···31 comments···I wasn’t going to take baby bump photos this pregnancy because I thought it’s something only first-time mommies do, like I studiously did when I was pregnant with our first-born, J. But then I thought, what if one day Kid #2 asks me, “Where are pictures of Mommy pregnant with me?” What am I going to say? That I was too lazy/stubborn to take them? I can’t do that!
Prompted by Nilsa’s photo-a-day challenge, I took the following photo to mark the beginning of my baby bump.
How I shot it
I set my camera on a tripod, used a remote, and snapped A LOT of photos. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, taking self-portraits is HARD. PROPS to you who do it regularly. Making sure the angle is right, that parts of my body aren’t chopped off, that my expression is natural, etc.
I’m facing the bathroom door, with the bathroom light on. No other lights are on around me, so that I could focus the light on that baby bump.
How I edited it
I converted the photo to black and white because I wanted the focus on the emotion of the photo. Making the photo black and white also brings out the contrast between the shadow on the left and the light on the right. I softened the photo in Lightroom and also made the shadow even darker than it was SOOC.
Below are the original colors (in a different pose). I plan to take weekly bump photos using the light below and a similar pose. I also want to compose a fun storyboard with all the photos like this one.
P. S. We are about a month away from knowing whether “Kid #2″ will be a boy or girl! Eek!
P. P. S. I’m having so much fun being creative with Nilsa’s photo-a-day challenge. Please “like” her Facebook page to see the entries, including both of mine so far (the one above, and this one). And most of all, join the fun! I see Sandra has already joined 
.
Did you take them, if you were expecting?
sm.png)
Tweet
Expandng.com (our last name is "ing", get it?) was started as a way to document Lisa's pregnancy and has since turned into a 
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s great that you will be taking bump pictures for the 2nd child and I’ve always wanted to do one of those fun projects with the pictures but never got to! I have a post coming up that is about how we do our best to treat the kids fairly in which I do mention the amount of pictures we have for each of them =)
I didn’t know you back when you were pregnant with your first baby so I’m pretty excited to go on this journey of your 2nd pregnancy with you. So bring on the baby bump pictures!
xo, Yi-chia
Always Maylee
Lisa that is such an amazing photo of you!!
Your “kid #2″ will appreciate your photos! Oh very excited for you and your family ….esp next month when you’ll find out whether you’ll be having a boy or a girl.
As a second child myself, I can testify to the fact child #1 always has more pictures. I’m glad you decided to do this! You’ll love it and baby #2 will love it even more down the road. The editing is perfect.
We only took one belly pic my 2nd time around. One. At 36 weeks. I hope A doesn’t ask =X
Beautiful! You look so serene. I love how that future conversation with #2 played out in your head. With Noweo, I did weekly YouTube vids from about 14 weeks. After she was born I tried doing more but it fizzled out as things got busy. I’m still debating whether I want to do videos again, or if I’ll just sick to blogging, but I’m worried about #2 asking where his/her videos are lol. So anyway when I did videos, I also did belly shots and I would just take the best frame to hold onto. It was a pic of JUST my belly and nothing special. I think this time I might try doing belly shots in the same outfit every time. That might be a cool time-lapse thing when it’s all over.
Stunning!!so glad you will have baby bump pics with #2!
I think baby bump progression photos are so cute. I really like this shot. And it doesn’t look like you started to show until like week 22 with J.
Great self portraits! I always wished I did this. I only have a few bump shots so my kids can’t say “hey mommy how come so and so has pics and not me”.
I’m so happy that my first photo prompt got you started taking photos of the bump. We have a professional maternity photo printed on canvas and hanging in our room. Whenever Gavin looks at it, I kind of get weirded out to think *that* bump was *him* … so, if there were to be a 2nd baby in our family, I’m pretty sure I’d skip the photo sessions. =)
Something about black and white pictures that always gets me~ How much weight have you gained already? .. I know men aren’t supposed to ask females that, but since you’re pregos, I think it’s okay to ask .. cuz pregnant women are always talking about their weight! LoL … How much weight did you gain with J? Would you guys ever decide not to find out the sex? Leaning towards girl or another boy? =D
Hi Henry, Glad you liked the black & white! And LOL on the many questions…I gained 1 lb my first trimester, and have another weigh-in next Tues. I gained about 20-25 lbs with J, so I have a lot to catch up on…tho I still carry some weight from 1st pregnancy, so I’m kinda ahead
. No, we wouldn’t ever wait to find out. I just NEED to know. No leaning. Right in the middle 
.
You look so cute. I’m glad you decided to take them. I’m a fan of bump photos. I wish I would have taken more when I was pregnant with Baby C.
