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http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/13394397.htm
Posted on Tue, Dec. 13, 2005
Belly-aching over studio's modesty policy
Mothers angry that pose rejected; company says it's about privacy
MICHELLE CROUCH
mcrouch@charlotteobserver.com
Sarah Morgan wanted to do something special for her Christmas cards this year.
Seven months pregnant, she envisioned a family portrait, with her toddler's hands on her swollen belly.
So Morgan bought a special top that showcased her stomach, made an appointment at Portrait Innovations and showed up last week, 3-year-old Jillian in tow.
The studio refused to take the picture.
"They said they don't take `that kind of picture,'" recalled Morgan. "They made me feel like I was some sleazy mother trying to do something obscene."
John Grosso, the company's president and owner, said it's a privacy issue.
"Our studio is very open, with everyone standing and watching our photography, and some people are offended by that," he said. "We love moms who are expecting. We just don't take pictures of their exposed stomachs."
The debate illustrates how ideas about pregnancy have changed, even over the last decade. Beginning with actress Demi Moore's nude pregnancy portrait on the cover of Vanity Fair in 1991, a growing number of women in Charlotte and nationwide have embraced pregnancy as a special time they want to record.
On www.charlottemommies.com, an online forum for local mothers, Morgan's story prompted dozens of angry messages from moms who pledged to cancel appointments and write the company to complain.
Of a dozen local portrait studios the Observer contacted Monday, only Portrait Innovations and Wal-Mart refuse to photograph bare bellies. A few small studios said they'll take modest photos of naked pregnant women; the vast majority do bare bellies as long as the subject is clothed.
Many even promote the service as a way to hook customers early.
Studio One to One in Concord Mills, for example, uses an ad with a picture of a pregnant woman pushing her bare belly up against her husband's.
"It's become such a big part of our business that we promote it in our advertising and on our store fronts," said company president Bob Eveleth. "Even 10 years ago, women wouldn't think about having this type of portrait done. But now it's as much a part of motherhood as three-month, six-month and 12-month pictures of babies. It's just the first picture of the baby."
Portrait Innovations, a private company with 48 studios nationwide, has local outlets in Huntersville, the Steele Creek area and Ballantyne. Grosso, the president, noted that the company doesn't take photos of naked babies either, though they have also grown more popular.
"I understand people want to do portraits like that, but we are a family portrait studio," he said. "There are more private portrait studios that do that photography."
Morgan, meanwhile, is still fuming about her experience. She was especially upset, she said, because the woman who booked her appointment said the studio does do belly shots.
As for her Christmas cards, Morgan said she couldn't get a December appointment at other studios her friends recommended. So she had a neighbor take a family portrait that includes her bare belly.
"It's not the best picture, but it's the principle of the matter," Morgan said. "After this, I was going to have my belly on these cards."
Tips for Pregnancy Portraits
• Decide whether you want to be fully clothed, expose your belly only or be nude. Then check to make sure the studio is comfortable with your choice.
• The best time for a shot: when you're seven months along. After eight months, photographers said, many women start to retain fluid in their faces.
• Some ideas for poses: the mother alone with her hands on her belly; the father embracing the mother from behind caressing her stomach; a close-up of the belly with both parents' hands on it; siblings hugging, kissing, or caressing the belly.
Posted on Tue, Dec. 13, 2005
Belly-aching over studio's modesty policy
Mothers angry that pose rejected; company says it's about privacy
MICHELLE CROUCH
mcrouch@charlotteobserver.com
Sarah Morgan wanted to do something special for her Christmas cards this year.
Seven months pregnant, she envisioned a family portrait, with her toddler's hands on her swollen belly.
So Morgan bought a special top that showcased her stomach, made an appointment at Portrait Innovations and showed up last week, 3-year-old Jillian in tow.
The studio refused to take the picture.
"They said they don't take `that kind of picture,'" recalled Morgan. "They made me feel like I was some sleazy mother trying to do something obscene."
John Grosso, the company's president and owner, said it's a privacy issue.
"Our studio is very open, with everyone standing and watching our photography, and some people are offended by that," he said. "We love moms who are expecting. We just don't take pictures of their exposed stomachs."
The debate illustrates how ideas about pregnancy have changed, even over the last decade. Beginning with actress Demi Moore's nude pregnancy portrait on the cover of Vanity Fair in 1991, a growing number of women in Charlotte and nationwide have embraced pregnancy as a special time they want to record.
On www.charlottemommies.com, an online forum for local mothers, Morgan's story prompted dozens of angry messages from moms who pledged to cancel appointments and write the company to complain.
Of a dozen local portrait studios the Observer contacted Monday, only Portrait Innovations and Wal-Mart refuse to photograph bare bellies. A few small studios said they'll take modest photos of naked pregnant women; the vast majority do bare bellies as long as the subject is clothed.
Many even promote the service as a way to hook customers early.
Studio One to One in Concord Mills, for example, uses an ad with a picture of a pregnant woman pushing her bare belly up against her husband's.
"It's become such a big part of our business that we promote it in our advertising and on our store fronts," said company president Bob Eveleth. "Even 10 years ago, women wouldn't think about having this type of portrait done. But now it's as much a part of motherhood as three-month, six-month and 12-month pictures of babies. It's just the first picture of the baby."
Portrait Innovations, a private company with 48 studios nationwide, has local outlets in Huntersville, the Steele Creek area and Ballantyne. Grosso, the president, noted that the company doesn't take photos of naked babies either, though they have also grown more popular.
"I understand people want to do portraits like that, but we are a family portrait studio," he said. "There are more private portrait studios that do that photography."
Morgan, meanwhile, is still fuming about her experience. She was especially upset, she said, because the woman who booked her appointment said the studio does do belly shots.
As for her Christmas cards, Morgan said she couldn't get a December appointment at other studios her friends recommended. So she had a neighbor take a family portrait that includes her bare belly.
"It's not the best picture, but it's the principle of the matter," Morgan said. "After this, I was going to have my belly on these cards."
Tips for Pregnancy Portraits
• Decide whether you want to be fully clothed, expose your belly only or be nude. Then check to make sure the studio is comfortable with your choice.
• The best time for a shot: when you're seven months along. After eight months, photographers said, many women start to retain fluid in their faces.
• Some ideas for poses: the mother alone with her hands on her belly; the father embracing the mother from behind caressing her stomach; a close-up of the belly with both parents' hands on it; siblings hugging, kissing, or caressing the belly.
