Being pregnant during a pandemic can be stressful and more when all your plans like a baby shower or maternity photos get canceled. To kill some time and make up for the lost, I decided to share some simple beginners tricks to capturing your own silhouette maternity photos at home and editing it like a pro without much experience.
You Need:
- ANY Camera
- Tripod (optional)
- Makeup/hair products (optional)
- Cute outfits
- Natural lighting
- Computer with free basic editing software or mobile editing app
- White curtains or sheets
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Camera: Any digital camera will do but if you don’t have one available then use your cellphone. Most cameras these days shoot great quality photos. The camera I use for everything is the Canon G7X Mark II.
Tripod: If you have a friend or cooperative partner then you obviously don’t need a tripod but if you are super picky and no one can stand taking hundreds of photos of you then you definitely need one. Plus it’s great to have to take family photos. I have a really old one from college that is borderline falling apart but if your looking for a recommendation, click on the tripod photo and it’ll take you directly to one of the best & cheapest finds on Amazon.
Makeup &Hair (optional): If you are a pro at doing your hair and makeup than by all means, kill it! I like to keep it simple by doing my everyday make up look and adding some waves to my hair.
I also took regular photos using the light from the window in my favor and for these I used hair accessories to complete my overall look. I’ve linked the pink beaded one I used for my photos along with two others that I also have that are great quality.
Outfits: For the perfect silhouette photo, I highly recommend wearing something that is form fitting and will highlight your belly. This can be anything from a two piece bathing suit to a sports bra with yoga pants. I wouldn’t worry too much about how it looks or the color for a silhouette photo because at the end of it all, it wont show. So now that I’ve mentioned all the basics let’s get down the nitty gritty.
Silhouette photos:
Level of difficulty: SUPER EASY!
- Find a wide window with lots of lighting and minimal things around it so that when you take your photos it doesn’t take the focus away from your silhouette.
- Take the photos when the most natural light is comes through the window
- Set your tripod or assistant directly in front of the window facing the camera against the light shinning in.
- Focus the camera by tapping the brightest area (the windows), take off the flash, and if needed, set the timer.
- Stand in front of the window so that its behind you.
- Take profile photos so that you can see your belly and try different poses until you get the perfect shot.
I also play with the exposure levels either making it brighter or darker. Mostly every digital camera and phone lets you control the exposure and this the ONLY setting I mess with other than the timer. Depending on the lighting, you most likely wont need to change anything.
I set the timer to 10 seconds or I use a clicker and snap away. This is the clicker I have from Amazon that I mostly use when I’m shooting with my cellphone. It is super affordable and easy to link to any camera.
As you can tell in the photos above, I did not shoot my entire body because I live in an apartment and there’s a heater directly under my windows. The best advice I can give is to play around with your angels and crop out whatever you don’t want in your photo. The more you fix while taking your photos the less you have to edit afterwards.
Next load your photos to your computer or edit them on your phone. Most software these days have basic editing programs that will be all you need to to perfect a silhouette photo. I make my photos black and white by reducing the color saturation and I play around with lighting and contrast. I went above and beyond and used Lightroom to blur the curtains.
My favorite mobile editing apps:
- Lightroom
- VSCO (filters for days)
- Photogrid (great for collages)
- Snapseed (enhancing vibrancy of colors, hide imperfections)
- Wordswag (adding cute text)
Lightroom presets (filters)
Most influencers use lightroom and they also sell their own presets on sites like Etsy. The best thing about this feature is that you can just buy a preset and then copy and paste the settings over your photo and it will instantly look like the preset you purchased. In most cases, you will need to adjust the lighting and color to match your skin tone but it’s a super quick way to get the perfect edit without having experience.
To achieve the photo in pajamas I just placed my tripod next to my windows so that I wasn’t competing with the light like before. I also didn’t use the flash because natural lighting just looks 10x better for these photos.
Again you don’t need to be a professional photographer or editor to make your photos look amazing. Just play around with the basic editing settings that your software comes with or buy a preset online and just follow the sellers directions on how to paste it over your photos. This isn’t 1000x better than hiring a professional but in times like these it’s equally cute and kills time during this quarantine. I also pinned a few more ideas and looks on my pinterest account that could help you achieve the perfect DIY maternity photos. Comment, follow me on social media and tag @simplory on your DIY photos. 🙂