Hi All,
Just want to say thank you to those who have commented on the images from my shoot with ColmMac. This was my first pregnancy shoot (and actually my first shoot since Xmas) so I was nervous anyway, not just because my body has changed beyond recognition, but also because I feel different as a person on the inside; more mature, more laid back, maternal I suppose.
The whole idea for the shoot was to try a different approach to maternity photography. A lot of what is offered to the public is very traditional - mostly black and white, very sombre, romantic, serious... this works well of course and is often what women who aren't models feel comfortable with. However, as a young woman and a woman who has modelled to portray her body as a sexual entity, I felt saddened that pregnancy was forcing me to almost forget who I was and to become someone else. I researched a lot into pregnancy and "sexiness" from the old paintings of women when they were praised for their voluptous fertile bodies to the modern celebrity spreads which have come almost full circle. I also read a lot about both sets of public views - those that would find it vulgar, almost sacrilige, for a woman to put her "bump" on show, to the modern women like me, who lost their self-esteem and felt their personal relationships strained by the changes brought on by pregnancy - "I never felt less sexy" (Jessica Alba). The views of men were very interesting though, most finding it attractive and feeling proud, but also finding it difficult to see their partner as "sexy" anymore - Brad Pitt finds it sexy, but he's in the minority 
Anyway, the point of my blog (yes there is one!) is to say that as a model, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of shooting and hope to do more. But as a young woman, experiencing pregnancy for the first time, I feel even more strongly that this is an area of the photography market that should be promoted. What this experience did for my confidence, my attitude to not only my body but the whole experience of being blessed with the ability to have a child, and also what it's done for my other half, to see me through a different set of eyes and see the real me that he knew before, I would and WILL recommend this process to everyone I know who becomes pregnant and I hope that the local photographers will give them somewhere to turn in their hour of need...
Lx
