The Bump Covers Project
When I found out I was expecting, I took five tests, and made the doctor take another one. I thought I must have been using it all wrong, but no, I was definitely pregnant. We came back with more than just flannel and maple syrup from our honeymoon in Vermont.
And so... I had to go on a quest in my head for ideas on the perfect way to document my growing belly bump. You know, in a way that would be very fun, and very me. At first, I tried out the letter board with the bump. I got bored with that. And we did most of them in my kitchen, which doesn't have optimal light. I didn't want to start doing pro photos too soon as my bump was so small, it just looked like ... to quote from my sweet hubby, I "ate a tray of brownies." I didn't really come into a bump until week 21 when my pants said.. yea no, we don't have room for that!
Move along to week 22, BOOM! I have an idea. While planning out my son's nursery, which will be music themed... I thought.. I should do something like that for my bump photos. That day, the idea for "The Bump Covers Project" was born! But what to do for the first photo... hmmm.. it had to be good. I had a moment after that. I looked up to spy my Bruno Mars hat I made when I sang "24 Karat Magic" in a Lip Sync Battle and knew a Bruno Cover would have to go first!
I posted the photo to my personal Facebook account and boy did everyone love it. Out of the comments, I got some really awesome suggestions for future covers which I have saved for future ideas!
Check out Week 24 below, the story behind week 25, and week 26, and the fun that was week 27! This week, I will be sharing not one.. but 2 photos! Last week was my week 28, and I'm really 29 weeks today, so I want to get caught up. It took me all week to figure out how I wanted to go about writing the blog.
My wonderful assistant, aka... my husband, made me a cup of tea and a berry smoothie, lit some sage and said... do your thing, you got this. Boom! My office became motivation destination this morning! Hubby will be making an appearance on some of the upcoming covers, as well as a few other guests.
WEEK 24
Inspiration--> Bruno Mars " 24K Magic"
I wanted to find silk pjs, but I didn't want to risk getting something in the wrong size.. with my growing bump and all. I raided my closet for this fully thrift-shopped outfit, red pants, silk like shirt, my customized hat, and a pair of $6 aviator glasses I found at Family Dollar. The white shoes I bought for the night I did the Bruno Lip Sync Routine.
Outfit.. check.. then to shoot! This was fun. I set up my camera on the tripod in my studio, reviewed the cover and the photos inside the album booklet, put on some Bruno Mars, and started my shoot. One hour shoot, 225 photos, and a trip home to pick the one winner. Bahahah.. who was I kidding, me pick 1 out of 225. I could barely pick one outfit daily without changing 3 times, let alone one photo. I ended up choosing one that would look like the cover photo in the original album, and two others that looked like photos in the album booklet.
WEEK 25
Inspiration--> Adele "25"
Week 25. Probably one of the most challenging photos I have ever taken of myself. This was all about the face. I'm not an all about the face person. I like all my photos from my "good side" with a slight tilt. This photo I had to be straight on with the camera which was very freaky to me.. and serious. Good thing I had some friends who are photographers who I had help me in capturing the photo in my studio with natural light. Once I uploaded the photo.. holy moly the editing process!
The weekend I was finishing up this photo, I had a photo weekend with two amazing photographers who gave me some tips on edits for this photo. So many hours looking at my own face... but here is the final result. I really wish I would have not forgotten to put on falsies.
WEEK 26
Inspiration--> Michael Jackson "Bad"
There needed to be a nod to MJ in the mix! Plus I wanted an excuse to rock this motorcycle jacket! This photo was taken at the end of a maternity shoot with Ashley from Strut Boutique. Ashely also helped style my hair to make it look "Bad" but oh so good! See what I'm talking about when I say I like photos only on my "good" side.
WEEK 27
Inspiration--> Joan Jett "Bad Reputation"
It's great living with a musician! I had a great selection of guitars to choose from for this photo. I chose my hubby's 12 string electric hollow body for this photo. Hubby shot this for me in the living room since I left my tripod at the studio. He cropped it to not get the border collie that was sitting on my foot and the papillon that was bouncing on my other foot. I'm pretty sure I need to make a blooper blog post when this is all done.