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Pregnancy Session Start to Finish Part 3

okay we're going to finish off with um we're going to change your top teo are you wearing a brown either the casey's okay let's go behind here and let's just get you a little top and we're going to get just um some laying down in some sitting um oh either one tiff do you want to go wrapper that I could adjust it do we have any questions how we feeling good I just want oh yeah we do have questions I would like to read a comment jasmine mason who's been joining us for this work trump said that mama is so beautiful she's absolutely stunning and I can already see the relationship between her and her husband to the few images that I've seen on the screen what an absolute artists you are anna and jenny liz says gorgeous family so I thought that was cool I have a question that has come up throughout the workshop and it's from rosemary g who said as an aspiring photographer how do you handle clients who could take themselves you know when women or men say they don't like the way they look here...

or they don't like that during a session are wondering wondering probably during the session like maybe saying I don't like this part about don't shoot my arms or yeah I mean I get it every session every day yeah I will usually it's usually in the discussion of the session especially with pregnancy take what you want to show what he wanted to show and even with family we're doing a lot of family sessions because it's christmas time and I mean I can usually I'm pretty good at picking up people's insecurities and so I try to keep myself open to hear what they're going to say and I'll say it please make sure you don't get my double chin and you know I you know don't really focus on the way down where here the most is the newborn mom because you know she's like I've gained weight and I'm puffy and I'm this and I'm not and I'm like don't worry I'm gonna shoot you really close with the baby I'm not gonna worry about you know the rest of body with the family I'll say I'm going to get you guys I love family like I'm a hugger group hug family hug my kids now hug and squeeze in love and get him in close so with that it kind of eliminates the focus when it's a mom alone pregnancy and it's on ly her in the lights I say just trust me just relax my job is to make you look amazing so I'm gonna help you with the clothes let's just work together I'm going to try to get your best side if I feel absolutely miserably and I missed a couple things that's why we have photo shop so yeah I just talked to him working out I mean yeah you're gonna leave people put themselves down that's what we do we're human beings I put myself down all the time and so you know we hate shooting each other tiffany and I it's like the worst thing on the planet but we have to do it we do it anyway but I'd like to have you know I hate my profile okay don't like people really like me you're back like that we're both that way and she's like you really like that and then you just sort of a smile like you got good I say suck it up in smile let's just do it that's kind of my motto suck it up and smile hey anna so I'm tough to t one of our regulars asks we talked a lot yesterday about props there's information in the resource guy but she was wondering how you feel about flooring and backdrops especially for those just getting started in the business yeah so you know photo op floors and backdrops and lemon drop stop both donated the backdrops in the floors for our workshop and we definitely want to think them I absolutely I have a nice collection going I have dark hardwood floor in my studio which I love but I love white wood floor and I'm not gonna change my flooring so I have like whitewood I have dark the dark gray from lemon drop the gray from lemon drop I love right another dark wood I have some from photo pop actually photo op for the backdrops I love some of their seasonal ones that's come in really handy for the holiday season we do many sessions so we bring in a lot of like the christmas sets a set about to do a whole big set I love the papers and the full floors you can put together a mini holiday set in for just a few dollars so I'm a big fan of it I do a lot of furs on the floor yeah because in those two or three set ups I do like different changes so actually one of the thoughts that I had while she's laying down is to put the great for on the floor and that came to us from a vendor I have to find out who that wass we're actually going to do that now but absolutely I'ma have a lot of have a lot of things as simple as I am I have a lot of things to help me the question is this is from leaf bridge who is kim in canada who wanted to know if you started shooting adults first to practice all your techniques and yea belly also said a high ana how do you find models to practice on and build a portfolio to put a sign up so I know we kind of covered this but I wanted to get more in depth if you don't mind yeah I'm almost I was gonna say we can do model calls tomorrow I could produce or be like really anna should we talk about it more tomorrow I don't know if we have time so I'll see how quick I can do it today because I've already changed my schedule tomorrow like three times so let's see no I shot children first remember that I was around children a lot I'm the baby sitter I've been a nanny child development and hanna there are four nieces before nephews and nieces before I was twenty five so I'm a children's person I actually got my starting child models in california I know children I love children I'm very comfortable working around children I have no problem coming down another level so I photograph children from nineteen to twenty nine and hardly any adults just a few here and there I was also a self portrait queen all else fell self portrait I have wrapped myself I have done my nude pregnancy photos I have done a lot of self portrait fanis self portrait I can sell