Carol's Pregnancy Continues

As the progress of the pregnancy documentary with Carol moves forward, some of the rewards of our hard work to date are beginning to show. Our initial concept of following a number of poses through the entire pregnancy, from the 12th week until full term is now in its fourth month and already showing the potential that will be revealed in the final form.

Digital original

Rather than showing the most recent images from the series we are creating, I am presenting some images from other parts of the project, when Carol and I are simply making images together. Now that our routine for the serial images is established, we are more than happy to photograph more spontaneously if we have the time.

Digital original

Part of the wonder of a pregnancy, visually speaking, is how it changes the body and creates a naturally evolving subject to work with. This makes an indoor setting the ideal location, as it focuses attention of the subject as opposed to the surroundings and helps keep the distractions in the image to a minimum. For our series-based images, Carol and I worked with natural light; between making those images, we simply kicked back and relaxed, exploring the other possibilities as they presented themselves. I took cues from the lighting, and Carol’s natural movements to create a variety of images, ranging from full body nudes to details of her breasts, belly and even her back.

Though the expressed focus for the hour or so in which we worked together was Carol’s pregnancy, that didn’t change the reality that, for me, it was also a session with an experienced, relaxed model who was happy to indulge of my love for photography. The ever changing lines of Carol’s body were fascinating to focus on and with the directional window light providing a rich modelling light; the possibilities well outstripped the time we had to work together.

Digital original

As with the previous session, I worked exclusively with the DSLR, taking advantage of the camera’s fluid response to change and its delicate tonality in the soft, diffused light that flowed across Carol.