I have two children yet somehow managed to skip professional maternity photo sessions with both pregnancies for various reasons. Many of my friends have done them and I absolutely adore them. Unfortunately, my first pregnancy’s last trimester (when it’s ideal to take those photos) was full of issues beyond my control. And because we were on a very tight budget during my second pregnancy, I couldn’t justify spending that much money.
I did, however, have a camera and my mom to help (my husband is forbidden from taking photos because he could build a rocket ship before taking a good photo…and he’s a lawyer, not a scientist).
I decided to attempt to take the same photo, same outfit, same angle for each week of the last half of the pregnancy.
Getting the same angle was hard…even with the tripod. And in my hormonal state, patience was non-existent and I generally had some sort of temper tantrum before giving up on getting the right angle, lighting, etc. I also missed some weeks because, let’s face it…life gets in the way of even the best laid plans.
Regardless of the lack of professional quality (and I truly believe a little more patience and planning would have gone a looong way), I’m so happy that I did this. I love that my older daughter is part of this belly photo idea and I can’t believe how much she has grown since these were taken! She was excited to make the signs for each photo session (despite her strong personality deciding she didn’t always need to make the numbers bold enough to stand out in the photos 🙂 ).
My younger daughter will be 3 years old in 2 months yet it seems like just yesterday when we took these photos.
If you can’t afford professional maternity photos, come up with a creative solution to capture your journey with your own camera.
P.S. The very last photo of my montage was taken by a professional (Glow Tampa Photography) for my daughter’s newborn shoot. And I don’t regret a penny we spent on that session. Here are a few of my favorites from that session…
Our little mermaid
Kara is a self-proclaimed Martha Stewart wannabe with the taste of an aristocrat and (thankfully) a penchant for bargains. She hopes to inspire you to live life beautifully and affordably while laughing at her expense along the way.
