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The Art of Maternity Photography with Ana Brandt

Hi everyone. Are you excited? Excited? My name is Anna Frantic, she said. And I wrote a book called The Art of Pregnancy and Newborn back in 2007 because I had been doing Motrin Ian Newborn for 14 years. And she said, I'm a New Yorker born and raised and I came to California in 1999 and one of the very first thing that I did was become a photographer, register my business and start doing maternity and newborn. I started focusing on from Day One. So what I'm gonna do is just give you a little bit background about me and how I came into photography. I'll warn you that my husband always says, if you ask me how I got into photography to sit down, because I'm probably going to start when I was born, and I'm gonna try and be quick about it. But I feel like it's true, right that we all have a story off. What got us to this point, if you think about him 43 years old and every path I've taken and everywhere went has led me right to this moment with you, and so I feel like wherever you are in yo...

ur journey and photography. We all have those moments and twists and turns that takes us to each of our moments and with photography. That's kind of how it landed. I never and intended to be a professional photographer. If you would have told this little Puerto Rican girl in New York that I was going to be a photographer one day, I probably wouldn't have believed it. See, this is where we get back to where I was born. Basically, I'm an adopted child, so I have no visual history of my life. So I've never seen what my biological mother looks like. Nor have I ever seen what I've looked like a child. I knew this was gonna happen so early on I trying out some of the theories come. But honestly, those early years literally set me for who I was going to be. And it happens to everybody. I was fascinated early on with photos. My adoptive grandmother took tons of photos. Every family has that person that takes the photo. She was that person. And I remember just seeing the images and the pictures and growing on my teenage years really loving it, and I wasn't an easy teenager. In fact, out of five Children, I probably was not on the going to be the most successful list. I think I was in the bottom somewhere, and all the times I was expelled from school and I had a grandfather just kept saying, Oh, and you're just so smart. You're just gonna be amazing. One day and again, photography wasn't my future. But what what was consistent in my life was a visual. History was so important to me. I became an an in college, went to school for accounting that photography. And I remember seeing my sister in law's pregnant and thinking, Wow, this is a pregnant woman. Not only that, but the likeliness of the baby to the mother and then the relationship between my grandfather and the firstborn grandchild was literally life changing. I ended up going back to school for photography, and I was in school from 19 to 29 years old. If there is a community college back East, it has my name on the roster because once I discovered seeing an image in the developer and just being like, wow, that's amazing. Now take a Puerto Rican child who was abandoned by her mother as no photos of herself, has no photos of what her biological mother looked like. Take a self portrait and watch it come up in the developer. Pretty cool, and that literally took me on my journey again. Still, in my early twenties. Didn't want to be a professional photographer, but a little obsessive. And I feel like I'm the kind of person that has to know about anything I'm doing. So I jumped in the photography and I kept taking. The same course is over and over again. I had to learn developing. I had to learn how to use my camera. I was became a Web designer. I was making over $80,000 a year. I was doing fine loving what I was doing, climbing the corporate ladder and doing photography as a hobby again, that wanting to be a professional level of specialising country anymore. Okay, get married. Come in California. I leave my New York family and I'm taking this course. What do I do? I enrolled in a local community college, and I take the same course. I'm taking over and over again and I remember my husband going, Why are you taking this course? Because I would cry like every week because the professor was so hard on me. And at the end, when I handed my portfolio and the professor's looks it and shuts, it says, I've been trying to figure out the whole semester why you're here, because I knew I'm 29 with, like 18 year old students, right? I clearly didn't belong. And he said, If you're looking for somebody to go do what you were born to Dio, then this is it. Go do it and I register my business. And I decided from day one that I loved the early stage. I love you born. I loved pregnancy. I don't know how to do it, but I loved it. My first part of my business was shooting child models in California. Easy, easy money, beautiful Children. I didn't have a studio. I worked out of my home, so taught me how to use lighting. And he was my camera in different situations. Remember, I'm a little excessive, so I really wanted to just learn. So I just spent night and day and told her daughter was all the time when they're like I can't quit my day job. I can't do this. Can't do that. Yes, you can. I walked out of an $80,000 a year job three months pregnant with my first child and never looked back. Called my husband crying, going. I just quit my job. He's like, OK, I didn't ask permission because remember that Professor had given me my permission. And honestly, I needed that one person in my life to say This is what you were born to dio and and realizing that my lack of visual history What I think people forget is that to know where you're going, you have to know where you came from. And photographers have to understand. The third job is more than about taking photos. You're preserving somebody's legacy, right? You were preparing history because how do we know history? How do you know anything without photographs? Right. So my whole life, literally my whole life, I feel like has been to find my own visual history, create my own because I still don't know what my mother looks like. My biological mother. Thank goodness I'm a wonderful, adopted family, but also Now I have three Children. And so my job is to let them know who their mother waas and to preserve their legacy. So now I go into maternity, and I literally spent night and day dressing women and trying to make them feel good. And a few months ago, I had a woman call me and go. Okay? I'm calling for a pregnancy session and I don't know if I'm gonna book with you. I've called all these photographers, so But I just have one question for you, and I'm like, Sure she was. Why? Why would I get pregnancy photos done? Why would Why would I get them taken? I've called everybody know. Nobody has an answer. I've called other photographers. Norway has an answer. That I got this, I got this and she says why? She said, Because they're not for you, for them, for the legacy you're leaving behind, because I guarantee you with the core of my being, that I know that that child here raising wants to see what his mother looks like. I know that for a fact, and that's why I do what I do so specialising, specialising does not mean that you only have to photograph. You know a certain subject all the time, but what it means that you market in your step and you sell yourself in that field. And you also allow yourself to explore other areas when you have time. But you live and breathe that when you go to see a root canal specialist, you're pretty certain that he knows everything about the root canal, right? You're not just going to go to a general practitioner, ladies, when we go to Robi, that woman knows what she's doing. It's the same thing. If I'm going to somebody for maternity photos or newborn, I want that a person to live and breathe this. There's a reason why don't you weddings and I don't photograph dogs. I can't relate in early. Two seniors don't have seniors yet. Maybe I will one day, but I can relate to pregnancy and newborn because it's more than a photo. To me, that woman is starting a life. She's starting a life in her body, and yes, she feels bloated and she feels tired and her feet hurt and she's cramping and I get all of that. She's got maybe an hour with me. I guarantee that in that our I'm gonna get the most amazing photos for her because I want to preserve her legacy for the family that she's bringing. It also means that your focus and your not handcuffed I feel like people always afraid to say I don't just specialize in it because when the phone doesn't ring and no one's calling me for pregnancy, I'm not gonna be able to pay my bills. While 14 years I've weathered up and down of the economy, it has not been all roses for me in the economy. But what I do know for sure is that when the economy is down, people still are pregnant and they're still having babies. And so I feel like my business has stood the test of time because I have specialized that when the phone stopped ringing for family or for Children or for beach sessions, because honestly, that's a luxury right. The phone didn't stop ringing for pregnancy and newborn, because if you think about those times, it's the fastest growing with shortest duration in a person's life, right? A woman is only pregnant for 9 10 months, give a few weeks and then it's done. It's done. A new one is only a newborn. Technically, it's six weeks of life. But could be Some people could say four weeks. Some people could say less, but you'll never get that time back. I have three Children 8 10 and 12 and I could take a photo of six months ago, and they probably don't look that different than if I take a photo now. But that pregnancy and newborn specialized till the day I die, because it is such a short time in it. To me, it's the most important time in the world to photograph the open and aware to cultures and personal preferences. Not everybody wants to get naked. I live in the land of the beautiful, where most people do