Before Your Session
Make sure that everyone is rested and fed before the session. I encourage you to bring a snack for children (something healthy and not messy), but please do not let them know you have it and keep it out of sight until I mention that it would be a good time for a snack. Please do not bring treats with the intention of bribing children during the session – my sessions are about fun and playtime, so bribery is not needed. Just come prepared to play with your children and have fun yourself. For older children, please make sure they are cleaned, dressed, and ready to go when you arrive – also please remove any stamps, old bandages, temporary tattoos and half worn off nail polish (unless you like it!).
Clothing
We will consult about clothing style and colors in detail at the pre-consultation. In general for portraits with more than one person, you will want to avoid busy, patterned clothing. For groups it is best to think about coordinating the clothes into a color palette – such as earthtones or jewel tones or pastels. I recommend laying out the clothes for everyone together so you can see if they look good together. If one piece of clothing is drawing too much attention, switch that piece out and continue the process until you have achieved “color harmony” for the group – while still allowing for personal style. For photographs with one person – you can break all the rules and go for personal style. Solid darker clothing is best for black&white prints. Bright colors are great for color prints. I suggest bringing a few sets of clothes for a variety of looks. In the studio, bare feet are preferred.
If the session is on location, the same clothing suggestions apply, but you will also want to bring layers of clothing in case it is cold. If it is a beach session, you should also bring an extra set of clothes and a towel in the event of wet , sandy children at the end of the session.
For baby sessions, I prefer minimal clothes, or no clothes for the baby, and bare shoulders for parents.
For maternity sessions, I recommend 34 to 36 weeks for the session, or 28 to 32 weeks if pregnant with twins. Before the session, wear loose clothing for the hour before the session to minimize clothing marks on the skin. You can bring robes, sheer material or fabrics that you love. I have many fabrics on hand as well.
For newborn sessions, I like to photograph the newborn between 5 and 12 days for the calmest experience with optimal skin conditions for the newborn. If you want the sleeping newborn in crazy cute poses pictures, plan on the session at 2 to 7 days old in your home for best results using natural light. Contacting the studio prior to birth is helpful to arrange for these sessions – then when the baby is born call the studio to set the actual day of session. I prefer no clothing for the baby except for an occasional diaper. Have extra blankets for the newborn, cloth diapers or wipes for cleaning up messes and extra shirts for the parents as chances are you may get wet.
Props
My style of photography uses very few props, but adding in some personal elements that are significant to the portrait can work well. If your child has a favorite toy or music cd, please bring it along. Hats, special blankets, favorite dress-up clothes, and balls can be good additions. Fresh flowers are always nice for little girls. Any props should be “classic” in the sense that when you look at the photograph 10 years from now, it should not feel dated or embarrassing.
Hair & Make-up
For children, no make-up is needed, but I do recommend bringing along chap stick for lips. Hair should be styled for children in a way that keeps it out of their eyes and face, unless you are OK with it being there.
For make-up for adults, you should wear about 10% more than you normally wear – staying with “natural” tones. If you like black and white pictures, go with a bit more dramatic on the eyes and lip color – while still feeling like you.
If you have long hair, I recommend wearing it away from the face for location sessions as late afternoon sessions can be windy, and we often struggle with hair in the face throughout the session if it is let loose. For studio sessions, it is best to bring a clip if long hair is worn loose, in case we need to bring it back from your face for certain shots.
Scratches, Blemishes & Illness
Small scratches and bruises are common on small children, and blemishes on older children and adults. If the scratch or blemish is reasonably small, we do not need to reschedule the session – these can easily be retouched out of the final prints, normally for no additional charge.