fortune myself three times for pregnancy I've also my husband's taken pictures and that other people take pictures of my pregnancies but no I mean when I came to california from new york I had no clients people nobody knew my name I could walk up and down the street nobody knew who I was I didn't have one single person that I knew except for my husband and I did not even know how to pump gas I have left everything I knew and loved in new york and came to california with nothing but my suitcase in my husband and so I had to market and get my name out there and build it and we'll discuss that in detail tomorrow but I will tell you two things one I started shooting for a child modeling agent see and the one thing that I did differently than everybody else is every single photographer was charging seventy five dollars saying I'll give you your negatives you walk away go figure out how to make said cards and your cum cards for modeling I came on the scene and I didn't I didn't understand what that would mean to give away your negatives I just didn't get that and so I said well my feel be seventy five dollars but I'm gonna keep the negatives and I'm going to sit down with you and have an appointment and let's go over the negatives and I'm gonna help you make your comp cards and model cards and I'm gonna also add you to a million us and turned you into a family client I know you want more we'll talk about that tomorrow models you know my first model call is before it was even called a model call I was at my o b g y n female doctor for those don't know I was not pregnant I wanted pregnant people in my life and I said is it okay if I asked people tio take pictures for me and she said okay and I wrote it on an eight and a half by eleven sheet of paper and to this day I wish I would've taken a photo of it and it was pregnant women wanted seventy nine months call anna with a phone number I am not lying and that's how it happened and she taped it with scotch tape next to her reception window and I promised her that whoever came to me I would give her one picture and I would frame it and hang it on her wall in her oh be office until I filter whole wall office and that's how my o b displays started and I didn't even know what an obe display wass I didn't know what a model call wass I didn't know any of the technical terms I knew that I needed a pregnant person in front of my camera and so I believe that you can find them anywhere I don't believe in splashing it all over facebook I'll see if there's room and one in kino producer t throw that in tomorrow but I will tell you that I will end with this that when I did a workshop in new york city last year my old old old assistants and if you're watching you know I love you just happen to be in new york and I was getting ready to take the red eye we didn't read I mean have one model and I had a workshop class waiting for me and I have less than forty eight hours and I was like san there this is new york city I've never not had models she's like I don't know what to do I'm here I'm here a sister having a baby tell me what to do and I'll do it and I was like what did I do I sat down and I googled moms groups you name the mom group of tribeca here mocha moms mother's over thirty I emailed every moms group I could get a handle on I went on the website pages I wanted everything I good and all I could do was email email email and then I told dan here's what I did and I jumped on the red eye and within twenty four hours we had our models so you can find your models more tomorrow skinny I think it's so cute that you said that because you eh billy finished that that comment by saying should I put a sign up on my o b g y n center and say local photographer looking for pregnant and newborn models yes yes I've had obi displays ever since the open display them in right now I've had since I was pregnant with eva and I'm happy to talk about displays and I think it's all in our marketing program anyway we're doing a big thing I just wanted to let you know she said that's awesome yes yes that's where the pregnant women are go where the pregnant women are okay we haven't done we did sitting and we kind of did sidelined but we haven't done anything laying on her back so I say we do that what do you say I also say that I model it first remember we talked about that I don't want to bring a pregnant women all the way down to the floor and I'm like I change my mind so I usually do it and I feel and I'm like you think we could do that I think we can do that and I will also ask the woman are you okay laying on your back doc sir says new problems because there could be an issue with mom laying on her back so you wanna you want to be careful I know you will already have insurance because we talked about that yesterday so I'm not worried you don't have insurance but there's no amount of insurance in the world that's going to protect you if something happens to an unborn baby so I'm going to kind of put you in an angle on we talked about the hair before I mean I don't know I don't know we're gonna have to just see so I'm thinking I'm going to be up on a ladder john and I'm thinking she's gonna be here she's gonna blow out her belly and I think I'm gonna shoot over here like where that light is I think I'm gonna be a little closer to here I have some really good e go back down there okay so you want to sketch sketch back a little now you feel like you're at the doctor's office this is what I always say that women because my doctor grabs me by the buns and scooch is me down on the table because I'm usually screeching backwards and she's like come on in a come on in a okay lift your head up bring your hair to the side yeah but you know what I'm gonna shoot up let's go up one more time let's let's do the here in the middle okay and down he's so cute over there hi were you nervous about bringing him a little bit just because he's so weird about the camera yeah just well two and a half it's it's a gamble I mean