want to get Megan, but I know that I don't want to be naked running around pregnancy. So I do tell people when they're doing pregnancy and newborn. Don't just assume that everybody wants to take the close up and don't be bummed out when the 1st 20 people don't. It's not about how much you're showing. It's about the fact that they have a baby in their body and you're trying to capture that time in their life. And so that's where specializing, because really important. I have spent so many hours just trying. Teoh, look at a woman's body and every person that comes in you'll see today. These models are brand new. I mean, I spent five minutes with them. I don't really know who they are, really, what their insecurities are. But I'm gonna try to work with them and pose them and just show you some quick transitional posing toe. How to kind of warm them up and loosen them because it's kind of a little bit nervous and a little bit intimidating. You have to be able to pose a woman how to dress a woman, and you have to be able to give direction. Fortunately, I'm a New Yorker, and I know how to use my voice because when you're five people the dinner table. If you don't use your voice, you're not getting dessert. So I know how to use my voice. I mean, a lot of photographers who they're so bright and shy. And I have to tell you, if you take me to a party, I'm gonna probably be that quiet, shy person. But I have a job to Dio and I have a job that people are coming in typically for, ah, pregnancy session, and I know that it's an investment. It's still a luxury item I've met. Many women say they've given the camera to their husband and taking a picture because they can't afford it. Just because you can't afford pregnancy photography doesn't mean you can't have it done. You can still do it at home, and you can do a well. But you just have to know a couple of things that I'm gonna try to show you today. So one of things I like to tell photographers is if you are working with pregnant, guide them, direct them, you want them to be just looking at you and you're looking at them and you're all there wondering. Am I doing this right? You wanna be like turning your tune there? Oh, you look good. Let's try this. Let's try that in complement and direct all the time. If you ever worked with models there used to moving for you, so you kind of sit back and let them do the work. But I feel like the majority of the people aren't models and you need to direct them and guide them, have a connection a reason behind your work. I told you my reason and I did it without crying, which is huge for me because I cry every time I tell that story. But honestly, it's true. Everybody has a story, and that story takes them to where they are accepting. Especially be a master at your craft. You know, I've been doing this 14 years. I'm just turned 43. I feel like I'm just getting started. I feel like there's so much more than I have to learn. And I honestly feel that I am going to spend my life trying to perfect my own work. Don't you like if you're gonna choose to specialize in something, whether it's pregnancy, newborn animals don't feel you have to be perfect. Day one. You're an artist. Your create Oh, you're gonna spend your life perfecting. I've got three little artists at home that are continually drawing, and they're always ripping up their paper because they don't think their work is good enough. How when? Since they've been bored, been born, I've been telling them how good they are and how amazing they are. Yeah, why it ain't 10 in trouble. Do they still question themselves? Because their creatives and that's what we dio and that's how we get through our life is by continually challenging and questioning ourselves. The 1st 15 minutes of the session, which I'm going to show you today, is to connect with your clients. You have to connect with their clients. You've heard the saying you're responsible for the energy that you bring into the room, your clients bringing their energy. You have your energy. You fought with your husband. You relate. Your kids are listening to you, your clients running late. She's fighting with her husband. Her kids aren't listening to put these two in the room and you've got to make magic. She wants to kill her husband. You're tired. I mean, it could go on and on. You have to literally just take a breath. Be like, OK, I have an hour with this woman and let her know lead her energy. You can lead someone else's energy, don't back down and get intimidated by their energy. Kinds come in and they're stressed. They're this. They're that. Just bring them to you and say I got this. I got this. You know, I'm gonna take care of you. I am clothing for you. Let's look at what you've brought. I usually have clients bring some of their own clothing, and I bring some of mine. So I have asked the models today to bring some of their own clothing. The very first model we have. We're gonna start with her own clothing and I'm gonna lead you through transitional posing. And then they're going to use some of my clothing. I think it's important to have some things for your clients. To where? I don't think it's a requirement. But I could tell you a 1,000,000 places to get just some things to help your clients to wear things that I think are essential before we get into shooting is music materials, a fan, water and chocolate. Maybe chocolate should be on top, but I love fans. Every woman looks good with a fan and their huts. They're making a baby. They're hot. Have a fan have a fan and a big fan. Okay. You need water, chocolate and a little bit of protein. Snicker bars air Great, actually had a woman. One time her husband was behind her went down and he caught her like a weight off. My gosh, and I'm thinking, I have insurance. I have insurance. Focus. What's going on? And her doctor had told her she had protein was anything in a protein in her diet. She needed protein, gene protein. That, of course, because she didn't and so down she went from that day forward, I always wanted to have chocolate and things with protein in them. Bars. Kind bars get all different kinds of bars. That person. Make sure that Mama eats and drinks before you start photographing her because pregnancy sessions can cause retained preterm labor. I have had many clients go into labor the next day. Why? Because you're moving them. I'm gonna bend and Twister and Archer and move her in places that she's never done before. What's gonna happen? So the little person inside he's gonna go. Oh, I see. There's light at the end of the tunnel. He's going to start moving around and realize there's more room in that womb to get going, and he started seeing the light, and he's going to start moving your issues, they start moving down. So it's very important. We tell women the best time for photographs is obviously around seven or eight months. But then again, I'm in the land of Beautiful. I have women that are nine months pregnant. They've gained, like, £10. And I'm like, OK, come like two weeks before you're born. But have a full meal, Get some rest. Make sure it's okay with your doctor. You have to be careful. You have to be careful. I usually save the laying and sitting down poses for the very end. Don't want to get a woman up and down, up and down, up and down. So I'm going to start with transitional posing today. We're going to use a fan today a little challenging because the keynote I have is really for the entire time. But I can't leave Aquino while I'm shooting. So what we're gonna do is we're going to through three segments were going to do transitional, Posey. Then we're going to go into backlighting, silhouettes and backlighting, and then we're gonna use a fan. If two different models that we're going to kind of bring back and forth you have questions. Let me know if you have questions. I don't know if anyone saying anything out on the World Wide Web, but we're gonna bring it up for smiles. All good. Okay, so we'll bring our first model, and we're gonna do transitioning closing. Rachel is coming. Are you guys doing good way? Keep up music. Because this whole camera situation, we're going with music in her head. Music on a lot of my sessions, actually, because I'm usually I want them to hear me. But every once in a while, if I kind of get in the groove and I feel like they're in the groove, let's put music on. It also helps when you're doing news. For some reason, the music just helps. Rachel, do you need that little? Okay, So that little clip, a little clip that little green? Yes, Rachel have far longer you 35 weeks birthday. You said you were going out of your comfort zone today. Doing this stretching on her birthday, right? Way to do this. So she has a nice, beautiful run valley. We have a baby girl. I do ask clients all the time. I'm chick chat. Why because people not chatting, it's not a lot of fun. So I'm used to talking Teoh little people that don't talk back, right? Because, Mom, you'll see when you have three kids, you talk all day long, and until they're speaking, h they'll say nothing. Let me my send in top for, like, two years. I just talk for him like we're going to start a day. He would never talk back. So I feel like with my mother had good training for clients because you can talk to them. And even if they don't talk, back off, still keep talking. So she brought her own clothing and so will usually tell people things to bring. Do I need that? Oh, okay. Well, just for a quick second, cause we're gonna get shooting. Uh oh. We're doing after, like, three way. We're starting. We're gonna do three segments that first is natural light. And I said before in natural light and Seattle, a little different than natural light in California stops a little different that I would be in California. There really isn't naturally, but we're gonna do a great job anyway, and then we're gonna go in use studio lights. But what I'm gonna show you it doesn't matter if you're a natural light studio light, it doesn't matter if you're shooting in a park in the beach For a studio, it doesn't matter if you have a camera in a pregnant model, you know a little bit about light, you'll