So, I had plans to share a different post today.
I just needed to snap a few photos, but dark clouds hung over the sky most of the day. So…tomorrow I guess.
Today, instead, I thought it might be fun to share how I did my own maternity photo shoot earlier this week.
I wanted to get some pictures in before I got too uncomfortable and well…before I have the baby since that could technically be any day now!
I made good use of my dSLR camera remote.
See our family pictures post for information more on that.
– I cleared the wall next to the brightest, biggest window in our house. I moved the dining room table and chairs, removed frames, and removed all the clutter.
This gave me a nice clean, white backdrop for my pictures and ideal lighting.
– I then set up my camera on my tri-pod along with my wireless remote.
– I ended up also putting up my large circular 42 inch reflector to the side opposite the window, half way through the shoot. You can see a glimpse of it in this shot.
A large poster board or white sheet would work fine as well. It helps bounce back the light that comes through the window onto the other side of your body/face, which helps reduce unattractive shadows.
As the shoot progressed I also finally figured out a cool trick for my remote.
Instead of holding the remote to take the picture each time, I used my camera’s 2 second self timer with it.
So, I would get in place, press the remote button which focused my shot for me, dropped the remote to the floor or threw it out of the shot before my 2 seconds was up, and I ended up with a perfectly focused shot with no ugly eye sore in my right hand.
In other shots I pressed the remote button with my foot. That worked even better.
And then, Reid’s show ended and he decided he should help too. He was surprisingly actually helpful. I would get ready and then tell him to press the button for me. He followed directions pretty well for a 3 year old.
He was also able to evoke real emotion from my face. 🙂
The remote was great for him to use too because:
1. I wouldn’t have to worry about him dropping the camera.
2. Most 3 year old kids don’t have super steady hands. Since we were doing indoor shots my shutter speed was slower and so I would have all kinds of camera shake had he had to touch the shutter release each time.
3. I kept the 2 second timer on as well so that he wouldn’t be able to snap way too crazily either.
He decided he wanted a few turns in front of the camera himself…
ha ha… he’s dancing in this shot:
I was glad he joined the shoot. It made it pretty fun.
One last tip:
I kept my clothes simple. I would never wear this outfit to the store straight up like this, but in a photo shoot I think it looks nice. There are no distractions keeping the eye away from the point of the picture…the belly…
which is what it’s all about. 🙂
Speaking of outfits. We don’t know if this will be our last child, but in case it is, I wanted to share some of my favorite maternity outfits from this pregnancy. I have been really bad about taking pregnant pictures of myself with all my pregnancies. With Owen I wore the same outfits like every 3 days and did lots of laundry. With Reid I learned to get more creative with non-maternity wear and pretty much wore stretchy skirts and flip flops the whole time.
This time, I’ve been living in leggings. I also started doing something I never thought I would do…I sometimes wear them as pants. Yikes. They are so comfy and warm though. I have one pair of jeans I can tolerate but they don’t look as good with snow boots and are definitely not as comfortable.
I have worn flats or snow boots, leggings and knit skirts with a cardigan pretty much everyday for the last month or so…if I get out of my pajamas that is. 🙂 Thank goodness winter coats mostly cover up my pjs during school drop off and pick up.
Alright, here are the facts about the outfits from left to right:
– This gray knit skirt is SO comfy and easy to wear…post found here.
– My maternity pencil skirt is getting a lot of use as well. Both the first skirt and this one make any shirt a maternity shirt. Who cares if the blouse covers your stomach? These skirts take care of that.
– My wood chopping outfit. 🙂 No really. Just something I like wearing for some reason.
– This thrift-ed wool sweater has been a weekly staple. I am not usually big on Native American prints, but this sweater has been warming me up to the idea.
– My favorite outfit of the whole pregnancy, with the black skirt I patterned my maternity pencil skirt after and the yellow cardigan I wear ALL the time. I also wore this outfit to Alt.
The nude flats are from Payless. I love how they go with…well, pretty much everything. After the third month my back can’t stand to wear high heels until at least a month postpartum.
I am almost 37 weeks now and actually feeling better than I did a month ago. I am achy and tired but less fragile, I guess you could say. I don’t have nausea anymore, constant sleepiness, or the awful reflux…just the normal pre-labor, pre-newborn jitters. I feel pretty blessed.
And if it’s not too much information, last week she was already dropped and head down and I was a 2 and 70% effaced. I have good contractions but nothing to get too excited about. I see the doc again today. We’ll see what she says, but I’m really in no hurry.
I still have Owen’s science fair project to help him with and a slew of other things to keep me busy while we wait. Having other kids to tend to while pregnant is a blessing in some ways.
I hope you are having a marvelous day. 🙂 Thanks for surviving through my marathon of maternity pictures!
P.S. I am slso guest posting at The Southern Institute today with this bag sewing project:
I would love if you would come say hi!
You are sooo darling! Good luck when they big day comes! I loved seeing the pictures from Alt on Dana’s blog!
You look SO beautiful! What a wonderful photoshoot. You seriously have to be one of the most gorgeous pregnant ladies ever!! Good luck with everything – cannot wait to see pictures of your new little one 🙂
These pictures are SO great! Good for you for getting them done- you look lovely pregnant-especially in all those cute outfits. i love that you took pictures of your favorites! the “wood-cutter” one is adorable.
