Preparing for your Portrait

Careful planning and attention to detail in what you are wearing can greatly impact the success in creating timeless works of art. In any portrait, your face should always be the main point of interest, not your clothing. The clothing should compliment, not compete. The point is to draw less attention to your body and more to your face - that's what it's all about!

Tips for Clothing Choices for Individuals & Families

Keep it simple. We want the attention to be on you and you relationship with your family, not on distraction or busy outfits.

Solid colors are always best. Avoid stripes or bold patterns. You can save the patterns for scarves, ties or other accessories.

Have the same tonal range of your clothing. For instance if the whole family wears pastel colors and Dad has on navy pants, they will be the center of attention.

Long Sleeves are a good choice, especially for men. Our goal is for the faces of your family to be the most eye- catching area of your portrait. The less amount of skin tone that competes with the face, the better. Women V necks are very flattering. With today’s fashions there are a wide variety of sleeve lengths. Choose something that is flattering to your body type. With young children and babies, since their arms are smaller, you have more flexibility with sleeve length.

Coordinate from head to toe, paying attention to socks and shoes. They will show in some of the images. If you want to go barefoot, that’s cool too, just ladies makes sure your toes look nice, no chipped nail polish.

What colors should I wear?

I hear this question all of the time.

Khaki, denim, black and white are by far some of the most popular color choices. For example, denim with black, denim with white, all white, all black, khaki with white, or khaki with black. These are the most often used color choices but there are definitely more options. Here are some others listed below:

Mixed jewel tones- royal blue, emerald green, maroon, etc. deep rich colors are gorgeous, especially in outdoor locations in the fall. Don’t mix with lighter colors.

Pastels-pink, peach, light blue or mint. Colors that are light and airy.

Earth tones- Browns and tans.

When thinking about clothing color choices you might also consider the room in which you are going to display your portrait. Your portrait will make a great accent to your room and enhance the décor. You can even bring your own props to match.

Pets

Pets are always welcome!! We love animals, especially dogs and horses. Just please let us know in advance if you plan on bringing your family pet. It is also a good idea to bring someone to help with the pet or a crate to put them when they are not in the photo. Please make sure you expectations match those of your pet’s behavior. Basic obedience commands are always helpful.

Maternity Sessions

A few hours before your session, please remove anything that may cause lines on your body such as socks, maternity pants (just pull those down below your belly), jewelry and undergarments. The best way to arrive for your session is in a tee shirt and loose fitting sweat pants.

One of the best things you can bring is a white button down shirt and a pair of jeans (bring some regular jeans, we will leave them unbuttoned.) We will also use various materials to create “pregnancy wraps” for your portraits.

Newborn Sessions

Clothing is not something I recommend for a newborn session, however we often use mom or dad as a background to hold the baby, so please have both parents wear black long sleeve shirts. If you must have clothing for your baby, please limit it to one outfit as you may upset the baby changing clothes too often.

At least one hour before your session remove any socks or shoes that your baby may be wearing. Socks tend to leave lines around the ankles.

Please do not try and wake your baby up when you arrive at the studio. Sleeping is the best way to photograph newborns. At anytime during the session feel free to soothe or feed your baby. You may wish to bring your baby’s blanket to swaddle him or her in.

Children Sessions

Children should dress appropriately for the style of session we have planned. Bringing in props that tell more about them at this milestone in their life’s can make meaningful additions to their portraits. We will talk more about this during the planning consultation.

Outdoor Sessions

In scheduling an outdoor session you need to keep in mind that these are usually scheduled early in the morning or later in the evening in order to have the best light. These times feel up quickly so you need to schedule these several weeks in advance.