be able to do it. But anyway, I don't know. We're saying I've lost my e. I know what I was saying. Things to bring for their client reclines to bring. I ask them, Do they want to show their belly? Very important. As I said, some cultures they cannot show their skin. See, that's very important to find out. And if they say yes, then my next question, I think, is Have you seen my work? That's kind of important. I want to know if they like my work mean I'm assuming, But sometimes I get random calls. They just need a photographer. Have you seen my working? Is there anything you like or don't like? The reason I asked, that is why? Why would I ask that? Because if they see something with maybe a nude pregnant women and they don't want to do nude, they're gonna say Rachel's one of just like and so she's like and I don't want to do that. And so, you know, obviously they're coming to me, right? And so I want when I want to know. So just if you're a new client coming in, I say, Is there anything you like or don't like? And she'll say everything but the news. I'm comfortable showing my belly, but I'd like to be covered up. So then I say, OK, bring some solid color clothing, bring some things that go under your belly and just bring some natural pieces for everything in a bag. I'm gonna go through, tell you what I like, what I don't like and I may have some things of my own. So I really wanted to just start with what was in her own closet to just show you how I would start warming up a woman and moving her. I have my little handy, dandy clip. I get these at Home Depot. I love these things because they're strong and I could squeeze him. The other ones, like only guys can squeeze them. You're like, OK, so this is little and I want to show her belly. So I'll take a shirt like this and just kind of pull it up and say, OK, let's just get her her belly out and we'll put this clip underneath. I'm always like, Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm going up hurt. Don't mind me. Just gonna go up there. It's all good. Go to the OBE office there. Like nice Danny Choo's straddle up like a problem. OK, so we'll put this somewhere here. Okay, So you're gonna come right in the middle here, and we're gonna get a reflector and the camera. Yes. Now this is I ask treat of live. If I could bring my fan here, I have this fan of my studio intestine and I love my fans because I don't need an assistant to use it. I can just use it. I can angle it this way or that way. I just found on amazon dot com and I I feel like if you get stopped, use a fan. People always say, Okay, I do this picture and that picture, and then I just I don't know what to do and I'll say, Put a fan on and do everything you just did with a fan. And if you go outside, look for the breeze by the camera here. A camera. Oh, there. And the lens cap. Good to know. Good to know. OK, so what we're going to Dio is working. Oh, the challenge is still reflector is gonna go. Sorry. I'll try toe talk. Just imagine in your mind. Okay, So maybe before we put the reflector up, let me explain what I'm gonna dio. How about that, John? And then that way they don't feel. In fact, I'll even do it without the camera. How about that? And then when I do the camera, you'll know what I'm gonna dio that sound good. Okay, good. So I tell women just kind of sit back in your hips, Just sit back. And this is the one time in your life Just let it go. You know, just have a full Bali and and if I feel like like her belly, I felt it before, and I'll tell people feel the belly. It's still soft. There's still room to go. She's not ready to pop yet. Some women you touch their belly in. It's like rock hard. She still has room. And what happens is that content to look soft. So I'll tell them just blows me, See, just blow and really round out the belly. You may not be able to see it, but I can see a difference. I like that one leg bent because I think everybody looks good. One like bent. You don't want to just be a cartoon character like you're just like this with the bump, right? That's not cute. And so I always say, Just bend and I'm model everything, and I think that's wildly important is to model even sometimes when I'm laying down all model before I get them down, I'll say, I'm gonna get down. Why? She's pregnant. I'm not gonna have her lay down and be like, Oh, yeah, I don't like that. And they're like, really, I'm like a beached whale down there. I mean, I've been pregnant once you're down there, you're not getting back up. So now that I'm and when I was pregnant was so great for shoot because I would be like, But now that I'm not pregnant, like hold on, I'm gonna sit down. I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna do that look at me And even with nude, what I do with Newt is all pose them and say this is what you're gonna dio. And then I leave the room and I tell the men you're gonna pose the woman in this way and they love because they're like, I got this right. The men are like, I got this. I can put give a man and instruction. I mean right. You guys air on it like I got kiss, we got it. And so they'll help pose the woman, which is really great. And so we're gonna bend the leg. I think that any woman of any shape if you just bend it a little bit and so we're gonna arrest the first shot that I always do Is just looking down is just handed that hands under the belly and 30 Gonna look down. And why don't I do that is because then they're not just looking at me. I'm not just looking at them, but everyone's just wondering what's gonna happen next if I tell them that just kind of looked down and I'll put a fan kind of right next to me if I just show you if I put this Sorry if I just put a little bit of fan big smile and bring your chin out there and turn your face a little liqueur Enemy. Rachel, A little this way. Good and down. And chicken looking over the ledge. I don't know why I say that. What? See what she's doing? She's looking down here. So I want you to come to me. And you may have to do this, right, Because you that again. Just look down, Ray. Nobody wants a double chin. Nobody. That's so you're gonna be back doing chin out. Like what? I don't know why I say chicken looking over the ledge, everyone. I say that to say and it makes no sense whatsoever, but it works for some people. People like, Oh, like that. But so if you tell them to look at your belly will be like, Well, I can't see anything if I if I looked that way. If I look this way, I can I'm like, Well, just pretend I don't really care if you can see anything, but I want to look down and I'll come over and guide them. So look down again. Then she now out, out, out, out and even a little bit more and leans me and down and down because I want her to Now I don't want a double chin, and I'll kind of come right up here and just kind of get her here out of her face and look, you can see I'm gonna take a quick picture. But she looks so pretty with fan. So a transitional posing is a series of quick movements Very quick, right? So it's gonna be You're looking down at the belly You're smiling Big smile, big smile now and down, Down, down Big smile We're so happy Good. Now look right to me He's fetching out Good, beautiful. Now put it and above below and start moving Your just gonna be like this, like this And turn your good And she now and then back to me Good. And see how those air Very quick movements. Well, what's gonna happen? I'm gonna do that again, But the reflectors gonna happen. You may not see it, but you'll be able to see the still. What happen is in those Siris of quick movements. There's gonna be one jam. I'm not looking for 1000 great photos. I remember being in school, and my professor, this was during film would say, if you get one out of a roll of 24 or one of the role of 36 you got it. I'm a shoot 150 images for pregnancy, but when I stream it down for the client, they're only going to see, like, 50 or 60 of the best, and they're never gonna see do pick opposes because I'm going to streamline it. But I want to do is I want to get her moving because I don't know what her best light is. I don't know what her best site is in. The only way for me to warm her up, relaxed her energy get are focused on me, and to ensure that I'm gonna get a good picture is to keep her moving and watching the light the whole time. So that's what we're gonna do. So if you're a block further, if I turn so sorry and I'll try and talk about this fan. But my talking right now is more for directing her, which is kind of what I just showed you and What I'm gonna do is except that I can't shoot a 50 cause I shoot so fast. It's actually a good thing that he's saying that I am a fast shooter and I never go less than 1 25th of a second. I'm usually at 1/60 of a second in my studio. I met 1 61 16 I shoot anywhere from 5.6 to 7.1 because I'm a controlled environment. I'm a fast mover and shaker. If I try to do anything underneath 1/100 of a second is not gonna be good. So if I was shooting natural in the studio, I shoot with 24 to 70. To me, it's my absolute favorite lens. And then, if I'm on location of shooting with the 72 200 my second favorite lens. But four pregnancy, the 24 to 72 me best lens possible 1600 naturalized in Seattle Way. Love it. OK, Rachel. So we got this right. We're gonna do a quick 32nd set. I'm gonna put a fan on, and I'm just gonna worry about directing you and not necessarily if you can't hear me because of the fan. So I really want you bent and relaxed. Yes. Good job, you guys. Where's my refund? Third, You want to show a before and after. Do you guys use reflectors for me? Show you before and after we love reflected. All right, look down your belly. I'll show you a straight shot without a reflector. Big smile. Good. And now let's break. Actually, that's kind of fun. That looks kind of good. A little hot. Hold on, Let's do another one. Chin out. Big smile there. Reach a big smile. Check out more, More, More, More more Down, down, Down to your belly. Go straight er to me. Yeah, And chin down. Now here's what I want yet straighter on I want to blow your hair and you're gonna be really leaning out. Iss