Preparing for the Perfect Shoot

Sometimes thinking about something this trivial can create a ton of stress on your mind, body and loved ones. I try my best to make the experience of portraits a fun one so that you will enjoy your time with me and be able to capture the amazing memories that you are hoping for. There are many different kinds of portraits that you can get into so the preparation for each circumstance is crucial. I will briefly explain what differences to think about with your sessions and portraits.

Session options you will have if you hire me include:

Passport 5-15 min

Short 15 min Head shots, School Portraits and Pets

30 min Smash Cake, Pets, HS Seniors, Family, Kids, Babies, Couples, Singles

1 hour session

3 hr+ Events and Parties

If you are preparing for a passport photo the preparation information is very important because like the DMV, there are specific expectations for your photo when you submit your application. First the back ground in the photo must be solid and plain only (white is your best bet). The printed photo must be a 2x2 inch print and the head must be within and inch to an inch and 3/8s front the bottom of the chin to the top of the head. Unnatural facial expression are strictly a no no just like you would run into with a drivers license or ID as well as tilting your head to either side...so no smiling or laughing, sorry. You can not wear anything that covers your head such as a hat or bonnet. Glasses should not be worn in your photo especially sun glasses. Your eyes have to look into the camera and babies can not be sucking on pacifiers or hands. If your religion means for you to wear a head covering you must make sure that it is out of your face and your hair is pulled back. Basically they want to see your whole face in a natural way.

Now that we have gotten passed the hard stuff I promise that any other sessions you will run into will not be that specific. For short sessions you are basically in and out like at a portrait studio. There is no need for a wardrobe change unless you dress in layers. When it comes to pets, I have learned throughout the years that you may need to be a bit more prepared than you would think. Take for instance, which is in most cases, your dogs' pet session is outdoor in a park. Depending on your region the weather can be unpredictable and so can community park sprinklers. Bring a towel in case your dogs get wet because unless you are at the beach or in a water photo shoot with your animals, you don't want your photos all turning out with that wet dog look. Also bring your pets motivator (food, toys, ropes, squeaky things) to help the photographer keep the animals attention. Leashes are always a good idea to keep handy just in case of life happening.

Getting into the 30 min sessions you have more time to do more in your session. Let's start with smash cakes because I just love these. In studio or on location this shoot is a messy one. It's the babies first birthday cake and they get to eat it all to themselves. In any case you should be prepared to have to clean your baby after. Bring wipes, a change of clothes, a towel, and a bag to put all the cake covered clothes in. On site I will have floor drops that will contain most of the mess and trash bags for cleaning. These sessions go quickly and don't normally have time for a clothing change. For senior portraits, one clothing change is permitted and suggested even in this short session. The subject can wear layers or bring the cap and gown to put on over the original outfit. Family portraits for this short session don't normally include a clothing change but props are always awesome to include. Think of letters or words to explain your family or you can use a huge picture frame. (I always like those) These same rules apply for all other sessions included in the 30 min section.

Moving on to the full hour sessions which gives a lot more time to play around and do clothing changes. In this session I encourage 3 changes in background and clothing so all in one session your photos will look like you had 3 separate sessions. Since you get 20 images with this session it is more logical to have many different images with different style or theme to choose from. Props are always welcome when working with me. In this session I usually do the creative and artistic type portraits. These take more time to prepare for considering the amount of work that is put into the model before the shoot. If you want to do something with body paint, henna, face paint or something there of, the preparation before the shoot will often take more time than the actual shoot does. In these cases you want to set enough time in your day to be able to spend 3-5 hours on your session. I don't charge for pre-preparation for these kinds of shoots unless you are wanting to get something like henna or body paint as the people who do those are paid separately. If your full hour session is just something like a couples shoot, family, kids or pets, this kind of time preparation is not necessary.

Events and Parties are already stressful enough to plan out and make happen so to prepare for these shoots, I just need to be fully informed of what is taking place to make sure that I am fully prepared to get the proper shots you are needing. In the case of a wedding or a big event where you have hired an event planner, I do not mind being passed off to them for information because they are going to be my best place to get the information I will be needing anyway. Events don't have an min or max number of images to the packages. The sessions are based on time and travel for my services.