Session Preparation

What to Wear:

For individuals, pick a light toned outfit (white, gray, neutrals, or pastels) and a dark toned outfit, preferably in solid colors.  Stay away from bright colors (unless it’s a baby alone being photographed), stripes, logos, dots, or patterns.  Muted tones look great, especially in outdoor photos.  Try to match the color tone of the season you are being photographed in (for example, dark reds, oranges, browns and greens look stunning amongst outdoor fall backgrounds).  If possible, choose long sleeve shirts and long pants or skirts.

For families, don’t feel like you need to buy a new wardrobe for everyone to match perfectly.  You can do that if you want to or if you have a large family and want to keep it simple.  However, remember that each person has a different personality and it is nice when each person can feel like an individual but still blend into the family group.  We recommend picking a color or tone theme (light, dark, muted, bold or neutrals, etc.) and having everyone dress accordingly.  Getting everyone in solids with long sleeves and pants can really improve your pictures.  Hint: dark colors look good on almost everyone.  Follow the same guidelines above regarding patterns and seasonal colors.

For babies, most solid colors work great, including brights, lights, pastels, and darks.  For newborns, you may want pictures in blessing or christening cloths.  We can do naked baby pictures (cute hats on naked babies are fun), but prepare a stack of towels for emergency clean-ups.  A baby session can include pictures of the baby alone, the mother and baby, the father and baby, and/or all three together, if you’d like.  Parents should follow the above clothing guidelines if they’d like to be photographed.

Don’t get frustrated about finding the right clothing.  Just do the best you can, ask us questions ahead of time, or schedule a clothing consultation and we will help you choose what will be best for your shoot.  Of course, we will make the most of any colors you select.

Other Preparation:

High School Seniors and individuals - Think about any hobbies or interests that you would like to highlight in your pictures – we can use skateboards, instruments, sports cleats or balls, books, etc..  We recommend scheduling a consultation to discuss your ideas and vision for the portraits, during which we can brainstorm special locations, props, or specific styles you’d like us to incorporate into your pictures.

Babies - Feel free to pull out your favorite blankets for use as backdrops - with cute prints and colors, white or light solids, or dark tones (brown or black are great).  Large decorative bowls or wicker baskets can be great props to involve as well.

Families - If your family plans to wear darker clothing, we will look for a dark background location and vice versa if you plan to wear light clothing.  So, if there is a clothing change involved let us know ahead of time, and we will recommend backgrounds accordingly.  Sessions can be done in public parks, private grounds (with permission), public buildings, docks, train tracks, hiking trails, barns, fair grounds, skate parks, etc.  If you have something in mind let us know and we’ll have fun with it.

Also, please let us know your children’s ages ahead of time and we will bring some toys, props and distractions  We do sometimes use candy as motivation, so please tell us if you are not okay with that or if there are allergies.