The Shower Diva: Where Fun Reigns!

Photographer Brandy Cunningham

Aaaah summer . . . what a great time to relax and get away! That is, if you get the chance. Come fall, you might go through your vacation photos and realize that there is not one decent shot of your husband, the kids or yourself. So what’s a mom or a Mom-to-Be to do? Chances are you gather up the kids and head to your local shopping center and pose for those fun, but not so creative, photos at the easy-to-find photo kiosks or perhaps you might take them to a more traditional portrait studio such as Sears or JCPenney which will offer a series of portraits that have seasonal backgrounds. Or, do you long for a different approach to preserve your memories? Something that captures the wonder and beauty of your pregnancy or your children with the emotion you see when you look at them? If you are like most people, your snapshots rarely capture these moments; nor do the sterile photos from the traditional outlets. Unfortunately, "cute and charming" do not have the heft of emotion and timeless essence which can be part of our most treasured photographs and memories.

One new trend we’ve noticed at The Shower Diva is that Moms-to-Be and families are working more and more with professional photographers to capture their pregnancy and family in a more natural and memorable way. Couples spend an amazing amount of time and energy just finding that perfect photographer for their wedding day. And yet, when it comes time to begin a family, that same enthusiasm and energy is being used to just keep going everyday. So do treasure that time you are pregnant and fully showing your proud belly that holds the promise of your journey to motherhood. Your husband will be right alongside you gleaming with pride --- Life just keeps on delivering impactful moments of emotion that should be captured and preserved with care. It’s surprisingly affordable to find someone who will work with you, your family, and within your budget to capture those memories that happen after the wedding. The Shower Diva went straight to the source for our readers and interviewed Brandy Cunningham, a professional photographer in the Indianapolis area.

The Shower Diva: We heard that you started taking pictures while at a preschool. What is it about children that inspired you to pick up the camera?

Brandy: I would bring my camera in and take pictures of the kids (just because I loved them so much.) One day, my boss saw some of the pictures and said, "I think I know what you're going to do for the rest of your life!” I had originally considered becoming a Montessori teacher but my love of photographing kids was too strong a pull in the end.

The Shower Diva: What was your inspiration for specializing in Maternity, Newborn, Baby's First Year & Beyond?

Brandy: Parents noticed my snapshots I took while working at the preschool and raved about the way I had captured their children the way they see them. I hadn’t expected such great feedback from something I was doing for my own enjoyment. After some encouragement from her boss, I gave two weeks' notice and jumped into the fray. In the beginning I did a variety of subjects including weddings. As my life matured and I became pregnant myself, I wanted to document my own pregnancy and found there were not many options for the Mom-to-Be. Slowly I began incorporating maternity sessions into my repertoire until I could completely leave weddings behind and focus on my core inspiration: Maternity, newborn, baby’s first year and beyond. I adore being able to follow a pregnancy and then the family for years with photographs.

The Shower Diva: Can you share with us a session or a story that is really close to your heart?

Brandy: I most recently felt honored to work with a close friend’s mother who was dying. I photographed her with her grandchildren so they would have the photos for their treasured memories. Early on when I was just getting started, I did a maternity session for a single mom who was a bit conflicted on her feelings about the pregnancy. I sat with her talked and cried together and captured the young mother’s pregnancy on film. The photos were a great surprise for the Mom-to-Be. It was the first time this single mother got to see another person’s perspective on her pregnancy and she liked what she saw. I’ve been fortunate enough to photograph her and her daughter annually ever since.

The Shower Diva: What is the most common feedback from your clients?

Brandy: People are thrilled with the photographs. We felt so comfortable and capture real moments. I tend to go for a vintage photo look and it lends a classic or timeless element to the pictures. Some clients have really enjoyed receiving newborn sessions as baby shower gifts.

The Shower Diva: We could not agree more! Giving a Mom-to-Be the gift of memories will always be appreciated and be a lifetime keepsake treasured forever. In fact I've given several baby shower gifts of photography sessions for pregnancy shoots or after-the-baby-has-been-born shoots in the past as well as having them done myself! It's a great experience!! And yes, I treasure the photographs.

The Shower Diva: How do you bring out the best in kids and families for a session? The Shower Diva knows they don’t always cooperate?

Brandy: Sometimes I will ask the parents to leave the room and that allows me to get down and play with the kids for a bit until they relax. Parents can put unknowing pressure onto their kids to perform for photographs so often that in taking this approach allows the children to be themselves and relax a bit more. I've found that you get the best photographs when kids are in their own environment. They are much more comfortable. I talk with the family about the wardrobe before the photo shoot. It’s important to know how to dress so as not to take away from the photo. I will ask them to change a few times during the shoot so that I can work best with them. My goal is that no one will notice the clothes in the photographs but they will notice the people. Now that I have a family myself, I understand how much work a family puts in to being presentable for a photo session and I try to help as much as I can.

The Shower Diva: What’s the one thing with your own kids you couldn’t have done without?

Brandy: My first baby was a bit colicky and the best way to calm her down was to sit on a big fitness ball and bounce her. This was the best way to get her to sleep. I also think it had the added bonus of helping me a bit with those extra baby pounds.

The Shower Diva: Alrighty then, I'm already out shopping for the new fitness ball recommendation for Moms-to-Be!

The Shower Diva: Do you provide prints or recommend any online site for moms to order digital prints from and to share photos online?

Brandy: All my clients own all the digital photos at the end of a session. I can provide them with prints or recommend several local shops where they can obtain additional prints.

The Shower Diva: In this age of digital photography, The Shower Diva always recommends owning your digital photos from any professional session. You then can choose to print at your own pace and pocketbook comfort level as well as share copies with your family and friends. By owning the digital photos, you will also have the ability to reuse them year after year with all the new products and services available to us on the internet. The Shower Diva recommends looking into Google’s Picasa, HP’s Snapfish, and Kodakgallery.com.

If you have a creative bent and want to put together your digital memories in an album, The Shower Diva, The Wall Street Journal, and Brandy, all recommend checking out MyPublisher.com. You can put together an album pretty quickly and they usually have discounts available throughout the year. Photography makes a great gift and a great way to capture your memories plus you can share your album online with all of your family and friends. Wow! We've come so far in such a short time from the darkroom ladies and gentlemen!!

You can catch both Brandy and Susan "The Shower Diva" at the Bellies and Babies Maternity Expo in Indianapolis on September 6, 2008. The Shower Diva is a featured Speaker at this event and she'd love to meet you in person. Catch her at 10:30 on the Main Stage talking about how to throw the Best Baby Shower Ever and on a budget! She'll be handing out gifts, prizes and games! After her talk, you can catch her at the booth under BadaBadaBaby.com with Jenny Hummell from BadaBadaBingo.com.