, galleries and more, demonstrating how to get great pregnancy portraits.

Katsoulis Photography of Boston

This guide is brought to you by Katsoulis Photography of Massachusetts. Gregory Katsoulis has been creating professional maternity portraits for over 10 years.

If you are looking for more ideas, please visit my online gallery of maternity photography, showcasing some of my best work.

If you find this guide helpful, please link to us from your blog, website or message board. You should also feel free to drop us a line and share your best pictures! guide@momphoto.com


Facebook Maternity

About the guide

pregnancy poses

Maternity Portrait PosesWhen I set out to create this guide, my initial plan was to create a couple of pages demonstrating a few of the poses I have found work best. As I put the guide together, I realized I had much more information to convey. As a result, the guide you see here is more complex than I had originally planned and has even evolved into a 220 page interactive book for the iPad.

If you are short on time you may wish to skip ahead to "Finding a Pose." But, if you have a little time, you may find some useful tips and background on maternity photography.

Maternity Portrait PosesThe focus of this guide is primarily on poses, ideas, and the principles and rationale behind them. Finding a good flattering pose for an expectant mom is the base of a good maternity portrait. Even if the photo is not purposely posed — if it is candid — it still contains all the elements of a pose, good or bad.

Most poses here will be presented full length, with strong, clear lighting in order to allow you to evaluate how the body is situated. This is not meant to represent how you should compose or light your photos.

The moms-to-be who volunteered for this guide attempted to wear clothes that would help clearly show their poses. These are not meant to be wardrobe or fashion examples, except where specifically presented as such.

Maternity Portrait PosesMaternity Portrait PosesThough most of the guide will deal with deliberate poses, you may wish to apply the principles here to candid photography. In a candid photo you should seek moments where your subject looks great and encourage action or interaction that can bring about great poses naturally. Hopefully some of what you see here will help you to recognize what will look best.

I will cover a variety of other topics as they relate to maternity photography, including some information about composition and lighting. However, it is beyond the scope of what I could write here to provide in depth information about lighting and photography. This guide assumes you have some familiarity with the principles of photography. If not, there are numerous resources both online and in books that will explain the basics better than I could.

The models who posed for this guide are those who volunteered. As such, the guide does not reflect a full range and diversity of moms-to-be. Every woman is different and every mom-to-be carries her pregnancy differently. The suggestions, ideas and poses may vary in their degree of success from one person to the next, and I encourage you as the photographer to experiment with what will work specifically for your subject.

pregnant women

This guide is the work of one photographer, and as such, these ideas represent my approach and understanding of how to create a good maternity portrait. While I hope that my work represents some success in that field, I am sure there are other ways of working which may suit others better. If you have suggestions on how to improve this guide, please feel free to email me: guide@momphoto.com

If you have an iPad, I highly recommend my iPad version of the guide. (How could I not?) It has a more in-depth information, interactive features, and a ton of photo reference. Plus, it's $9.99 - a super bargain!

Katsoulis Photography of Boston

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