How to take Pregnancy Progress Pictures

It must be baby season because I've gotten at least a dozen emails from some lovely pregnant ladies who have asked how I set up/took my pregnancy progress shots. I figured I'd do a post so it would be easy to find.

First off, you'll need to find a doorway or window that lets in a lot of light. The more light, the better. This makes your silhouette really pop against the background. You'll also want to try and keep the day and time that you take your pictures pretty consistent (for comparison reasons). I tried to take my pictures every Monday afternoon when the light coming through our French doors was at its brightest. I'd get home from work, change into my black pajama pants and slim fitting tank top (to really show off that big ol' bump) and then get my camera set up.

The next important thing is to take your pictures from the same spot each time. I don't own a tripod. I'm figuring that most people don't, so here's what I used instead. 

Yep, that my camera sitting on top of an upside down trash can, on top a chair from our dining table. Seriously professional, right? Here it is from the other angle.

Once everything is all set up, just set your timer for 10 seconds and run (well, don't actually run, I wouldn't want any of y'all prego chicks to get hurt!) over to that door/window and try to stand so that you're shoulders and hips are facing perfectly perpendicular to the camera lens. I stress that your hips AND shoulders are square because if you twist a little (especially in the hips) it tends to look weird in in the silhouette. Stretch that neck out, hold your back straight, and let that bump do its thang.

I usually tried to take anywhere from 5-10 pictures so that I had options to choose from. And believe me, even though these are silhouette pictures and you don't have to worry about your makeup, sometimes your hair can look cute in real life and look totally whacked in the picture. Take these shots for example...

What in the world is going on with my hair? I had it in a braid which looked cute (I think) in person. But in the shots...wth?

You'll also want to keep your arms tucked in super close to your sides so that they don't become part of the outline of your body. Here's why...

ummmm... if you squint.... it kinda...... looks like I have a boy part. 

Gah! 

Eww!

Gross!

You do NOT want that!

KEEP THOSE ARMS AND HANDS TUCKED IN BY YOUR SIDE!

 It will feel pretty unnatural! Think cheerleader straight arms. Illustrated by this little drawing I found...

Like this...............................................................Not this

via 

Once you have a handful of decent shots, upload them to your computer. You can adjust the brightness, highlights, and shadows with most photo editors that are already installed on your computer. Here's an example of what you can do with the Windows editor.

Once you bump up the contrast to show off the bump, crop the photo however you'd like. just make sure to crop to the same size each time. Then you can number the pictures by week, month, or day. 

I hope this explains everything! If y'all have ANY questions, please let me know!

It must be baby season because I've gotten at least a dozen emails from some lovely pregnant ladies who have asked how I set up/took my pregnancy progress shots. I figured I'd do a post so it would be easy to find.

First off, you'll need to find a doorway or window that lets in a lot of light. The more light, the better. This makes your silhouette really pop against the background. You'll also want to try and keep the day and time that you take your pictures pretty consistent (for comparison reasons). I tried to take my pictures every Monday afternoon when the light coming through our French doors was at its brightest. I'd get home from work, change into my black pajama pants and slim fitting tank top (to really show off that big ol' bump) and then get my camera set up.

The next important thing is to take your pictures from the same spot each time. I don't own a tripod. I'm figuring that most people don't, so here's what I used instead. 

Yep, that my camera sitting on top of an upside down trash can, on top a chair from our dining table. Seriously professional, right? Here it is from the other angle.

Once everything is all set up, just set your timer for 10 seconds and run (well, don't actually run, I wouldn't want any of y'all prego chicks to get hurt!) over to that door/window and try to stand so that you're shoulders and hips are facing perfectly perpendicular to the camera lens. I stress that your hips AND shoulders are square because if you twist a little (especially in the hips) it tends to look weird in in the silhouette. Stretch that neck out, hold your back straight, and let that bump do its thang.

I usually tried to take anywhere from 5-10 pictures so that I had options to choose from. And believe me, even though these are silhouette pictures and you don't have to worry about your makeup, sometimes your hair can look cute in real life and look totally whacked in the picture. Take these shots for example...

What in the world is going on with my hair? I had it in a braid which looked cute (I think) in person. But in the shots...wth?

You'll also want to keep your arms tucked in super close to your sides so that they don't become part of the outline of your body. Here's why...

ummmm... if you squint.... it kinda...... looks like I have a boy part. 

Gah! 

Eww!

Gross!

You do NOT want that!

KEEP THOSE ARMS AND HANDS TUCKED IN BY YOUR SIDE!

 It will feel pretty unnatural! Think cheerleader straight arms. Illustrated by this little drawing I found...

Like this...............................................................Not this

via 

Once you have a handful of decent shots, upload them to your computer. You can adjust the brightness, highlights, and shadows with most photo editors that are already installed on your computer. Here's an example of what you can do with the Windows editor.

Once you bump up the contrast to show off the bump, crop the photo however you'd like. just make sure to crop to the same size each time. Then you can number the pictures by week, month, or day. 

I hope this explains everything! If y'all have ANY questions, please let me know!