Hellobee

On Sunday, at just about 31 weeks pregnant, my dear friend Michelle took some photos of me looking quite pregnant. Michelle isn’t a professional photographer, but she loves it as a hobby, and jumps at any chance to practice with her fancy new camera. This is very lucky for me because, while I’d love to hire a pricy photographer to capture the important moments in our lives, it isn’t realistic with our budget. I am so glad Michelle is willing to experiment on us!

We headed to Peter Strauss Ranch in the canyons of Malibu and caught the light at just the right time. Here are my favorite pictures from the day!

While I’m no expert model, I do have a few tips on participating in a shoot like this.

1. Wear something you feel great in. If you don’t feel comfortable, the camera will pick up on it. Choose clothes that make you feel pretty and you’ll look pretty!

2. Get your makeup and/or hair done by a professional. I’ve mastered my own hair, so I did it myself, but I’m not an expert with makeup, so Michelle’s friend Mary did it for me. I feel so much better about how I look in pictures if I’m wearing false lashes and have my makeup done by someone who knows what they’re doing

3. If you’re significant other isn’t into it, don’t force him or her. Michelle took pictures for our Christmas cards in November (you can see a few in this post) and it was clear that Mr. TTT wasn’t really enjoying himself. He was a good sport, but posing for a photo shoot isn’t his favorite thing, so I  gave him a pass on this one. No sense in torturing him for no reason!

4. Start earlier than you think and plan for more time than you think you’ll need. We had wanted to head to our destination at 3:00pm, but that turned into 3:30pm, then we realized I forgot chalk, so we had to stop at the store, which put us even farther behind schedule. We had some good light when we first got there, but because we were in a canyon, the sun set much earlier behind the mountains than we had anticipated.

5. Bring snacks! I was starving by the time we were done. Luckily we were right next to a delicious restaurant, so we ate there as soon as we were finished taking pictures, but I probably should have packed something to snack on to keep my energy up throughout the shoot.

6. Enjoy it! It always takes me a while to relax in situations like these, and my awkwardness shows in the first few pictures from the shoot. Maybe one day I’ll be able to take my own advice and have fun from the start!

Did/would you do a maternity photo shoot? Any advice for other moms-to-be?

Photos by Michelle York
Makeup by Mary Shaughnessy