IT started with Demi Moore and has become a rite of passage for every celebrity about to enter motherhood.
The pregnant photo shoot with the baby bump has become as popular among stars as a Gucci bag or a pair of Jimmy Choo's.
Now acclaimed photographer Trevor Yerbury is looking for pregnant women from Edinburgh who are willing to peel off for the came
ra.
He is hoping to take pictures of about 60 for a book and exhibition which would come out next year.
Mr Yerbury, based at Redmill, West Lothian, made a similar appeal last year, which attracted 300 willing models (who were not pregnant), and is hoping this new project will be equally popular.
He said: "We are looking for women in the latter stages of pregnancy, after 30 weeks, who'd like to be involved, come along and have their photo taken.
"It will be on the assumption that they will have to be at least semi-nude." He has already photographed a few women he already knew and who are pregnant, including one wearing nothing but a flowing pink sheet to highlight her bump.
Now he is looking for more women willing to take part in various shoots, including some in a studio and others in different, more exotic, locations.
Mr Yerbury, who works with his wife and fellow-photographer Faye, said: "We've done some bump shots, a couple recently using a lot of material and wind machines.
"We may even look to do some on location, such as on beaches or urban, city landscapes, so they will not all be studio shots."
It is 17 years since Demi Moore sparked controversy by appearing nude on the cover of Vanity Fair, while seven months pregnant, in a picture taken by acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz .
Since then, bump-on-display shots have become more acceptable, with Christina Aguilera and Myleene Klass among the latest to be pictured while expecting.
This has been translated into everyday fashion, with pregnant women more comfortable wearing clothes that reveal their belly than they might once have been.
It is this pride and confidence which Mr Yerbury is hoping to capture. He said: "Women are far more empowered and comfortable with their bodies, especially when pregnant, and we would like to take that a stage further and do something more arty than just a pregnant tummy."
The full article contains 404 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
