Kayleen, Maternity Portraits

This is my lovely cousin, Kayleen. Yep, I'll claim her! We're 5 months apart and grew up on opposite sides of the pacific ocean, but somehow we stayed good friends through the years. She's seen me at worst, for sure, and still claims me too! We've both moved around a lot since we've started families of our own, sometimes even living in the same state at the same time! That's always fun for us!

Carol, Maternity Portraits

I don't always want to go play outside in the cold, so I've been using the light I have available indoors. (My sliding glass doors to be exact). This is a totally different feel and challenge than being out in wide open spaces!

I'm not alone in this journey.

 

When I finished editing this picture, I fell in love with it. 

Let me tell you why.

The face could be any woman, it just happens to be mine, which allows me to connect with it in a way I haven't with other maternity images.

A hand on the belly suggests tender feelings about the child within her and the pregnancy itself. 

The hand on the hip suggests confidence and strength. 

Her face turned upwards towards the heavens gives me the impression she is looking towards her Father in Heaven to help her in her role as a mother. She knows this child is not her own, but also a literal child of God, and needs divine help if she will be successful.

That is how I feel about my pregnancies and this picture speaks to me, reminds me. 

Maybe it's just me - and that's OK if no one else feels that way about this image. I want it up in my home to remind me that not only do I need my Heavenly Father's help, but I am entitled to it if I live the way He has asked me to. 

Sometimes I forget.

I don't want to forget.

So I will make a better effort to remember.

Parenting is not just about my husband and I. 

We are not alone in this journey.

Post Editing. Some Maternity Shots & Photography Tips

I was proud to tell people "I don't even use Photoshop". I felt confident about getting the images I wanted in-camera with slight post-editing (in any program but Photoshop).

Well, I now use Photoshop and I have never looked back!

I still only do slight editing but I have also unlocked previously unimaginable possibilities!

And then, I finally took the leap and started shooting in "RAW".

Holy smokes, it pretty much rocks my photography world.

I can do the slight editing I have previously been unable to do even with my limited Photoshop knowledge. It's so cool!

Here are a few samples of my mad editing skills (jk jk, I'm still a super-novice when it comes to shooting RAW and any kind of impressive post editing has yet to become a strength). But I will say that I am pleased with the results.

My husband took these for me (yes, he's the bomb dot com). I set up the camera settings in Manual and let him shoot away (in RAW) where I was able to make them look the way I wanted).

You may or may not care much about post editing, but I am excited about these and wanted to share!

My humble suggestion to aspiring photographers: First, SHOOT MANUAL. Develop your relationship with your camera so you can get as close to perfection as possible IN CAMERA. Don't rely solely on post-editing. When you feel good about what you see in the camera - then start shooting RAW. It will blow your mind. :-)