Shooting Weddings while Pregnant

Here are quick links to all 3 parts of this series for pregnant wedding photographers, plus at the end of each post you can download my exact email template for Telling Clients You’re Expecting :

Congrats Your Pregnant! Now What?

Shooting Weddings While Pregnant

Making a Plan for After Baby

So last week we talked about putting together a backup plan and announcing your pregnancy.  This week I’ll talk about shooting while pregnant.  This post will be a lot shorter and I’ll keep it simple with bullet points!

• Pack pain reliever, back pain sucks on a wedding day even more so when you add a big belly in there.
• Get your gear off your body as much as you can.  I used to wear at ShootSac with my lenses in it and had a neck strap on my camera.  I was also popping Tylenol as soon as I walked into the reception.  Now I put everything in a Kelly Moore bag and carry that to each location and set it down.  I walk around more going back to the bag but my back no longer hurts like it did!  I also use a handstrap on my camera instead of a neckstrap.  The only thing attached to my body is an external battery pack for my flash at the reception now.
• Have an assistant if possible.  They can carry bags and run across the venue to get that lens you left in the reception hall.  They can bring you water or hold a reflector.  Use them to make your life easier!
• Fluids!  I’m so not a fluids person and my typical reception drink is coke so this was a big one for me.  The number one reason women go into pre-term labor is dehydration.  You owe it to your baby, your clients and yourself to drink plenty of water to avoid this.
• Wear comfy shoes!  You can see in the photo to the left I have on black flats, not the cutest, sexiest shoes in the world but they are comfortable.  (Dr. Scholls flats are my favorites!)
• Eat cake!  It makes the baby hyper and kicking for your drive home so you stay awake;).  Haha, this was true with Will but it’s not a real tip!

I hope you enjoy the lovely photo above from my last wedding of the 2013 season!  I was about 37 weeks pregnant here and yes I’m big as a house and I bump the belly in guests all the time at the reception :).  Thanks to Sarah Goodwin my second shooter that day for capturing this and for being amazing that day!  Also thanks to my wonderful husband David who was my assistant/bag boy for the day.  He kept me hydrated, fetched my gear and carried my bag for me so I could try to be as comfortable as possible!