beautiful stuff real quick because this image that you're going to see is actually kind of cute without the reflector. You know me. I've only done one shot. We saw some guy medallion. Oh, pretty. Her hearings air Beautiful. So you know the reflector is optional. Maybe don't use her. I mean, she looks really good. Like that, right? Maybe we don't use a reflector. I like it. We'll let the light fall off that side and we'll just go with it about that and love it. Ready? Okay, Let's do a quick sat. We got this. All right, Here we go now. Very important. I want you to stretch. Really? It's not gonna be comfortable. The idea is not for you to be comfortable. The idea is for you to be good. Look good. Okay. So when you're when you're out there, that posture has to be up like you're pulling a string up through your body. You ever do Pilates, right? You gotta pull up through that core. So you're up there and you're stretching out that chin and you're leading. I'm going to get you moving, but still don't lose. Just try to stay up, and I'll keep it a quick set that you can relax whenever people have pregnancy. Such as me. Like I'm exhausted. I've been here like, 15 minutes. I'm like, I know. Did I tell you this is gonna be comfortable? See the experience? Because if I did totally wrong, that's not the photographer. Your picked the wrong photographer. I know some photographers. The do you know yoga and relax and meditate in their soft music, and they go through gorgeous transitions. Okay, I'm gonna move. You're gonna move, and we're gonna get great shots. Just have to go with your style. You have to shoot as fast of me not to talk its fastest. Me, I'm just going to show you guidelines. So we knew shoe. You know what to do. All right, here we go. Hands under your belly. Okay. We're relaxed for sitting there. She knows that we're gonna start from that position again, and you're gonna look right down. Big smile. Good. Beautiful. Look right up at me. Good. Love it. Good. You look right to that light. Put Wendy and above in one hand below. And when you look out for that light a little bit when you look out to that light, I really want you to stretch. I'm all about chins and next and really stretching. You're gonna keep your arms away from your body. I would show you find a short sleeve shirt on, but women's arms together close to the body, like always keep him out. I don't look, so just keep him out and you're gonna struck I want you to feel like this, and you're just gonna stretch over and you're gonna look out to that light. I'm gonna see if I can let that, like, capture the side of your face and you're still Oh, good. You're wondering, right? I put my body. Ah ha. I don't know where I want your body. Let's just turn a little bit here, Ben. The leg closest to the camera. I was been the leg closest to the camera, not the other one, because this tends to look heavy. So, Ben, the leg closest to the camera this is bent over. Then I changed the position transition. All right, so you're bending your leg. Remember how I wanted those arms away from the body and you're gonna go here? Beautiful. Big smile down to your shoulder, chin down to your shoulder. Good. Right there. And just smile good. And just look down to your shoulder a little bit Good. Strict that, you know, beautiful. Now, with both hands into your belly and look back to me A look back just with your eyes Smile, smile We're so happy back to me with your eyes But when you do they stay that way. Just look with your eyes. Ready? Got it. Okay. How little? Little, little, little quick. Just little tiny things. Don't know if we can see the one where she looked back at us trying to get the one little segments. I do a lot of books. And then what I love about transitional posing is Then you can do it in a serious in a book. We're gonna bring her husband Jeff in, and she's gonna do a little movement with him, and then she's gonna go change. You're gonna bring one of our model other models in who's going to do a quick set of transition opposing. I can really understand how I want them to move. So, Jeff, so this time since she's a pro now, Jeff, I'll say you're gonna see the same thing. But now we have the husband, and I still will do this without a reflector. That's probably gonna be a little bit dark, but let's try, Jeff, you're gonna go in next to her, your right arms around her, and the left arm is on her belly. Good. You can put your hand on hiss. I like it, But maybe put your see you got this. If you can understand what I'm saying without me actually telling you, Done done. That's what I tell my clients all time. I'm like, Oh, you're connected with me. Our energy were good. Good, Because half the time it's in my brain and getting it out fast enough, right? That's why when I tell people all the time, it's planned Next shot while you're doing the first. So I'm already planning in my head when I'm doing that for shot. What I'm gonna do next with you, Marty planning your next outfit Change? Already planning that. Exposed So anything she's doing, I'm already already shot it. I'm already on the next one. If you can think ahead and plan your next move while you're doing your first, you'll be good. Okay? Remember, you're gonna sit in the back a little bit, then your leg. Just put your hand look below her back. I put my hand like you can see my hand. You can't see my hand buying the fan and come in. I want you really close to her face into the light into our beautiful natural Good Look how good you are now. No, I'm not gonna blow the fan because Jeff Polly wouldn't appreciate it very much. Guys don't usually like, The only time will do it is if the guy has a bald head, Then I go in for the fan. Okay? So I really want to keep your hair away from your face, but you're still up on your posture. Okay, Now I need to see the baby. Okay. Hey, Well, let's get her out here a little bit, and we're gonna dio three I wanted. My end result is I just want, like, three pictures of you guys. Okay, Simon, take six to get there, but I'm just looking for three probably different pictures. Jeff, Coming closer. Closer. Closer. Lead your chin in this way. Good. Rachel, don't go in there. Yes, she announced down like a chicken looking over the ledge. Got this? Good. I feel like I need to be. I'm usually on a step stool. Yeah, you know what, Jeff? Can we Can we have a reflector right up here to just get light? Because I don't know if you see, there is no well, John, Jeff, John now were in trouble. Oh, I've got to Jay's? Yes, because I'll just shoot from the waist up. Let's see how that looks. So Rachel's eyes open. She's a blinker. Gotta blinker in the house. Okay, there we go. How does that look? Much better. Probably. Come in. It looks better to me. You're so happy. It's gonna hurt. Smiles way keep. Okay, good. Good. And down. Okay, Now you're both looking right at me. Beautiful. Now you're both looking down to the baby. Good, She now, Rachel, just lean down. Good. A little more, Rachel. Defection down. Good. Rachel, you're gonna take your hand and put it right up on gaffe right there. Go there, ISS. Good. Jeff, bring your face a little out This way. Here's what I want. You're looking at me. Thank Jeff. You're going to give her a kiss, and then you're gonna look back at him back to transition. 123 So we're going to shoot it. I'll tell you. Kiss and then you're gonna look at each other. You're ready? No, He can kiss over here if you want. Teoh. Okay. Might not be. That might be the next segment. Way section is out. Good. Right there. Beautiful. now, Jeff, give her a kiss. Beautiful. Now you're looking at each other. Oh, I love it. Ok, you know you want to kiss. You think it's their good. So see how quick? 123 You guys can take a break. That was beautiful. Going to come in, and we're gonna go through a very quick transition as well. But she's going Teoh, I'm gonna try and bring you through a little bit longer set, because usually when someone comes in how hot green underwear is totally intention. That's what we're going with today. That's right. Everybody needs a little. Are you having a boy or a girl? A boy. But see, green, green color. Okay, so I decided to give an address. So I have a line of maternity clothing and this is one of them. And the reason is because then women saying I have nothing to were law. And after shooting for so many years, I ended up designing dresses because, frankly, I was tired of wrapping women. I unwrapped hundreds of women, so I just started designing dresses one by one to try to flatter the pregnant model. And then she can say, Wow, I have nothing where I literally have women come with their underwear in a bag and nothing else. And they usually bring, like Newt or black or white, never green, and they bring it in a bag. Kidding. I get the key mouse underwear plan. Sad Seattle. That's right, Green. So I so little come with their underwear in a bag. Feel like this is all I haven't perfect. And I have wraps, and I'll show you some of the materials that I haven't dresses. But back in the day before I had gowns, I would go to TJ Maxx Target and I would imagine everybody pregnant. Everybody would be like, OK, that shirt you're wearing, my unbutton it. But one button, you're pregnant. That sweater you're wearing, that cardigan you're wearing, I'd shoot in the maternity section. I choose the extra large section and go in the men's section, and I would buy all kinds of things that had nothing to do with a pregnant woman. But then I would use them on pregnancy so you can kind of get creative. So you're gonna come right in the middle. And what I would like to do is we're gonna do again. We're gonna do transitional posing. And I'm going to just keep guiding you in directing you. And this is what I would do with a client. I'm going to just pretend like you're my client off the street and saying, Let's get going. Let's warm up this session. OK, so we're gonna bend the leg, whichever, like so we want to sit like this. Good skins still staying tall. We're gonna start with the same post, but I'm gonna leader a little bit different. So you're gonna start with just hands