Maternity Shoot

Joe and I had our Maternity photo shoot today at Lake Balboa Park.  I hired Anna Mae Lam Photography based on her online portfolio which I really liked.  She was very nice and easy to work with.  She posed us and took a lot of really nice artistic pictures.  We met at 4pm so she could get sunset lighting.  Unfortunately scheduling was kind of tough.  Originally we were supposed to do it on Sunday but the forecast is rain so we moved it up to Wednesday but it ended up being overcast so we had to reschedule again for today.  On top of that Joe came down with a cold.  He felt it coming on yesterday but it’s definitely here now.  He’s been quarantining himself off to try and keep from getting me sick but we had to hold hands and kiss and pose for pictures close together.  I think it’s only a matter of time before I get it.  It always happens when you live with someone anyway. 

The shoot was really fun.  I wore make up for it as I found light make up looks good in professional pictures to highlight your features, especially considering professional photographers do touch ups which typically lighten shots a bit.  I found the key for me with make up is to look like I’m not wearing any (since I don’t typically wear make up and I prefer to look like myself in pictures).  I did some research on when you should take maternity photos.  Everybody is different but the goal is to take them when you are bubbly and cute with a nice round belly and feel comfortable.  Ideally the consensus is between weeks 32 and 35.  After week 36 you start to become bloated and uncomfortable and may not feel so great or cute to take them, plus with swollen joints it might be harder to pose.  Once you hit week 37 the baby could come at any time so you might miss out on taking photos if you wait too long.  I scheduled mine for when I’d be 32 weeks, but since I’m reading a week later right now I might actually be 33 weeks.  Not really sure.  I guess I’ll see how I’m reading on my next doctor visit.  However the photographer kept commenting on how tiny I looked and how it was difficult to get a good shot showing off my bump because it was so small.  She kept having me push it out more and take big breaths to get good shots.  She even said that I’m the smallest she’d ever worked with and she can’t believe I’m 32 weeks.  Joe jokingly said, “Yeah, she’s faking it.”  Now I’m wondering if I should have waited longer and done it at 34 or 35 weeks.  However I did really want to do it when I was still feeling round and cute and good overall.  I have started to feel heavier, more bloated and more stretched out lately.  My stomach just feels tight and stretched and I have had days where I’ve felt pretty bloated and my joints feel sore so I really wanted to get my photos done sooner rather than later.

I picked a form fitting outfit to really show off my belly.  Target was having a boot sale so I got some knee high motorcycle type boots and wore them with Jeggings from Walgreens (I don’t do Skinny Jeans).  The Jeggings were actually really comfortable, like stretchy tights that look like jeans.  The only issue was the front button (which was only for aesthetic purposes) poked out too much.  You could see it under my shirt so I cut it out.  The hole just got covered up with my purple maternity shirt from Target.  The button was jeweled and looked really tacky anyway.  I really liked my outfit.  I kind of researched my Facebook friends’ maternity photos and Anna’s online profiles to see what kind of outfit I wanted to wear and the look I wanted to go for.  One of my Facebook friends wore motorcycle boots and Skinny Jeans for her shoot and I loved the look so that’s where I got the idea.  Most of the women in Anna’s portfolio wore dresses that I didn’t find very flattering on them at all.  Since my bump is on the smaller side it probably would have gotten lost if I did wear a dress or anything loose.  However, I liked the props used in some of her portfolio pieces which gave me some ideas of what pictures I wanted to have.  I brought some yellow baby shoes (since we don’t know the gender), an aqua blue baby onesie (that I already selected to get the coming home outfit for the baby), a couple baby board books and some baby blocks that spell out Baby Vargas.  I brought a picnic blanket too to lay out and take pictures with Joe and some of the props. 

We had a really good time and I think we got some great pictures.  Anna really knew what she was doing and I’m so glad I found her.  I definitely think we’ll be calling her back for family pictures and when it becomes time for baby number two.