Thursday, October 04, 2007

Photo Shooting

Well, standing in front of a photographer and his lens while the entirety of your clothes are hanging over a stool in the adjacent room really wasn't as bad as I was afraid of.

Actually - it wasn't bad at all... after about a minute of feeling awkward being naked in front of strangers I really started to enjoy the experience!

Yes, today we have been scheduled for an artistic nude shooting with a professional photographer. We have decided that we really wanted to keep the memory of my pregnancy in a way that we are not able to do ourselves, and even though it was quite an expensive endeavor, it was worth every cent.

We found this particular photographer at the Baby Expo at the beginning of the year, and decided back then that if we were to take pictures of me, they would have to be by this guy. We love the way he uses shadow and light to create outlines and silhouettes, and looking at his pictures really makes you feel that sense of respect and reverence that he has for pregnant women. His photos are not vulgar or inappropriate, but respectful and bring out the beauty and special erotic of a pregnant woman in a very tasteful way. We have also looked through the portfolios of other photographers, but none really convinced us the way that this guy did.

So we made an appointment for a first meeting, during which we had a chance to see if the chemistry between us would be right, and to discuss what kind of pictures we wanted. Luckily, the chemistry was right, and we decided on a series of silhouette shots against a dark background. I didn't want any clothed pictures, and no cookie-cutter color shots with "fun" elements like baby shoes on the belly, or Geo holding a measuring tape around my girth... I wanted truly artistic and classic nude pictures. Which was very much to the liking of this photographer, we could tell.

So today was the big day, and I admit I was a bit nervous. I have been to photographers before, to take family portraits and to take passport pictures - but never had I dropped my clothes in front of one. My body image is an overall positive one, and this pregnancy hasn't changed this fact at all. Sure, I have some issues with cellulites, which I rather not have displayed anywhere, and I was extremely unsure about exposing my flabby little sac-breasts to any kind of lens, but I soon learned that even these worries were unfounded.

I was being handled by a make-up artist for about an hour, who perfectly covered up my pregnancy-related blemishes to perfection, and even made my hair look remotely good. The photographer wanted to start with me alone, so Geo was a spectator for the first part of the shooting. I walked into the studio with a robe on, and when I was asked to drop it, I did feel very awkward and vulnerable, immediately covering myself up with a large shawl that I have brought for the shooting. But like I mentioned before: this feeling didn't last, I felt treated with a lot of respect, and I felt the familiar artist's look on me, not a man's look. The photographer positioned me in several ways with the shawl draped around me differently, and I soon warmed up to being a model for an hour. I felt very comfortable with the poses he suggested, and his comments were rather reassuring, and I soon felt quite confident in front of the lens. He did several of the shawls shots, then exchanged the shawl for another transparent and shiny fabric, which produced great silhouette shots against the dark background. Eventually I was completely naked, turning this way and that, feeling very good about myself and what I was doing. Every once in a while he would come up to me and show me a particularly good shot he had just taken, and I just couldn't believe that the person I was seeing there was actually me. What I saw on the small screen of his camera was stunning, extremely beautiful... a real boost to my ego, which mostly considered myself as some kind of walrus, lately.

Eventually he added Geo to the shooting, and we did the classic 4-hands-on-belly shot, and some sitting poses, and him kneeling in front of me with his hands on my belly... and some semi-erotic ones. It was great playing model together with him, I could tell that he really enjoyed himself too.

Afterwards, I was so proud of myself that I have had the guts to do this! It was an experience that I will never forget, and most of all I appreciate how great this has made me feel about myself, about my changed body. On Monday we will meet again to select the pictures we want a copy of - I truly cannot wait to see the outcome!

I really recommend a photo shoot to all pregnant ladies out there - no matter how huge or "ugly" you may think you are. With the right photographer you will see how beautiful you really are, and will appreciate every inch of your new body - not even mentioning the everlasting memories of this very special time in your lives.

Us? Now all we need to do is to make the cast of my belly, which we will hopefully accomplish this weekend - and then, as far as I am concerned, Booger can come. :)

1 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

Wow - that is truly amazing! There's no way I could've done it, but I'm really proud of you for doing it!!! :-)

I STILL have a package to mail you guys, I doubt that it will get to you before the birth, but I'm still going to send it :-)

11:49 PM  

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