under the Bali. Keep those arms out, that chin is gonna look down, and we're just gonna look down more, More, more? Yeah, stretch out more so you could be like this. Good. And I want to be smile. I always have them smiling all the time, but I do like a mixture of smiling and serious. That other leg just spending a little bit more in. Yes, I love it. I would like to just lighten up just a little bit. Look how pretty looking on a look. Thank you. You look amazing. Just like who? You know what? I don't even think you need to be up there. What if you did what you did before and just bounce it back into her face? I think that's great. Okay, so now I'm gonna We're just gonna keep moving. So I want one hand below one hand above, and we're gonna look right at me. Big smile. Good. Let's go right to your right shoulder. Good. Oh, I like that. Look right out to the window. Beautiful. Good. I want you to face the audience this way, keeping your hands on your valley. You're gonna bend the light close to the camera, and you're gonna twist back here. Just back here. Shoulder down. Good. Chin down. Good. Right there. Looking down on love that came down even more. Even more beautiful. Stay right down there and look right at me, Gorgeous. I love it. Little hint of a smile. Good. Shin up a little bit. Oh, my God. She looks pretty. Had a little this way. Love it. Take this hand and just go right here. Good. Put the other hand on top of the belly. Good. Give me a little smile. Good. Chin down a little bit. Good. And just look down with your eyes and love it. Let's take the other hand and put it in your face as well. So you have two hands and let's just kind of work with the hands. And I really want you to stretch. I want to get that belly out. So turn more this way and just arch. And so sometimes I'll even come in. Got it. Really been that leg and look stunning and stretch your chin out into the hands. Here, here, here, bring. You love it. So sometimes you kind of need to go because they can't see it. And let's look, now we can get a nice arching her back. We can really get the belly up. The leg looks amazing. And you're just gonna kind of gently look down into your hands. You're absolutely stunning. If you're unsure what to do next, I like to climb up. I'll even get a little higher and angle down. Look right at me. Love it. Now take the other hand. Let's just work down. So we're gonna be like this. We're just gonna work and we're gonna work it all the way down. So we're going to start back up here and let's just work your hand down, ready and go. Just start moving it a little bit. Little soft smile good and just rested on your belly. Beautiful. Dropped the other hand. Put it underneath your belly. Good. Pulled out, right arm away from your body. Good. Stretch out. Arch your back a little bit. Straighten that had a little bit more. Look right at me. Chin down, Smile. Beautiful, gorgeous. I one more quick before we change the lighting. But see how quick that waas just rapid small movements direction the entire way I can take those 20 year. I don't even know money. I shot exposures and then I can pop him in leg room and just look good. Good, good, good, good. And I can take those 20 and just knock it down to, like, the three best photos. I mean, look, she looks amazing. Get a beautiful face and just telling them it's OK to just start moving on your own by giving your instruction. Sound can. Let's start here now. Let's just move. Every time I've done that with a woman, they've all been something completely different. No two poses will ever be the same. Let's try one more set with your arms and let's see what we can do with the arms again. Just having a do using your mind when you're stuck. Let's just try this. So you're gonna face the ob based bullet. It's that light. Okay, the arm. Gamma modeling. So the arm, the leg, the leg, the arm, Whatever else. OK, so this leg is bent, and I want you to put your arms up. Yep. And we're gonna take this left arm here left? Yeah, that one. And pull it back more and straighten your head a little bit more. Oh, good. And just really art. I want that leg. Yep. Good. And just staying there for a minute. And let's just work through this, OK? Give me a little smile. Beautiful. Now let's lean into this left arm a little bit. Look down your face. I love it there. It is really stretching to that arm. That left arm perfect. And stay there and drop that right arm onto your belly. Beautiful. Now put it a little bit below your belly. Good. Big smile and look back at me and laugh. Love it. Dropped the other hand. Look, she is beautiful. Clicker okay. Without fine. How we doing? Good. Okay. Any questions? Are you good? So what's transitional housing movements checking in with the Internet? I have a question. Hands they always begin. You didn't have to get a lot of direction to the hands. But for some reason, when I go to Cruz, what do I do with my hands? That it's all over because then there stare, get their hands. But you didn't mention really hands, which is and they still look beautiful in every shot. So very good Question a couple things in the hands. One if they're very veiny. I just want to say I forgot to mention this. She looked fine. But sometimes women come very veiny. Have them hold their hands up till the veins go away and then go down. So you want to keep the It's a good to very many hands up and down I'll do What I do is I just accuse I go. I come in the beginning and then I go and they go, OK, the other thing is again. You need a starting point. So if you say I'm going to start with hands just below the belly and then we're gonna move. We're gonna move this way, this sway This way we can do a heart. We can hug and think of things like this. Notice how she just dropped her hands in the end and she looked amazing. They don't always have to do things with her hands. She just dropped it. And I was like, Done love it. And that's why I like to move the arms but keep the skin soft and not so like in the face. And the 1st 1 is that you seem to be shooting with really, really wide with a lot of negative space. Yet is there a particular reason that you do? Yet that is great question. Yes, I remember during my film days, my professors would be like Get it right in the camera and one professor that get it right in the other camera. The other one's a drop of the darker, and there's different rules of school of thought for that, and then bring on digital cameras and camera ratios and all that. Here's the thing. I like a lot of negative space because I want to leave my options open. I want to maybe do horizontal. Maybe I want to do negative man e horizontally. They want to do vertical. Maybe I wanted to square see the image right there. See how I can. I don't have to shoot in the rule of thirds all the time, but a lot of times when I'm post processing the rule of thirds, all the center like I want that. But if I only shot a particular way that I would be stuck and I had it very, very quickly. I'm not a five hour edit girl. I can take 100 images and knock it down a 40 in like, 10 minutes. But I know the possibilities. We saw a lot of books. We saw a lot of campuses. I have been caught one too many times shooting too tight, and the client says I want a 30 by 40 and I'm screwed because because because because I crept into tights. I love to tell Mike I pre crap for them. So while you see a lot of negative space, when they come in to see their photos, I crop it. I crop in the horizontal, vertical or tight. Then when they go to order their photos whatever they order. I'm like I got this, not worry about it. I got plenty of space to work with. All right, I have a question. Everyone on the Internet always wants to know about gear that we're using. So, John, could you please let us know about this fan that is going on over here? People want to know what the fan is. Way dot Com No way. Okay. And I thank Celeste who used Let me Bring My for Heaven and I bought it and paid and shifted to Teoh. Here, Aaron two ex is M a X x. There's a post on the website of pregnancy and newborn dot com, and there's a lighting overview. Post her fan post. It's on there. And why that fan? Why have you found out? Because I don't need anybody to direct it for me. Yes, that's huge. I am an assistant, but sometimes I don't And I love it because I literally will lean on here and shoot, and I can name it this way. That way it does go lower, and I just love it. At 14 years on a Scott, it's just my favorite. That's awesome. Alien be lights and love. Alien bees have been using alien bees since day one. There. So easy there. Compact and love them. Issue with a cannon. More 3 24 to 70. I have a new U. S m two lens worth every penny if you have soft images. Your legs. Perfect. All right. Thank you. I think we can keep going. Okay, here we go. So we're going into the next segment, which is silhouette. We love silhouette. Everybody looks good in a silhouette. She is wearing one of my sisters that low. Well, honestly, you don't need this. You can do it with anything, right? Do any material. We have knees, but you could do with anything. Now, idea silhouettes is the subject is in front of the light. So if you're at the beach, if you're at a party. I was at a client's home one time. She was on bed rest and we opened the door and we shot in front of the door. The light was coming through the door and we did a silhouette. So you don't need studio light with studio light, Our lights air aimed on the background, and we're turning the lights all the way up. I think they already are. Because John's anything and so everybody needs a John and he's in New Yorker, so even better. So I turned the lights all the way up in here that quick pop on. Then there's distance between the wall, the subject, the subject and me. So, you know, I usually do anywhere from 4 to 6 feet between the subject and I and the subject in the light. But what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna play. I'm gonna play with light a little bit and show you because she's gonna come even a little bit closer to me. Now the silhouettes are what they're about. Shadow, right? Just