Portrait Photography

Pregnancy can be hard work, especially in that last trimester when you feel like you’re carrying a small rhinoceros instead of a baby! Some women bloom. Some women don’t feel comfortable at all. No matter which category you fall into, you should still consider maternity portrait photography – after all, those nine months fly by, and once they’re gone, you’ll quickly forget both how you looked and felt.

Even if you feel like a beached whale, you’re probably being a little bit biased against your poor, hardworking body. To everyone else, you look fantastic – the pregnant form is a beautiful thing, celebrated all over the world in many cultures and immortalised in carvings, paintings and statues dating back thousands of years. The benefit of the modern-day version – digital photography – of course, is that you don’t need to sit still for hours while somebody carves your likeness out of marble!

Maternity photography is a way to both document and celebrate your changing body – why not book a series of sessions throughout your pregnancy to show your growing bump to remind you of this magical time? Having a maternity portrait photography shoot can be a real boost to your fragile pregnant confidence, too. Find a portrait photographer who will help you to relax, feel at ease and find comfortable and natural poses so that you look your best. Bring your partner and other children if you have them, or perhaps a close friend, sister or your mum. Multi-generational portraits look fantastic and really make you appreciate that old circle of life! Having your partner with you can instantly make you relax, and can create absolutely treasured images of this special time. Similarly, capturing the innocence of toddlers while they cuddle and kiss your blooming bump is always a surefire way to catch a wonderful photo.

Many portrait photographers offer maternity/newborn packages, where you can book a series of sittings from pregnancy, all the way up to toddlerdom, ensuring that you capture all the milestones and stages in your child’s early days.

Flaunt that bump, that gorgeous body and come away with maternity photography portraits you will treasure forever. You will love looking back on these images in years to come, and there’s nothing to compare to the awe and wonder on your child’s face when they see a picture of you, heavily pregnant, and you tell them: “You used to live in there…”

We are a team of girls working from our Burbage studios…. Rebecca Dawe Photography. Our business has grown to be one of the leading cutting edge studios in the area.

Our work is inviting, fresh and creative. We pride ourselves on our diversity and flexibility; we can photograph your wedding, portrait or event in a variety of styles or combinations of them all.

When it comes to Family Portrait Photography it pays for the amateur photographer to be familiar with the basics of the subject. Too many people fall into the trap of assuming there isn’t much to taking the perfect portrait; however any professional will tell you that there are numerous ‘key’ factors that can be the difference between a photo, and a memory. In this article I will walk you through the basics of family portrait photography; giving you the tools to go forth and capture that memory, yourself!

Capturing the perfect memory is all about planning your shot; you need to make sure each factor within your shot is optimised towards accentuating your family. You should firstly consider the background you will be working with; it is very important to choose a background that is relatively dull and repetitive (e.g. a wall or a bush). This will act to add more emphasis towards the people within your shot, instead of jostling for attention as a more complex backdrop would. Another good way to add further emphasis to your family is to take advantage of a frame within your background (e.g. an archway). What this does is to separate the background from your family, which places more importance on the people within your shot.

Now that you’ve chosen where to take your portrait, you now have to consider the the lighting within your shot. If you have chosen an outdoors setting, then you need to consider the time of day when you are going to take your photo. The Sun’s natural light lends itself best to photography at both early morning and late afternoon, so if it is possible to get your family out at either of these times then you should. If positioned in a shaded area then you should make use of your camera’s flash. When taking a photo indoors, make sure you always make use of your camera’s flash.

The finished portrait does not only rely on the moment, later editing is also a huge factor. Make sure you take multiple photos to account for any mistakes you may miss when initially reviewing your shot, which also gives you a kaleidoscope of different pictures to chose from when selecting the best one. It is also wise to leave sufficient room on the both sides of your family, as any later cropping may result in the loss of limbs if there isn’t enough space.

Taking advantage of these simple, but effective hints can be the difference between an amateur family portrait, and the perfect family portrait; so make sure you consider them when you take your next family portrait.