Colorado Springs Maternity Photographer: Photo of the Day for Thursday, February 12, 2009

I think this is one of the more unique and interesting shots I've done over the years. I call it "Just Hatched." Since entering it in print competition with the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) I've seen it duplicated by other photographers, and have even been told that it was going to be featured on the Photovision DVD's. I didn't ever post this image online before entering it in competition because I didn't want anyone else to beat me to the punch with the idea. The parents had told me that they were going to be bringing in the mom's belly cast from her pregnancy, and I spent some time looking for ideas online, but came up short on good ideas. The dad, I believe, had the idea of nailing the belly cast to the table, so that's what we did -- put down the black cloth, put the belly cast on top of that, and then nailed it down so that it would stay upright. I lit it from the side and from the back to give it more dimension and to preserve the texture of the belly cast. Straight-on lighting would have washed out all the texture. It's sort of a maternity and newborn shot all in one!

www.ashleyphotography.com

Colorado Springs Baby Photographer