like in the old days when you held up your fingers to flashlight, it's the same thing. The light was behind your fingers. So the the interesting thing about silhouettes is you have to be careful, because if I put her hands in the middle of her belly, what do you see? A bumpy belly. Nobody wants a bumpy belly, right? So it's very important, I tell clients. Okay, we're doing silhouette now, which means that I'm very concerned about the shape of your body. I do tell them the smile sometimes. Why? Because smiling thing is your bone structure. So So I tell people, sometimes if I'm like, not crazy, I'll be like, Let me just not crazy about the facial structure, how it's looking. I'll just smile a little bit. Then I can just see sometimes. No. Sometimes, yes, we're gonna do a quick set with just her, and then we're gonna bring her husband back in and love to do this with Children. You know, it's it's something that's just so fun. And it's just so classic and timeless. They could be nude. That could be really wearing anything. Just pay attention to clean lines and then you still have to pay attention. That double chin I'm sorry, doesn't go away. Okay, So again, let's start out with just a basic thing. And I think I want your hands in the back because I want I really want to get that baby out. And I really want an arch. So your arch and you're lifted up and you're gonna just Well, let's just have you look straight up. Just look up to the lights and just really arch and again I'm modeling her. I'm going to get her back out because no woman is gonna do that around around around, right. It's like when you go to work out a Pilatus and they're, like, stretching. Then the woman comes and she's like, and you're like, Oh, my gosh, that's what you mean. It's the same thing. You want to just stretch them out because they're only going to go a little bit. Keep that been that leg again. Keeping attention to the safety and the baby and the stage that they are in their pregnancy on that leg. Beautiful. Okay, so my very 1st 0 he, John, you already tested look amazing or any Oh, how fun I like. I've never seen myself in silhouette before. It's kind of cool. So So I wanna I wanna arch. We have a little spot on your belly. We're gonna Yeah. Can we, Uh Okay, So here's what I wanted to do. I really want you to look up Smile. I did a 123 picture right there for you. And the last picture did not have that much space in it. See how pretty that IHS look at that. Stop it isn't that fun? We didn't do anything. All we did was put the light on the background, right? You can have so much fun with silhouettes. So much fun. OK, so well, you look down and keep our chin out because, you know, we're gonna see it if you don't. So, really. Stretch that to now. Good. Maybe put hands below your belly. Good. And smile and chin down. More and more and more and more and more. More, More, more, more, more like way down, like you're looking down in your belly. But now keep your chin out. They're beautiful. Uh, standard except for your fingers. What's going on down there? That's OK. So let's get a little space because I want I want to see the Al of Oh, I want to see that space between your back and the elbow. So pull this arm back. There we go. Must cease in space that we won't have that finger issue. Look down and smile. Look at her face how it changes So cute. We can even do a little bit more space. It's come in. Look at that. I love it now. What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna show you. Her husband's gonna come in, and then we're gonna play with the light for a quick minute. We're gonna bring her a little closer to the light. And what's gonna happen? Light spills on her, right, And we just kind of have a little backlight play. That's one of my favorite things to Dio. So, Jeff, come in and you're gonna come in, and I want you to give her a kiss. And you guys are gonna have some distance between you two. These, like I had no idea, is gonna be kissing on camera so much. Oh, no. You know, I don't even kiss. Just look at her so both hands are on the belly. Local. Oh, beautiful. Rachel's arm out battling like this so I can see good. And what you just lean up and look at each other. So, Jeff, lean in, lean in closer. Kalou's er touch foreheads. Both you looking down in the valley? Oh, you're so cute. I can't even handle it. Got it? Now both of you hold each other's faces. Get the hands out of the equation. So cute. That looks weird. Looks weird. Crooked too. Q Q. Now we're So when you're shooting silhouettes, you have to pay attention to the weird. So we're gonna try one more, Jeff, hands down to the arms and Rachel your hands or back where you were, and you're gonna just kiss each other. You're just gonna put your fund, Comes in your pocket about that and just kiss. Yeah, pucker up, though. No swishy. Don't know your your gear for that. There you go. So cute. Oh, look atyou to Jeff. I love it. See how even before they kissed so fun? It's so great for pregnancy announcements, Books. I have a client that put camp silhouette chemise is in the nursery pure, clean, black and white. Let's have a little light spill. Have to keep track of my time a little bit. So you're gonna just All you do is just say, let's see what happens if you step a little closer to the light. Let's just see what happens. And so you're gonna I want you to hold your dress up and you're gonna bend those arms. I don't know if I'm gonna like it, but let's have chin up in this arch. Our body good, beautiful. And so what I like to do is bracket, so at first Okay, drop your dress. Stay there. At first I was 22 and then bracketing is where you do a lot of the same exposures just at different same pictures of different exposures. Right? So sometimes I just like to bracket the light and see So I was at 22. Then I went to 20. Take a little step closer to the light. Just a little step. You're gonna put a hand on your belly and a hand below your belly and twist a little bit to meet and just look down to your shoulder. Beautiful little smile, straight ahead. Chin down. So I ended up going from 20 down to 14 and see how how it's just softening of the light. One of my favorite things to do is tow. Also shoot in monochrome. And if you're shooting in Canon, if if you're shooting in monochrome and urine droplets J Peg J Peg will be black and white with the Robbie color And I love to see silhouettes in in black and white so many times I will shoot in monochrome mode. But I'm in Ron J pay when I'm proofing or looking at the image. It's in black and white with the rods in color. And it's a great way to really like play because I was a black and white film shooter in my days. So I love to see things in black and white. This whole Siri's. I would do in black and white make it really pretty. Let's just do one more. You're gonna bend this light. I want you to put an arm up. Yep, Right there. No, no, I like her. You were looking back at me. It's beautiful. I just want to see a pop of the eyes. Hey, relax and you can come on, Rachel, and we'll just take a look at that. And so it kind of looks a little funky on the screen. I don't know if I'm allowed to process these and then showed the creative level. Show them, but I would process this in black and white and really make it really soft and muted, and it would look amazing. So first silhouette strong celebrate. She's in the middle of the subject. You're working on hard light, and then you just bring him a little bit closer and move around and just kind of playing. EXP fun Fun. Okay, Our last lighting that we're going to do is going to be using the fan, and this is gonna be a little bit tricky because they might not be able to hear me. My voice using the fan. But I'm going to explain what I'm doing with an Richard. You're gonna stay in those clothes, because if I have time, I'm gonna bring you back in with the shawl. Yes, we are. And I mean it. Just while he's getting ready. I'm gonna explain what I'm doing with an and also talk quickly about fabrics because I'm brought different fabrics and things to kind of show you some things to work with. So this is the same thing that women use. Rachel, come over here. Quick. 2nd 0 Danielle, this is a drug. Do I have? Maybe I don't. When I bring this kind of rap with me over the silk, I'll take the soup. Just bring them both over with me for a quick second. Just go over here. I'll spend a minute talking about fabrics. Okay, so this is a silk. And what I love about silk is it blows and we may try and play around with, I don't know, full have enough time. But if you just look, look at half look at that you can. And so you look when I used to go to materials and the people at the fire replaces to be like, What are you doing now? And I would be like, fly and they would be like it flies and I would get the women out to get him out from the fabric. Maybe, like, let's talk about fabrics. You know, something like this, where it's more of a cheesecloth is great for just covering mama's tummy. And again, I'd like to talk about planning the next shot while I'm doing the first. So look how yummy that is, right? This is just a piece of big cheesecloth. Now you take her, put her in silhouette. Oh, my gosh. Can you see it beautiful? Or you can take the same material and do like this. I love fabrics. I grew up with my mom, who sewed and sewed and sewed, and I'm like a kid in the candy store with fabric. And so you take this. Let's say she hasn't LeBron not gonna happen, Don't worry, and she's just looking down. How pretty is that? So you want to look for things that are light that are eerie and have texture this we use for a baby wrap. But it's beautiful for a shell, too, because some women don't like their arms. So if you're holding right here and you turn sideways and bellies out and now twist back to look, come on so pretty and then you have texture in there. And so if you imagine the shot is just her tummy with textures but one step further and asking what their decorating their nursery in are they dealing with textures and colors? And really your don't argue there doesn't open up your mind. All