in two and a half you really you're just going on a wish and a prayer so when I get up there you're gonna blow your belly when you see it got lots of room and chin you're gonna bring more into me this way we will do this and then maybe we'll do totally side I know you guys like the totally side shot think we can do that so we're ending with this guy's sit this is it's gonna miss me when I'm gone okay so and I have a question you ever have clients get upset went with you touching the belly or do you talk about that beforehand I asked I usually ask them I will I will usually say I'm coming in I'm coming in high I'm gonna get really close and I'm gonna touch your belly is that okay that's okay keep in mind that it also depends you're gonna know right off the bat if you're dealing with a culture that doesn't allow that a and if the culture doesn't allow that they're probably going to be covered anyway and they're gonna keep their dis stints and that's going to come out okay all right I'm my cancer I'm to say that over the years my client's air pretty honest with me I get calls where they'll say I'm off this culture you know I had a woman recently where she says I need to be covered but I want to look amazing and you can't show any of my photos like never like not even on the walls and on the website nothing and I was like okay no problem and then I said is it ok if I just you know and she was like oh yeah that's fine you can touch me but I just can't reveal anything so I think it's part of that being open I want you if you're gonna be doing pregnancy and newborn photography to open yourself up and unfortunately it puts you in that vulnerability but hey guys have cried like ten times in the past two days okay and you know you it's part of the job we're going to be vulnerable we're going to get emotional we can't just put up our block of wall and just be like I'm ana I'm your photographer could you go over there and just stand like this I'm like ok no problem you know sewing here they're going to respond to you I'm a touchy feely huggy person and that's just who I am and you know I think people know that about me and I think they learn who you are I also think you know your website your social media how you portray yourself how you open up yourself up people assume of energy about you even before they meet you and all that is brought into the room so I say just be open just be honest I've had people that I always say I don't even think they like me but I'm just talking anyway I'll just talk anyway and laugh anyway and be like okay I don't really think they liked me but they have good photos and if they don't like me it's okay I can't not everybody's gonna like me when you have to get over that too all right my mom blow blow blue little smile you have to smile when you're blowing good that face even more yeah beautiful now let's take the hair and bring it all the way to the syed cause we were talking about hair you look really good with your hair why I is that a fun hair susan her hair I love that we're talking about here yes okay turn face even more and just look down chin to your shoulder and blow blow blow can we bring the hair more down into the shoulder you know I like you but I wanted resting more on the outside of the shoulder just let it fall on the outside of your shoulder there and now chain more to shoulder just like that I just wanted to go more there I know you can't see what I'm talking about hey michael she doing over there blow blow blow can I borrow you little smile six mile just look right at me with that uh I had a quick idea yeah I was just gonna have a quickly and I'm gonna bring her sideways and she's done he's good we're belly blow blow blow no problem is it san loved that an event because we talked about how it a workshop you're looking at another angle blow blow blow that's pretty global blow love it well that's pretty chopped if first dad dad we're gonna snuggle real quick so you're gonna lay on this side feed her where she is I didn't but now I d'oh I like that no good your side but speech back a little bit and let's come up have totally changed yeah but come lay on your elbow okay yeah dad coming next to her make sure you lift up you want to sink too deep in here you have to lift up uh I promise I'll make it quick michael you have to kind of be right up in here get those arms in here so what I was doing was what what was I doing when I was shooting her laying down what was going on in my mind yes plannings are planning I stayed like on your chin like way too long I'm still talking like you're on my chin here in your mouth there we go planning the next shop planning the next shot michaleen right in good job you guys smile michael we're happy we're having a baby look right down to your belly michael's about michael's belly love that that's awesome um sally the great amigas easy way everyone more no it's easy it's hands come up we didn't get just hands on the belly and we said we're gonna see if kai will do it this is just a bonus material so dad your arms around the belly he's got two new friends over there so dad lets you get your shots so dad's around the belly this is bonus if everything's well and I feel like we had a great session we're dying well say let's try it we don't promise it if we got it we got it if we don't we don't mom and dad give me your hands on the belly pull away a little bit let me see the belly when two three got it let's get kai we're gonna try it he's gonna try and put hands on the you can go a little bit more to the side this is a questionable venture gummi bears what we have eva you want to come help this is my daughter eva she's eight guys new girlfriend amos say hi to the cameras how are you chicken where you gonna go help watch me can you watch ava e I think that might be a big deal so just two hands yeah it is gonna watch you she's gonna watch you maybe you could talk to him and tell him your body is really fine hey go ahead eva okay yeah wear my five yea