I knew from the start of my pregnancy that I wanted to do a maternity photo session. I thought I’d wait until I was ready to pop to capture my body in its full pregnant glory, but I changed my mind during a Skype date with a friend who was then in her eighth month of pregnancy.
When I asked if she was going to have maternity photos taken, the ferocity of her response surprised me. “Oh my God! No! Ayoko! Feeling ko ang laki-laki ko! Wala ako sa mood mag-posing posing!” Basically, she felt ugly and huge, and the last thing she wanted was to get her glam on in front of a camera. I thought she had some kind of hormonal goggles on, because to me she looked great.
But her response also made me think. If my gorgeous, tiny, delicate friend felt like a grossly ugly blimp in her last month, then there was no hope for me! So, my maternity photos had to be taken when my baby bump was a respectable size, but while I could still feel… cute.
I got in touch with our wedding godmother Dada, whose doctor/photographer husband Raul took some great portraits for the Ateneo Chamber Singers’ most recent album. Raul was game, and booked some studio time for our first weekend back home, two weeks into my final trimester. And this is what came out of those two hours in the studio.
Ever wondered what couples mean when they say “we’re pregnant?” Wonder no more. Sympathetic pregnancy is not a myth!
Can you tell Marlon and I had a blast with this photo shoot?
While researching references for my maternity photos, I saw some amazing pregnancy glamour shots. But for some reason, full-on glamour isn’t really me. Neither is the Vanity Fair, bare-it-all kind of maternity photography. (Please. No.)
Maybe I was stressed out trying to get a million things done before our flight home, but I just wanted something relaxed, casual and simple. No cute props, just our usual clothes, and my typical daily makeup routine (I even forgot to put on mascara). No fuss.
Also, I’ve been blessed with a really easy pregnancy, and Marlon and I have been pretty relaxed and laid-back about everything so far. I like that our photos reflect that.
I also saw a lot of sad-faced pregnant women looking down at their bellies. Maybe they were aiming for serene and motherly, but to be honest, not everyone makes it. I decided I would not be one of those women. I’m happy to be pregnant! And my husband—who, by all indications, is going to be a silly, playful dad—is happy that I’m pregnant too.
These last two photos in black and white are about as emo as it gets. My personal tip: a little lift of the cheekbones helps keep one out of sad mama territory.
Doing a maternity photo session really makes you think about your body. It was my first time to expose my belly to anyone other than Marlon; I would never have done any kind of belly-baring photo shoot if I had not been pregnant. It was liberating to not care about sucking in my gut, and apart from being so surprised at how white my belly is, I found that I was relaxed about it. Nothing to be ashamed of at all.
I love our photos and I’m going to love showing them to our daughter when she’s older. This is one item on my pregnancy checklist I thoroughly enjoyed checking off!