of you forgot about hands right? And you're like, You're like an hour later, your mind is just going because you start pulling out textures and ideas, and she's like, I don't like the arms and then you start looking and then you like she's got good leverage. It's all going on, and it's so fun, which is very simple. Fabrics, chiffon, souks, cheese, cloth, also wonderfully simple and beautiful. OK, Rachel. So and what am I gonna do is we're gonna do movement. I love Teoh. Ask my clients to move, and it's intimidating. Come on. Where All the time, Like and you're dancing today. Okay, New problem. And so I remember a couple of years ago, I had a really quiet client and we're just moving along. And I was like, Well, I'd love to just kind of get you moving. And then she's like, um, you know, I was like a world class famous gymnast, like I don't even know she, like, won awards in like another country. I'm like, what's? And she just took on a life of her own. Another client. I had They started moving really quickly with each other, and they just were really intimate. And I'm like, What's going on here? They're like a Russian ballroom couple. Stop. I mean, come on. I'll just sit down and you just do your thing. So you wanted, like that energy coming into the room. You want to know what's involved with that energy coming into the room? Who are you? Where do you come from? You know, don't just imagine they're just a nine month cranky pregnant women. Woman, You know, you want to be like they have a whole other life pre motherhood, right? It's like I actually was a normal human being before I became a mother. Shocking. I know. So it's like you have to think, What did they do before hand and pull it out? So we're gonna do a quick. We've got five minutes to go in this lighting here, so really, I love fabrics that moves, We're gonna put the fan on, and this is another one of the gals that we haven't And the bottom is wonderful. You have to pay attention to the legs. Those legs have to be. We've got to be bending. So I told her earlier that she's bending closer the camera. If she turned, she's bending in. Those arms are out. So what I usually do in a woman when a woman looks me, she's like, I'm gonna do what now? And I just work with me. We may hate it. We make trash it. Let's just try and so I'll just tell them I'm gonna try. I'm just going to get a fan and let's just do it. And it may be a burst of 25 images, and you may get one magic one that literally Well, just think you go. I just want those little moments in your life, and it may come once a month. It may come once a year, and you just those little moments that are just like it's, like, just enough to say I can do this. Let's go with it. That's what you look for. Okay, Are we ready to go? All right. And I wish I had music for you. Okay? You're gonna come a little closer to me. You're gonna bend that leg. Let's check. Let's do an exposure check. Chin down. Look right at me. Beautiful. Trying to put the fan more on your clothing. Good. And I wanted to just kind of really twist looking, stopping you. Look what you're doing. Keep the chin down. Love it. Now look down to your material. Wait. Where you going? Not too hard. It just took a life of its own. I think it might be too much exposure back there, but oh, my God, you're good. She's like, Where's this? Go. You're not gonna go away. Although you are so little. You could, But let's try to keep you on this set. All right? Let's do that one more time. You're ready Now, here's the thing. She's teeny tiny. How far longer you, O lord? £10. We gained 76? Yeah. Saying, OK, so blow it out. I want you to look pregnant. So here's the challenge. Your chin is out, your legs out. Sounds down now, but you're gonna look, you're gonna look at me this way. You're gonna look that way. If you're gonna look of the fan this way the whole time, that belly has to be blown out On your way. Here we go. Good, beautiful. Now, let's let let's get that material going there. Good. Now look back. Good. And just keep movie. I want you for 30 seconds to just keep moving. Only looking me briefly. Oh, my God. You look amazing. Love it. Okay, that's awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you. That was great. It was great. Yeah, we're good. I expected to spend longer on that, but she just nailed it. I was like, Wow, what do you do when it doesn't go so perfectly? I'll be like, Yeah. Okay. When I can use that. Let's go next. Next. Yeah. Yeah, Because I let my clients No, let's try it. You have You paid me I'm yours. I'm willing to go wherever you want me to go. I have no inhibitions with you. It's only your innovations in your limits limits that you're going to allow me to take or not take So you tell me you give me permission I give you permission, We try it. If it works, it doesn't work. Let's move on. Fabulous attitude, Anna. I love it. You have to write. You can't have. I actually freeze If there's a preconceived notion or an expectation, right? My system, you're like, Oh, no. And they want, like that image, like, you know, because I get nervous because I'm like, I created that image with that client at that time, and I'll tell them I can't guarantee that I'm gonna get that. I'm gonna take you through the steps that I got it. But that was her time. Her energy, her space in life. I don't know if I can get there with you. And if you're willing to get to allow me to get there with you Awesome. Well, I do. I know you have another keynote to go through, so we'll wait on questions. Okay? Half until after that. If we still have time, OK? I think we're doing good. Yes. The models were done another round. Theo. It's hard to do this half naked and being exposed for the whole world to see. I give them much things. Thank you so much. Great. So I think you know, you're going to see. And I told him that they could include This is the download if you purchase the course because I couldn't really get through it. But just explaining that transition is the key to smooth session is to lead them through small transitional movement that allows him to be their offense. I mean, you've heard this before in photography. You gotta reach, you gotta get deeper. I mean, I want to get too emotional, cause I'm trying to do so that crying by it's going to be about more than photography. It has to If you're gonna do this for your life and maybe you're not, maybe you're a hobbyist, but this is my life. This is part of who I am. I'm a woman I'm a mother. I'm a photographer. I'm a child of God. These This is how you choose to use my life. Do you have to make it more than about that? Use transitional posing. Push your clients through the position. I love books. This is from a page in a book just so simple. Just so simple. Look up. Look down! Look to the shoulder. Look down through the breast lines Soup rice tells you about breast line all the time. You know what it is? Add the fan in between ad hand movements around the valley Lift, arms, twist extend to the side I mean, you can literally have notes Back in the day when I was first starting out, I tell you a secret. I had a little cabinet where I would keep all my equipment and I had notes and pictures. My favorite inspiration used to devote the magazine, and I used to make my own little scrapbook. Part of the download of this program, I think, is my mobile posing guys. And so now I'm imposing guys for for photographers. But I used to make my own posing night. I had a notebook and I still have it. And I would rip out pages for magazine. And I pictured everybody pregnant, a woman sitting on the bed in her underwear, arching pregnant. And then I would do that and I would rip those things out, and I would put him in my cabinet. And if I was stuck in a session, OK, hold on a quick second. I'm just going to get something. Got that? Okay, so let's do that. And I would like right myself. Notes. No lying true. Sorry. Because I had to do it over and over and over. Don't. Right. So you think you're gonna freeze? And so I would be like, OK, I got this. I got this even now with my IPhone. If I If I'm afraid, I'm gonna forget something. I write myself notes. It's okay. We're not perfect. Beings were in perfect. If we were perfect, we will be in heaven, OK? Blowing in the wind. Get a big fan that doesn't require assistant. We went through all that. Fans were cold. Don't forget your girls shivering there. Turn the fan off. Okay, so we talked about fabrics. We're gonna get through this, see how easy that is just let the wind take it. And she's outside, by the way. And so just allowing you're subject to go. I didn't tell him to do that, and she just did it. Okay, Okay. So I'm gonna get through all this because we did this. But this is silhouettes, starting with the F 22 f stop. And you can see the different tones. And it's all just them moving closer and away from the light. Okay, so we're gonna talk about wrap up in personal perfection because I think personal perfection doesn't exist. It doesn't exist, so stop trying to get it. Photography isn't art or creative medium, right. And you need to be the creative interpreter for your subject. So how your work is going to evolve is dependent on the subject. You're working right? It's a partnership together. So I tell people all the time evolved, You're gonna change over time. I'm like, five people ago, right? If you think like who I was when I was a rebellious teenager hating everybody because I didn't have a Puerto Rican mother that looked like me and then going through my twenties and trying to figure out who I Waas and then my thirties, and I want my forties and I'm like, It's OK, it's OK. It is a lifelong process. Relish it, enjoy it and consider it a gift. One talk grow quickly about some other key items that I think a really important not just for pregnancy but for any type of subject is model calls. When I started out, I remember telling you guys that I was doing child models, right. That was my day job, my evening job, my side job. My weekend job was model calls. Was getting friends and family to take pictures for me because what happens in the digital age is everyone's