Maternity photos

I was really keen to have some photographs taken whilst I was fairly heavily pregnant, to record and to celebrate how I looked with my first baby. Even if I have future babies, although those pregnancies will be special in their own ways, this pregnancy was much longed for, and much enjoyed, and will always be the first time that I saw how amazing my body can be and how much it can change whilst still being mine.
 
I looked into various options but when it came down to it, I had a tax bill to pay, lots of baby things to buy, a house move to fund and there just wasn’t the funds to pay for photographs, much as I was sorely tempted.
 
The photo above was taken by my younger sister, who very patiently listened to the kind of thing that I wanted and tried to help me recreate the effect that I was after. She sent over a few today and I was really pleased to see that they were lovely. Some of my favourites are black and white ones of me in my underwear which I won’t be sharing publicly, I don’t think, although you can’t see anything you wouldn’t see on a beach, so I’m not sure whether this is reason or not to publish, but I decided the one above was interesting in its own way because of the shape that my body has taken on and the apparent lack of arms.
 
I couldn’t ask my sister to take any naked photos but last night I finally remembered to ask Marto to take some of me. Again, I lay in such a position that nothing more is actually visible and I expect the quality will be very poor as they were snapped on my phone, but I really liked the effect. They reminded me of a Lucian Freud painting in that I look slightly rotund and out of proportion tummy to rest of body.
 
I was also lucky enough to have two friends take some photos, one whilst we were out for lunch and we spent some time posing outside houses in the sunshine in Notting Hill, and one after supper at her house (which I’ve shared before).

So far, I have used my home printer to print out some of the images and have stuck them in a photo album which I was given by my mother in law when we went for our 12 week scan. It has black pages and a tree embossed on the front and I have used it as part album, part scrapbook, sticking in all my baby shower cards and mementoes. I plan to have these new photographs printed and will add them as well, perhaps framing one for Marto. (for Christmas one year I wanted to get him a photo of the back view of a naked girl in wellies in a wood which we both admired in an exhibition. I couldn’t afford it, so I asked my sister to help me recreate it in our garden, with me as the model, which she did, and it now sits on his bedside table. It used to hang in our loo!) 
—
Although I have used my website link on the photos, these were obviously taken by other people.  If the photographers in question would like me to put links, perhaps they could let me know. When people are friends or family, I am never sure whether they would prefer a link or prefer to remain anonymous. Perhaps they could let me know.