Counter-Maternity
Usually, if someone looks different than the norm, excessive focus is placed on the difference. For example, if a Hollywood actor is Asian, they are more likely to be cast in films specifically about Asian culture or requiring Asian characters because of something specific in the plot. This is slowly starting to change, as Asian actors play roles that have nothing to do with their ethnicity.
To pull another example from film, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet features a minor character whose actress was actually pregnant at the time of filming, but it doesn’t have any impact on the story whatsoever (and it’s not noticeable unless you look really hard). That got me thinking…
The idea behind this shoot with Sophie was to subvert the cliche maternity shoot tropes by treating it like any other portrait shoot. Instead of making her pregnancy the focus, we treated it like a temporary unique physical feature, like a dyed hair color. It’s still very much part of her, and we don’t hide it, but it’s not what the shoot is all about. This was the first time I’ve done a shoot like this, so I had to remember the goal and always try to include her upper body, rather than just getting close up on her face.
I’m always looking for ways to make photography interesting and novel rather than falling into the same cliches that people see all the time. If that’s something you’re also interested in, I’d love to chat more.
