Dos and Donts for your next portrait session
Dos and Don’ts for Your Portrait Sessions
First off, your photographer should be telling you this because you are hiring an experienced professional… right? Well if they don’t, here are a few things you need to know for your next portrait session:
Don’t get hammered the night before! We all like to party and theres nothing wrong with that. Just remember what you look like the morning after. Not all photographers can photoshop bags under your eyes.
Stay away from huge logos and overly busy patterns. Styles change and you don’t want a FUBU shirt in your mounted family portrait.
Don’t overdue the makeup. Less is more. Your best bet is to hire a makeup artist. They know how to style you for flash photography.
Iron and coordinate your with others that are in the shoot. I love matching fathers and sons wearing linen and a white button down on the beach or matching mothers and daughts wearing matching sweaters in the fall.
Last and most importaintly, PRINT IT OUT. Get it hung on your wall to look at and love every day. There’s no point in leaving it on you usb and losing that or keeping it on your computer and it crashing.
3 Head Shot Tips for Killer Images
3 Tips for Killer Head Shots
First is your catch light. This is when the light from your main (key) light hits your subject’s eyes. This brings dept and life to your image.
Second is your key light. This is your main light and you will get a different feeling in your image depending where you place your light. I like to place my strobe at 45 degrees (10 or 2 o’clock) and a few feet over the subject’s head with my softbox angled down.
Last is the back light. Also know as rim, shoulder, or hair light; it lights the back of your subject. This illuminates the back edge of your subject and separates them from the background.
With this lighting and enough practicing with posing and you should be able to go after those corporate head shot gigs in no time.
Fun Fact: 99% of people getting head shots are not models. They won’t be comfortable in front of a camera. Hell, I”M not comfortable in front of a camera. Be relaxed, be charismatic, and make it fun. The picture will show what they feel. Laughing and relaxed will show. Nervous and uncofortable will also show.
INVEST IN YOURSELF
Graffiti Session
Whenever I’m photographing an older child, 12-17, I offer different locations for different moods. Clients usually chose something woodsy or something on the Hudson River. I’ve always mentioned urban or graffiti but clients usually had shorter sessions and opted with the “prettier” settings. I finally found a client who chose an extended session and wanted one of the settings be a graffiti backdrop.
Anyone who knew me during college knows my thesis was a book on graffiti so I obviously had a ball. Do you want to be my next subject to photograph underneath the Holand Tunnel entry bridge?
What to look for when hiring a maternity &/or newborn photographer.
Experience
You will be pregnant with this child only once. You might be spending a lot of money on one or both of these sessions. Make sure your photographer can consistently produce what they are showing on their site or social media. An experienced photographer should be answering most of your questions before you even ask them.
Vibe
You should be vibing with your photographer. If you aren’t comfortable with your photographer, there is a good chance that will come through in your photos. Photographers who know what they are doing are comfortable with their sessions and their confidence 9/10 will be passed onto you.
Can They Bundle?
Maternity photographers might not be newborn photographers but newborn photographers are almost always maternity photographers as well. See if they have bundle packaging. My “The Glow” package is a maternity session and newborn session and images from both sessions end up in your album and, at times, the birth announcement cards.
Ps: you should be printing this beautiful journey out. Don’t just post it on your social media, print it out and hang images in your nursery. Make an album and put it on your coffee table for all to see.
Winter Wonderland
Tips for your next winter session
If you are brave enough to take pictures in the dead of winter, here are some tips you should know.
Wear Layers
The session below was 17 degrees when we started photographing. The best thing to do is wear layers. Thermals for your legs, thick socks or 2 pair, snow boots, and long sleeves with a thick sweater looks great and you might not even need a coat.
Extras
Bring extras. Extra hats and extra gloves will give your session different looks. It will also keep you warm if you take pictures playing with the snow. Sneak some hand warmers in there too.
Move
Shivering is your body’s way of keeping you warm. The more you move , the warmer you will be. This can serve two purposes: keep you warm and make your images more fun. Running, jumping, and dancing puts a smile on anyone’s face.