Taking the pictures is a good idea. #2 may not care, but it will be nice to have them. We didn’t take bump pictures, but our lives were a jumbled blur at the time–plus, somehow my wife needed maternity tops within 12 hours of finding out she was pregnant. So the bump was a blur too.
PS – I don’t like bare-belly bump photos. They’re not terrible, like stumbling onto a close-up of eye surgery on tv, but I take a pass on them when given a choice.
Ah, so lovely and so natural. Um, I didn’t have bumps, I was round and no way was anyone taking a photo of me. My kids totally understand they know they are stuck with a vain mother
Beautiful photos, Lisa! I only have a couple of photos with me and the twin bump. I seriously felt (and looked) like Humpty Dumpty!
How did you manage to get such great focus with an f/2.2? What focus mode were you using? My outfit photos are always slightly blurry, even with the f-stopped cranked up, but I post them anyways just for fun!
Hi Stephanie! It’s great you have a few! I only had 5 from my pregnancy with Jacob, and I’m planning more for this one
.
And than you for the comment on the “great focus”
. Here’s what I did, and hope it helps you!
I set up my tripod, and took a photo of myself using the remote, and the camera set to autofocus. I also chose the center point as the focus-point, instead of letting the camera choose (this post http://expandng.com/2012/11/tips-for-sharper-photos-including-single-point-focus/).
After I was satisfied with the photo, I turned the camera to manual focus. That way, when I press the remote/shutter the next time, the camera won’t need to refocus. I made sure to stand in the same spot (same distance from camera) each time.
I will also note that I’m using a 50mm f/1.8, which is a “fast” lens and takes sharp photos down at f/2.2. What lens do yo use?
I think your photos look great! Hope these tips help you to love the photos more
.
Beautiful photography, Lisa! Can’t believe you took it yourself!
Love
Juneli from Fashionably Yours
Oh I see it! Coming along nicely, well done mum. Definately do everything you did for J for the second, I did and I am very happy I did.
Such a cute baby bump. Very glad you decided to do this. I took some for my 1st but none for my 2nd cause I was so tired. Regret it ever since. Luckily b/c I was blogging I had some for the 3rd one. I will have some explaining to do when my 2nd grows up
can’t wait to find out what you are having!
You are already 4 months along! WOW, I cannot believe it….so do you want to know my prediction??? I am usually like 99% correct
DEFINITELY take baby bump pics for the second one, too! Each pregnancy is a special experience on its own! I love your sharing how you took these self portraits. I really like the first BW one, but the bump is much more visible in the second colored one just because it’s not cut off at the bottom. You are looking good, mama! Thanks for the shoutout, too! I joined Nilsa’s photo-a-day, but have missed a few days already. Last week was SO CRAZY. But I’m back on track. I need more hours in the day. Keep the belly pics coming!
Congratulations!!! That is so exciting! You look so pretty too. I love those shots… great job!
Hey Lisa,
Found some time in between classes today to check out all you go going.
How wonderful to catch all those moments from creation…well creation photos and videos shouldn’t be made public unless your trying to get famous quick
cause we all know how babies get created 
but back to taking photos of baby bumps and your changing body which in essence is like taking photos of your baby’s growth since their growth is what is creating the transformation in your body. You look to be “all baby” as they say…you look great.
If you keep snapping pics you could make your child a book from baby bump until high school graduation and so on. My nephew loves looking at pictures of his younger self…that could be just him since he also likes to look at himself in the mirror and pose for pictures in all kind of goofy manners.
Pregnancy I’ll never get a first person point of view, but I got to experience much of the stress as for my two sister I played the role their significant others should have played, but it is a joy to witness the miracle of life
Thanks for sharing that with us.
<3 illusyon
Lovely baby bump shot
The black and white version looks fantastic. Are you going to do them all in black and white? Great that you’ve talked us through how you took the shot too!
Hi Jaina! Thank you!!! I think I might take a few more black and white, and the use color ones for a collage.
I always love the behind-the-scenes of how photos are shot and edited. I do have baby bump photos, but mine aren’t artistic at all. I’m not sure why that is… why I didn’t do it. Sometimes I joke that I’ll just keep having kids until I do all those things I missed the first (second and third) time around. Joke! But looking back, I do wish I had captured those classic images.
Pretty bump! Can’t wait to find out if your baby is a boy or a girl!
OOoooo. I love baby bumps and was so blessed to have two colleagues who were into photography so I was their first pregnant model. They did a fine job and I loved the pregnancy glow I had too
This photo is beautiful. I love that you did it in black and white. Congrats on “kid #2″!
{ 1 trackback }