Expecting Xiao Miles [Atlanta Maternity Photographer]

Let me start off by saying that I’m not really a maternity photographer… until now at least! It’s funny how your own life events give you opportunities to photograph new subjects. Case in point: I don’t think I’ve seen a children’s photographer that doesn’t have kids themselves! It seems all photographers got their start on their own baby/family and then fell in love with the subject matter.

Betty and I walked over to Centennial Olympic Park which happens to only be 3 blocks away from us, one of the benefits of living downtown! :). We strolled around Magic Hour but unfortunately today wasn’t a particularly “magical” sunset, but it still provided some nice soft light. We were just hoping that the clouds would have been a bit more dramatic for the background.

We were still happy with the results of course, even during Winter with no green leaves Centennial Olympic Park is a fun place to photograph in. Now with the baby on the way, we will probably be heading over there to the playground much more often!

After spending about 30 minutes around the park, we walked back home to the condo to do some “studio” photos at home. We used our trusty Westcott Apollo 28″ softbox with a Canon 580 EX II set up with a remote trigger via a Pocket Wizard Plus II transceiver. For the outdoor photos we used a mix of the 85mm f/1.2L, 135mm f/2.0L and 24mm f/1.4L.

We of course had to do the classic “tummy” shot as well, Xiao Miles sure is growing recently! Even looking back at photos taken maybe a month ago Betty didn’t seem to be this big!

Lastly, I made Betty suffer for a little bit longer while I practice my light painting. It took a few tries, as this is yet another skill I am slowly working on, but we got some really cool shots by the 10th photo :). I kept walking the light too high in front of the camera so Betty kept having a big red band over her face, eventually I found the right angle lol. While it’s no Newsom “Gold Record” I like the effect and it’s definitely something I would love to keep practicing with for weddings and engagement sessions at night.

The next thing you know we will be posting baby photos and children’s photos! The world is a diverse and beautiful place so I’m 100% positive I will fall head-first in love with children’s photography once I start taking photos of my own!

—

Zachary Long is a wedding photographer based in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Together with his wife Betty Feng they form Feng Long Photography. Zac and Betty are available for weddings in the Metro Atlanta, GA area and destination weddings throughout the United States and China.

All images (c) FengLong Photography

Please view our website and blog at www.fenglongphoto.com/