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I have just started out doing photography as a side job, I mostly do Sr. Portraits. Someone has asked me to do pregnancy pictures, I feel a little hesitant to say yes becuase of the small amount of gear that I have.
Canon 40d
Canon Efs 17-55
Canon 580 ex 2
Is that enough to get some good pregnancy photos? I didn't know if this is something that I would need more lighting and backdrops for? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
thanks
I have seen some reallynice pregnancy shots takenwith natural lightonly.I think you're good with what you have. I'd recommend that you check some pregnancy shots on Flickr or Webshots, learn about available light at your location, make sure you find uncluttered background etc.
Try a window with an uncluttered background. The natural light will be great for pregnancy pictures. My first were with a canon G-5 and two vivtar flash units. Check out photographers websites and get some ideas and play.
Mark
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Go to your local newsstand or Barnes & Noble and look at pregnancy magazines -- some of them have very nice photography inside and you can learn a lot.
One specific piece of advice: Watch their hands. Pregnant women never seem to know where to put their hands in photos, and they can look uncomfortable if they aren't posed right.
Here's another example of natural light pregnancy shot.
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This was taken using a 17-55mm f/2.8 IS and a single off-camera flash:
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Here's the setup shot:
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As you can see here, the view out the window was quite distracting, so I simply taped a large piece of white cloth over the window. Then I shot the flash through the white cloth thereby diffusing the light and making it look both flattering and natural. Unfortunately, you'd need a way to trigger your flash off-camera. There are cheap (yet somewhat unreliable) ways to do that (CTR-301p). Here I'm using Cybersyncs--slightly more costly but worth every penny. You can see more of the pictures I took with her here.
Else, you could use your 580EXII on-camera and bounce the flash off a white wall to diffuse the light and make it look more flattering. Might be the easiest thing to do.
Sean, the picture above, and most especially the set-up to get it is great!
Ditto.
I will try to copy your method!