DIY: Maternity Photos

When I was doing research on having professional maternity photos done, there was a range. I could work with the random photographer listing from Craigslist doing TFP (time for prints), but I wasn't quite comfortable with the idea. I didn't want to take a chance and have a stranger post my intimate portraits on-line. To be safe, I checked out local photographers. There are a few good people in the area but they do charge a premium. On average, you can expect to pay about $250-300 for a 2 hour studio session. With that price, you receive one complimentary 8 x 10 and a contact sheet. For each additional 4 x6 print, you can expect to pay $18-20 per print.

If you're fortunate to have friends with a high end digital camera and some photo expertise, you can have beautiful photos at the fraction of the cost. I came out with over 150 photos that I can print at my leisure while spending about $175.

Luckily I had a female friend who knows how to experiment with cameras, and a male photographer who could consult on lighting. We had a 2 hour photo shoot in the comfort of my house.

I also recommend renting a photo studio by the hour in case your home doesn't allow for photography play.

We rented professional studio lights for the entire weekend for $125 from Calumet Photo in SF. I bought black fabric for the backdrop, and other fun, lacy fabric to wrap around myself for $25 at Happy Stop Fabric Store in Oakland...everything is $2 a yard.

My living room has great natural light, so we were able to produce photographs with soft lighting. We pulled up professional portfolios on the web, and emulated the style and lighting.

But all in all, it was a memorable experience with my artistic friends. We produced what we wanted while keeping the budget down.

I definitely recommend finding that photographer in your circle and creating a home studio. It's well worth it!