gearhead mama

Sometimes I think it’s a curse to be a photographer. I’m no longer content with snapshots, but anything more takes a lot of work. Especially when it’s a self portrait. A bunch of furniture had to be dragged out of the way, pictures removed from the wall, clothing selected and coaxed into place (repeatedly), house cleared of spouse and offspring, camera mounted on the tripod, and let’s not even talk about the technical difficulties of pulling off a self portrait with a timer (such as, oh gee, setting the focus – something that will thankfully be remedied by the wireless remote I ordered as soon as I finished this session). And then there’s the trial and error. I feel so blind not being able to look through the viewfinder and see how the light is hitting my face, do I need to twist left or right, are my clothes in the right place, should I tip my head up or down, and so on. Throw in the hurried scramble to get into place and make a futile attempt at posing before the timer trips the shutter, and this was an exercise in frustration. Despite my commitment to take more belly shots this time around, it’s no wonder this didn’t happen before now.

I’ll put my least favorite first. I hesitate to include it, but it somehow feels cowardly if I don’t show my face.

The next two took an enormous amount of trial and error. Holding a dSLR over your head with a 17-50mm lens hanging off the front is no easy feat. There was lots of grumbling and cursing as I tried different angles to get the shot I wanted, only to find it hadn’t focused where I desired. The first of the two was perfect except I cut off my feet. Try as I might, I could not replicate this shot (with feet included), and finally decided that this one would have to do.

Apparently my stomach does not have enough contrast to give the camera something to focus on. I did this next shot over and over, and every time it focused on my feet or my chest. I finally held one hand level with my belly button while focusing, and removed it for the shot. No big deal, until you realize you only have one hand left to hold that heavy ass camera – and you not only have to aim it while simultaneously not dropping it, but you also have to delicately free up a finger to press the shutter button (only halfway!) to set the focus. Frankly, I can’t believe I pulled it off.

This one was rescued by the crop …

I hope to do a lot more of these as the weeks pass. It may be frustrating, but I imagine it’s a good exercise and will force me to stretch my skills. Plus it’s the best method I have for documenting my pregnancy in pictures. I really regret not making more of an effort with M. I was so caught up in feeling fat and ugly; this time I am determined to capture the beauty of my pregnant form.