Tokyo-based photography Kim Kyung-Hoon gains access to pregnant women being photographed for nude maternity portraits, a trend that’s on the rise in Japan.
Three years ago, a poster of a nude and heavily pregnant Britney Spears sparked concern in Japan before it was displayed in Tokyo’s subways because it was considered “too stimulating” for young commuters.
But today, an increasing number of women who have just one child later in life are flocking to photo studios to have their pregnant bellies photographed to celebrate their bodies during a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“I was so happy during my pregnancy,” said 40-year-old Kumiko Yoda, who gave birth to a boy on July 19. “This moment will not come back to me again and these pictures are for my own enjoyment.”
Yoda was encouraged by a friend who showed her maternity nude photos that she had had taken of herself and just one month before her baby was born, Yoda discovered maternity photo studio “Ixchel” in Tokyo.
Initially, she posed showing only her belly but as the all-female staff at the studio helped her relax, she posed nude for the camera. The black-and-white pictures are displayed in her home.
“Whenever I see these pictures, I can recall how I looked and how happy I was when I was pregnant,” says Yoda.
The trend of taking pregnant nude photos, which has been growing over the past few years, exploded when J-pop singer ‘hitomi’ published a pregnant nude picture with her new album last June.
The picture was displayed on large billboards over busy streets in Tokyo and the related photo book became a bestseller, selling more than 10,000 copies in its first week of publication, according to local media.
“The special feeling of waiting for motherhood helps alleviate the fear of nudity. And with more women becoming pregnant at a late age, for them this is an experience that will never happen again,” said Yuko Ishizaki, an assistant professor at Japan Women’s University.
Mums-to-be pay around 35,000 yen ($368.2) for a studio photo shoot, which takes less than two hours in “Ixchel.”
“Before this boom, women didn’t know where to go to take these kinds of pictures even though they wanted to. Because of media attention, they easily found our studio,” said Natsuko Takada, the owner of photo studio “Ixchel.”
“When I opened my studio for maternity photos last year we had less than 10 customers a month but last month we had more than 70 customers,” said Takada.
($1 = 95.04 Yen)
Los Angeles Lakers’ Lamar Odom prepares for a TV interview during the NBA basketball team’s media day in Los Angeles, September 29, 2009. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
A destroyed structure is seen among debris near a church following a tsunami in the village of Leone, American Samoa, September 29, 2009. Scores of people are reported to have been killed in the Samoan Islands after a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 triggered a series of tsunami waves early Tuesday local time. REUTERS/Raj Borsellino
A policeman checks a window as he stands guard near the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, September 29, 2009, where ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has taken refuge. Honduras’ de facto government sent troops on Monday to shut down two media stations loyal to ousted Zelaya, drawing fresh condemnation of its increasingly heavy-handed rule. REUTERS/Henry Romero
A model falls as she displays a creation as part of Mila Schon Spring/Summer 2010 women’s collection during Milan Fashion Week September 29, 2009. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
Chinese attendants wait outside the hall where U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg is speaking with Chinese Vice President Xi JinPing during their meeting at Great Hall of the People in Beijing, September 29, 2009. U.S. and Chinese officials met on Tuesday over North Korea’s nuclear program amid signs Pyongyang may be willing to restart talks on the issue. REUTERS/Elizabeth Dalziel/Pool
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Last Wednesday Sydney experienced a dust storm, the likes of which have not been seen since before World War II.
Weird weather doesn’t always give much of a warning so to get the pictures you want you have to be prepared. Follow these 10 easy tips and you can’t go wrong.
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1). Have a nose for a good story. Well before sunrise a haze of martian like dust wafted into my bedroom and the olfactory assault it delivered got me out of bed well before my year-old-son does. The best shooting light lasted only half an hour. In the picture’s business, the early bird does get the worm.
2). Make like a boy scout. Be prepared. Have your kit always ready to go next to the front door. Mine has all sorts of goodies for all occasions. Most precious item on this assignment. Lens cleaning cloth. It must have come out of the bag a dozen times on Wednesday morning. There’s also charged batteries, wallet with spare cash, press ID, eye drops (useful in dust storms), wet weather gear in the trunk and so on.
3). The journey to your destination. You have this great picture in mind and you jump on the bike, in the car, on the train but keep shooting. There’s a bunch of pictures you can make that others don’t even notice. My first picture for the day was shot through the windshield while crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
4). People, perspective, proportion. A renowned landmark emerging out of a vermeil sky is nice but to give it scale and context (both physical and social) make some pictures that include humans, dogs, birds or whatever beast happens to be in front of your camera. If there’s none in front of your camera then wait….. or move.
5). Stay connected. No use having a camera full of winners if that’s where they stay. Be mobile and connected. A netbook, card reader and 3G card are all part of my next-to-the-door kit. After the first 20 minutes of shooting I filed half-a-dozen quick pictures to the wire. Over an hour ahead of our nearest competition. (there’s always a deadline somewhere in the world).
6). Multi-task. After making an initial file of 6 pictures my morning included shooting more in the continuing red gale, shooting more as commuters started pouring into the city by road and foot, capturing television footage for my RTN colleagues, filing more, ducking back across the harbor to take my sick wife to the doctor, phoning text colleagues so we’re both on the same page, dressing my son, packing his lunch, taking him to a friend’s house, eating breakfast, filing video footage and getting more pictures on the wire as the dust began to thin.
7). Turn around. Don’t forget to look over your shoulder. You don’t want to miss the amazing picture behind you as everyone else gazes at the obvious in front of them.
8). Consider others. A few minutes spent capturing a little 5d MkII video footage in the heart of the storm ended up as the opening sequence of Reuters TV package on the day. Kudos and free beer to follow.
9). Don’t stop. Think of other ways to add impact to your story telling. (or use your colleagues ideas like I do all the time). All this dust had cleared by midday but instead of a cup of tea with feet up I headed back to earlier locations and shoot pictures of what the town looked like now. A series of “during and after” combinations capped off a strong file.
10). Enjoy yourself.
A man takes a break from cleaning a house swamped by flash floods brought on by Typhoon Ketsana, locally known as Ondoy, in a middle class residential neighborhood in Marikina city east of Manila September 28, 2009. REUTERS/Erik de Castro
Shoes and carnations are laid on a red carpet by the relatives of gunfire victims during an anti-gun rally on Individual Disarmament Day in Istanbul September 28, 2009. A group of people who lost their relatives by gun fire gathered in downtown Istanbul to commemorate their loss and to support the individual disarmament campaign organized by Umut Foundation. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
A group of Common Cranes gather in dawn light, on their night-roost on a lake in the German state of Brandenburg, close to Berlin September 26, 2009. From September to November tens of thousands of Cranes use the rural area close to the German Capital for a stopover during their migration from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe to their wintering quarters in Spain. The agricultural plains surrounding Berlin are among the biggest Crane roosts in entire Europe with several tens of thousands birds gathering during the peak of migration between September and November. REUTERS/Thomas Krumenacker
A Palestinian lies on the heated floor before bathing at “Hamam Alshefa,” a traditional Turkish bath in the West Bank city of Nablus September 28, 2009. The Turkish bath, built about 250 years ago during the Ottoman rule, is open 24 hours a day and has separate days for men and women. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis
Click here to view the complete Editor’s choice slideshow and click here to view further showcases of Reuters photography.