Look how cute you are!!! Such wonderful photos and great tips. I can’t wait to see your new addition!
these are lovely!! i am 26 weeks with #2, and will have to get on this soon! good luck with rest of pregnancy.
A few things:
Is that a Molly Me shirt? Those were my favorite when I was pregnant.
Clever tips. I love how resourceful you are…throwing the remote 🙂
Love the silly boy shots with you in the background.
You do pregnancy glowingly fine. How ’bout 2 boys and 2 girls to round even things out? 😉
These are just beautiful, Delia! I love your cute outfits you posted as well.
Love your outfits! You look adorable!
one more thing:
could you possibly be moving furniture around to facilitate an earlier than later arrival? 😉
Wonderful Post with some great tips!! I’ll definitley be doing this myself in a couple weeks.
Thanks for the inspiration!
So beautiful! Thanks for inspiring me, I'm 20 weeks today, and haven't taken ONE picture of myself yet!! I'll just have to do it now 🙂
Can't wait to hear your news!!!
You are absolutely GORGEOUS, Delia. Phenomenal pictures! Great post. And thanks for being my guest today. 🙂
Love the photos! I'm having a maternity photo session on Mon! 37 weeks today! Also, I'm glad to hear that you live in the same few outfits. I feel kinda bad that I wear the same thing for the last month, but you gotta go with what's comfortable. 🙂
So cute Delia. Those are great tips for great looking self photos. Reid was really cute too dancing.
i'm glad you posted this- i'm 36 weeks along and was just thinking i am in major need of some prego shots! you've inspired me 🙂 and that bag looks awe-some! i will hop over to Jenny's to check it out!
Wish I had pics like this from my two babies! These are BEAUTIFUL!!!! Thanks for the tip about the remote. I really need to get one!
Wow! You are such an adorable pregnant lady! You look great. Love the maternity outfits too.
Beautiful photos! So glad to hear you are feeling well. I hope all goes smoothly from here on out. Great remote tips–we need to use ours more!
this was a great post. I used leggings a lot during my pregnancy too. they were my best friends. Your belly looks so much like mine..awww already missing it!
You are beautiful! Great pics!
Wishing leggings were "the thing" when I was preggers! I live in them now…
These turned out beautifully! I wish I would've done something like this with my pregnancies- I never dared to put myself in front of a photographer, so ended up with nothing! Good to hear that you are feeling good all considered- best wishes for these next several weeks! Can't wait to see her!
Oh Delia! I love your maternity pictures! They are truly gorgeous and you look GREAT! I can't believe how close you are to holding your little baby! I cannot wait to hear what name you choose to give her too…yay fun!
You look gorgeous!!! I love the photo tips and that bag is super cute too.
The photos look amazing! I would never have guessed you took them yourself.
Beautiful pictures Delia! You are absolutely gorgeous. I'm so excited to "meet" your new little miss!
Oh you are stunning!! I love your outfits too. We are done now with our three but if I were pregnant again I would definitely make some of those comfy and classy skirts. Your son looks like a lot of fun 🙂 I hope the transition to three is as smooth as possible.
You are really beautiful, as are your photos; and what really strikes me is the sense of peace you emanate in them.
Thank you for sharing the tips. This is my third & final pregnancy so I think it's a good idea to document the time, and I like the idea of a little diy session.
Abundant grace & peace to you all.
Beautiful Delia! Love the ones of your helper too. 🙂
Delia these are so beautiful!! I need to get mine done before Thursday! I am huge now but I have not done ant since Lizzy and I really want to do some again! 🙂
BTW that bag is AMAZING! the lining id beautifully sewn and the colors are lovely. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the circle as a pocket! I miss you. I'd say lets get together but life for the both of us right now is a little busy with babies coming soon and what not.
Your pictures turned out beautiful! You look amazing 🙂
Love the photos and such helpful tips! Love the boy helper! Congrats on the big day, and happy blessings to you and yours!
First of all, you are adorable. Absolutely adorable.
Second, you are inspiring. I spent a lot of time during both my pregnancies wishing that either we could afford a lovely photo shoot of my pregnant body or that my husband would take some pictures of me. He never made the time to do it and I was so sad (and kind of mad, too!) about that. But how strong and empowering you are to just
I love your diy maternity shoot!
And I agree, simple outfits are totally great for maternity (and newborn) shoots.
You are just gorgeous! You did a great job on your pics and shared some great tips!
Thank you for sharing this time in your life online. It is a great encouragement as I am in the home stretch of pregnancy and love the inspiration your blog and diy projects have given me. I also will do my own maternity photos. (Benefits of owning a nice camera) Thank you for the extra tips. Keep it up!
Just wanted to check that you were aware that your photo is on this store website.
http://modernmummy.com/V3/store/index.php
Great pictures! I might have to do something like this when I get further along!
I would love to see the tutorial for this bag though! The link doesn’t lead right too it.
Thanks Evelyn! I didn’t realize I hadn’t updated it with a link, so I added it. Thank you! Here it is for your convenience: http://www.deliacreates.com/lets-go-to-park-bag/