BEFORE THE BABY
MATERNITY SHOOTS ARE GAINING POPULARITY AS WOMEN TODAY SEEM TO BE GOING ALL OUT TO CELEBRATE THEIR JOURNEY TO MOTHERHOOD
My sister squealed with delight when I showed her some of the pictures from my best friend’s maternity shoot. An older friend: not so much. “WHAT is that?” she demanded, aghast. “And why would anyone want to put their pregnancies on full display?” Maybe they see it as an incredible period of their lives of which they’d like a keepsake, I shrug, noncommittally. “I’ll move to the US and live under the Trump administration before I ever do one,” she declared, muttering darkly about the death of privacy and “this Internet age”.
To each their own and all that, but perhaps my friend’s consternation wasn’t completely unfounded. Think about it: the best time for a maternity shoot is around 30 weeks (say the experts), so it’s safe to assume you will have put on a fair amount of weight; you’re constantly feeling bloated and tired and hormonal. Why would anyone want a camera on themselves?
Still, scores of mums-to-be not only book photographers, but are usually happy to pose with the whole clan — pets et al — to make it a proper family affair.
Dubai-based photographer Carrie Howes-George of Rayleigh Light Photography, who’s been doing maternity shoots for the last five years, says she’s seeing requests come in from outside the country now. “I get a lot of people flying into Dubai and asking for shoots on the beach, especially clients from Saudi Arabia.” She receives about five enquiries for maternity shoots every week. “Women,” she says, “want to capture the memory of being pregnant. There was a time when they would hide during this time. Now, it’s a celebration of the baby, a really nice memory to look back on — and eventually share with the baby.”
#It’sTrending
South African photographer Jacqui Nightscales agrees there’s been a definite spike in the number of requests for maternity shoots in the last eight years. “It used to be mostly expats,” she says. “Now, most of my maternity shoot requests come from Emiratis — and it’s all word-of-mouth.” It’s also discreet: the shoots are done at home or in a remote location, pictures are printed only by ladies at studios, and none of the images are shared online. “They might end up never showing the pictures to anyone else either. Some of them just want their own keepsake,” she explains.
Where once this kind of shoot might have been unthinkable, a lot of mums-tobe are increasingly opting to shoot without a stitch on. “Those are mostly driven by art,” says Jacqui. “They’re made to look beautiful — never raunchy or revealing.”
The latest trending request, though, is for milk bath sessions. That’s right. Fill up a tub, turn the water milky (using milk powder) and decorate with lots of pretty, colourful flowers. The effect is ethereal and — as Jacqui is finding out — in much demand.
Picture perfect
It’s not just about capturing memories though — oh no. They have to be perfect memories. Slovenian photographer Branka Bhoyrul owns Baby Angels Photography in Dubai. Her images are mesmerising: the texture of the sand and waves, the hues of the sunset sky — all of it is thrown into dramatic relief, thanks to Branka’s photo-editing, which usually takes about 3-4 hours for 15 images. Sure, you could argue the sea wasn’t exactly that shade of dark cyan on the day — but who cares? The photos are literally picture-perfect. “Many think that Photoshop is a fixing tool but it’s also an enhancing tool,” she says. “I would never give my clients a raw file — that would just feel incomplete.”
An industry insider showed me a picture of an outdoor shoot, prior to retouching. The husband’s shirt was drenched in sweat after all that time in the sun. “Now you know why pictures need to be edited!” she said.
What about the co-stars?
It’s kind of inevitable that the mum-to-be is the reigning star of the maternity shoot… which means spouses or other family members become a sideshow. Husbands (from all the intel I could gather from girlfriends who’ve done maternity shoots in the past) have to be dragged to such activities. “The men tend to come along rather reluctantly,” laughs Carrie. But she’s also met a few gems who organised these shoots as surprises for their wives. American expat Patrick was one such client. He and his wife are expecting their first child in February and Patrick thought it might be nice to “go one step ahead” and gift her a maternity shoot. “She wasn’t expecting it at all and was really happy when she found out.”
How come he’s taking the initiative, considering most of his peers fervently pray their wives won’t ask? “That’s because the one we’re doing is more of a lifestyle shoot around the baby’s nursery,” he quips. “I’m definitely far more comfortable with that, than I would be strolling around the beach, hand in hand!” To other guys though, he’d still recommend gifting their spouses a shoot. “It’s nice and personal, something wives would enjoy, so definitely something to think about!”
There was a time pregnant women would hide away. Now, they want to capture the memory and celebrate the baby to come. Carrie Howes-George
Most of my maternity shoot requests come from Emiratis. The shoots are completely discreet… It’s just their personal keepsake. Jacqui Nightscales