Pro Photo Ponderance

So, I was walking through a shopping mall the other day and noticed a portable photo studio set up and a mother having a photo shoot done of her toddler and infant together. I remember the days of getting dolled up and heading out to the local department store photographer for photos with my younger brother. My mother was proud of her two beautiful children and wanted to have a record of us looking our best. I'm sure this is the sort of thing going through the mind of this mother in the shopping mall also.
I, however, have some misgivings about the quality of image provided by these type of photographers. I think to get good quality images, you're much better off going to a photographer who doesn't need the gimmick of being in a mall to drum up busines. A photographer can create cookie cutter "good" images such as this one of my brother and me in 1987 (this pose or a variation with my brother on the other side was repeated in a 1992 version).

Although this is a photo I look at and enjoy, it's nothing extraordinary. My brother's arm is cut off and there is no special feature to the background. We are what is good about the photo. I think this is the type of photo we could have set up and executed ourselves in our home without any trouble.

When you choose to use a photographer who is more about quality than quantity, you will come up with photos that you will be glad to display as works of art. The following images have been supplied by a Canadian photographer, and friend, Shayna Kerrie of Shayna Kerrie Photography.
These photos have a mood to them. Although the backgrounds are plain, it's unlikely you'd get this quality of light in a mall studio or in your own home unless you're a seasoned photographer. Each of the images is well composed and even though the child in them is not mine, I really do love them. To me, the style is much more sophisticated than that of, say, Anne Geddes, but no less marketable.

The other type of Pro Photos I've been thinking about lately are "belly shots". Shayna has also provided a couple of these for the blog today. I do really enjoy them, but I'm not to that stage in the pregnancy yet. I still feel more like a fat chick than someone who is special and glowing. Perhaps as I progress in my pregnancy and continue to look back on these "belly shots" and others, I will decide to get some done. Or maybe DIY. Hubs has a good camera and is a sometimes aerial photographer so I could let him have a go...
Might be a bit more difficult getting a great couples pose like that second one though! And to mention it, the lighting could be an issue as well. Guess I should start researching some good New Zealand photographers or saving to bring Shayna over for a special shoot ;)

To see more of Shayna's work, including more pregnancy and baby photos, visit her blog or photography website.