Strike a pose mumma

A woman looks her best when she is pregnant. She is sensual, beautiful and very attractive. Celebrities like Jessica Simpson, Demi Moore and Britney Spears have all flaunted this in front of the camera and enjoyed the joy of becoming a mother. And it was this feeling of joy that got Preksha, a girl who actually comes from a marketing background to capture these beautiful emotions of motherhood.

“Eighth month! I think a to-be-mom looks the prettiest when she is in her eighth month or 20 days before her delivery. My last shoot was with a mom who was just two days away from here due date,” expresses Preksha, who always wanted to pursue photography and capture people and their emotions.

“But, it was a year-and-a-half ago, I realised that I love clicking babies. And then, as I got involved more, I was attracted towards the beauty of pregnant women. I think they look awesome when they are pregnant. And since I also had an inclination towards fashion and glamour, I thought what if I could show pregnant women in a glamorous way. I saw the works of international photographers and was surprised why such a thing doesn’t exist here,” she adds.

Though popular in the west, many in India are still not too comfortable with showing off their maternal bumps. “Frankly, it wasn’t easy when I started shooting. First of all, you wouldn’t find a lot of pregnant women around you and many others wouldn’t even reveal it until they deliver. My first shoot was actually when I had not even officially started photography. I did a shoot with a colleague who was pregnant. She loved the pictures and other colleagues told me that when they get pregnant, they would love to get clicked by me. And when I officially started clicking, it was a friend’s wife who walked in and agreed to pose for me,” shares Preksha, who thinks the trend, is slowly picking up and now...

“I’ll soon be shooting a known model and grooming expert from Kolkata. She is in her fourth month and the shoot is going to happen in the seventh month. I will also be doing a shoot with someone from the Kannada industry also. Apart from these, I’ll soon be flying to Kolkata to shoot two pregnant women,” says Preksha.

Maternity photography is an art in itself and Preksha does everything to get that perfect picture. “The concept itself is so overwhelming for women who come to me that they don’t have any expectation but just want great images. I guide and direct them — about theme and looks. I meet them a few days before the shoot and show them sample images. On the day, I brief them again and take a few test shots to let them get comfortable. The shots are directed, yet they are candid. I make it look like a fashion shoot packed with emotions,” says Preksha, adding, “I bring dads into the picture too. Usually, men are not very kicked about the idea, but I rope them in. I create a story — a couple completely in love with each other and a picture that communicates and shows them sharing this moment of togetherness.”

“It is beautiful. The women whom I shoot with when they deliver, I feel like I have delivered. I somehow develop this close connect; an attachment with the unborn. It could be because of the emotional energy and effort I put in to click those pictures. When the mothers come to me, they ask me to feel the baby kicking — I just can’t explain how it feels,” shares Preksha, who is now married for almost a year.

“It’s quite ironical — I’m so much into this and have no time to plan my own baby. It tempts me that even I should plan one and someone should do a shoot for me,” she smiles and signs off.

shilpa.bansal@dnaindia.net