Hi everyone,

Just after a bit of advice on maternity and children shoots.

My boss is pregnant at the moment and due in just under 2 months time. I have a week off next month and I asked her if she'd let me take some photos of her before she pops. She also has a 2yr old who's pretty cute, so I'd like to take some shots of him as well. Actually a lot of people I know have young kids so I'm hoping to bribe them all into driving out here to do some shoots.

I've done some shots of children before (terrible ones, lol) but I'd like some advice on where to start in terms of lighting. For the maternity shots I'd like to do at least some low key style shots (I'm thinking maybe rim light from the back, or low powered light from behind to the side). And for the kid I'd like to do some, not necessarily high key, but reasonably bright with soft light and maybe some outdoor ones as well.

For young children, is it best to use 'feminine' suited lighting setups (like butterfly lighting)? I just don't want to waste the opportunity by fiddling around with lighting trying to figure out what's going to work. Obviously I'm going to have to fiddle, but it would help if I had a starting point to adjust from and hopefully some useable shots in the process.

I have a new nephew as well, born a couple of weeks ago that I may get a chance to shoot in a month or so.

In terms of what I have to work with, I have 2 strobes (300s I think) and rectangular soft boxes, a couple of shoot through umbrellas and a blotchy grey background. And any advice on clothing? I've never done maternity photos before so I have no idea what might work or not in terms of clothing. I've seen some shots with wispy see-through material.. not sure I like this style, and doesn't really suit my subject's personality either.

Thanks in advance for any tips!