like pushing on Facebook. I need models any free. This. I need that any of this. And then what happens when I was last week. Now, this week I'm charging, and then the person's like, Well, how are you different? Seven days ago when you were now and I actually had a newborn client come to me one time and they were brand new and they said we actually use someone else for pregnancy, and she was just starting out. So is really cheap. And then we went to look for a newborn and the price was like 10 times as much that we wanted to know what changed in three weeks. And so you didn't go to her for the newborn. They pay full retail for me. I didn't know what otherwise I would have called up and said, I'm sorry. So I look a model calls as a part time job and I do workshops now. Some of you know I do do monocle, really, for my own workshop. If I'm testing a line or because we have the dress line, I'm literally pulling my assistance. I have to pregnant assistance right now. You know I love them. I love pregnant assistance. I'll put people off the street. I'll go to the doctor's office. But it's not. How do I say it? It's not being like today. I'm free tomorrow. I'm not. I'm saying so. If you need to learn, experiment, practice, do it on the side. When I started charging, I start charging my regular rate right away. I didn't say M $25 today, $50 tomorrow $100 Next week. I just started a regular rate because I knew lighting honestly have been shooting for 10 years. I mean, I reached him and this is a 29. So I had the camera, my hands since 19. So I felt like I knew Light doesn't know everything about posing. No, doing ahead. Tickets. A good picture? Yes. The minute I register my business, we call the photographer called myself a photographer. I charged, My dad's an accountant, so we know that you charge and you register and you do all that stuff. And then I just worked on my own skill. Separate. That makes sense. I think a lot of people go wrong right now because they're trying to be free and then not be. You can't be clear in your offering. Your trade don't over promise. And don't ever reshoot a model call. It's just like a regular shooting kind of saying, What if it doesn't work? I'm very honest with my clients, especially with a new warning. They say I want to do this. I want to do chin pose. I want to do this. Yeah, that would be splendid. So I would love to do that, But here's the deal. I'm gonna kind of take notes. I want you to tell me everything you want to do and let me try it. People come to me with ipads of pictures of other photographers they come to me with. I've had thumb drives off other photographers, work and then, like a K kind of explicit downloading. The Tigers report F y I but what's what's happening here? Do they really? I'm not cheap, So they're not coming to me to get a better deal. What's happening? They're coming. He tried to tell me what? Their vision, the right idea, What they want to look like. They're not trying to copy X Y z photographer there saying I chose you. But I know you don't know anything about me. And so this is what I like. This is what catches my eye. So I'm okay with that. Show me Pinterest. Show me your magazines. Show me anything you like. It gives me an idea off what you like. Now let me see if I can get you there because I have women that will show me new poses of pregnant women and their like this. Like they're wearing this far from, like, button up sweater and boots. And they're like, I'm not taking off my clothes. But I really love this picture of a nude woman, and it's like I know they want it, but they're not ready to do. And it's kind of like a date. You need warm up time I need for my time. So we come in, we start transitional posing. We have our warm up time. You will get to second base. We will get to third base to transition. By the end of the day. They're like naked. So, you know, I don't want to, like, start a session with them naked. I'm not ready any time, right? So it's like it's like saying With food war to, we all want to look good. We want to look amazing. So I'm I'm okay with that. Just then. Let me take my over my creative space and see what you can create together. A very marketing quickie. I'll be displays I've been displaying an obese is 2000 nonstop. I've been obi displays. People have to be patient with Toby displays. I hear from times all the time. I can't get a displaying in a doctor's office. I can't get this. There's another photographer there patients, patients patients. I got a call last week from Head Oh, be in a hospital that I have been talking to for three years about doing their entire labor and delivery in a hospital three years out of the blue. Last week, she called me, saying, I got it, You got it. It's all yours, the whole hospitals like you three years. So it's like people have to understand that I have never stepped. Marketing. I don't look at marketing is something in my to do list I look at. It is something that comes out of every ounce of my being. If you love to do X, I don't care if it's plumbing or photography. Whatever you love to do, Marketing should be in every core of your being. It shouldn't be on your to do list. It's something that pops in your mind when you wake up, and when you go to bed, how can you network with other businesses? How can you find like minded businesses? How can you find people that share the same customer that you dio a mom's groups? Speaking is invaluable. People that aren't speaking to women's or men's groups are missing out. I would join the Mops group. Mothers of preschoolers is the Christian Moms crew. When I was pregnant with Olivia 10 years ago, I was the quiet one at the table. Didn't really tell anyone who I waas was a photographer, just minding my own business and ones, and they asked me to speak. I was like, Oh, no, I know what I'm going to speak about. I don't I am nothing to speak now. I didn't tell you. My adopted mother is a pastor. She became an ordained minister when I was 12 and I've had my fair share of having to speak your testimony. And let me tell you, there's nothing were nerve racking fast forward. 10 years later, I've spoken to tons of Mom's groups because you can reach him at a completely different level. You can reach down. And when I was around in a mom's group and I said, Everybody stand up that has had a recent photo of yourself that's not professional. Out of 100 women in the room, three people. That's a problem. Why is that a problem? Who is preserving your legacy? 100 the women in the room that is spending every day of their life caring for those Children. And no one's taking your photos to your daughter can say this was my mother. And so when they stood up one by one and they said, Well, I have £20 to lose and I have £50 to lose And I said, Really? Because when you look at the photo of Aunt Ruth, did you say, Gosh, I wish you would lost £10? No, he said, That's my interest. And so I feel like if you take the marketing like, How come nobody's calling me out of the equation and say, I've got something to give I am doing something with my life that I want to do with the core of my being. I gotta find like minded people. And then when you're in a room with those like minded people and women are crying, it's not about my photography anymore. And I'm sitting there literally stepping outside, going, Wait, this isn't even about me anymore. And so, in all of your own lives, whatever your profession is, what is it about? You have to find out. What is it about? Talk about motivating factors on ignite on Friday. But if defendant what it's about. Sales, quickie books, campuses, groupings, package jewelry, books for my number one seller for pregnancy and newborn. Why, Why your books? My number one seller If somebody hit me A book of me and my biological mother and what I looked like is a baby It would mean the world to me. There's no other reason. Sell what you love and sell What has a reason to sell? Don't just sell for the dollar amounts and the first earthquake shadow. When I was in California freaked me out. I was like, I don't want frames in the nursery. We saw a lot of campuses in nursery have a reason behind why you shoot and the rest will follow. E think can I was coming up. Wow, What a beautiful I cannot wait to hear you speak Ed. Ignite, By the way, let's give a round of applause. Theo, talk about motivation from the beginning of your talk when you reminded us of why we're in this business to preserve legacies. That was incredible. What a jam packed 90 minutes again. Incredible. So thank you. Thank you very much, Anna. Um, it just again preserving that visual legacy for whether it's ourselves, our families or our clients. Any any final questions? Comments go. You show images. What's the reasoning for that? Like compared to a lower range? I have no set number. I could shoot 500 show 100. My goal is to never show duplicate pose, ever right against the backdrop. Do you ever go on? Look, no, no. I'm on location a lot. I shoot anywhere. Give me a camera and lighting. I shoot. I always want to be a photographer that I felt like a cheap anywhere at any time. I do a lot of so Cal. So I do a lot of beach this time of year. I do Beach field, studio home. There's really nowhere. I won't shoot, and it's completely up to the client. When they book, they tell us where they want to be. And then do you ever have clients that want to do more of ah, structure theme or an idea like a design team? No. More like an artistic thing. Yeah, I have clients coming me all the time with ideas. They'll email me. They'll call me, they'll send me pictures that will say I want to do X y Z and say, Okay, let's work it out. I come at a servant mentality. I'm here to serve you. It's not the other way around. I consider it a privilege every time I do issue. So if you have a vision and you have an idea and you're coming to me, that's a privilege. Let me help you get there. I may fail or may succeed, and I don't always succeed. I've had a lot of failures and I need three days to bring you through all that. I could tell you failures, but I will do everything in my power to give you 100% of me.