Portrait Prep Guide

We are so excited to be photographing your portrait!! We will be in touch the day before or the morning of to check in a confirm the location and weather. However, we are always here to help, so please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions leading up to your portrait sitting. 

CLOTHING CHOICES

Wear solid-colored clothing. Large strips or patterns can be distracting in a print. Especially of only one person is wearing a pattern, your eye will jump to that person first in print. 

Choose similar tones for your top and bottom (both dark or both light) so that one doesn't look bigger than the other. A white top and dark pants will make your top look bigger, while white pants and a dark top will make your bottom half look bigger.    

Select muted tones that are a bit subdued so that you are the subject not your clothes. Avoid bright colors that project (especially primary reds, oranges, and yellows); they make you look larger. Avoid shiny or neon fabrics - they look odd when a photo is printed in black and white.  

Choose 1-3 colors for your group portrait, ones with similar tones that go nicely together and have everyone work within that color palette. For example, dark green, navy, and burgundies are all dark jewel tones that are a great option for the Holidays. Or, for the beach, choose pastel colors like pink, light blues, and light greens. 

Long pants or skirts below the knee are best so your legs don't take attention from your faces, and you will be able to sit and bend without showing too much leg.

Keep jewelry simple and minimalistic because too much draws attention from your face.

WHAT TO BRING TO THE PORTRAIT SITTING

Nothing.... literally nothing except yourselves! This allows us to take candid in-between moments and walk along the beach or downtown streets and parks without running back and forth for bags. Trust me, in the 20 years I have been photographing portraits, only a handful of times do people use what they brought in their bag or purse. 

Leave behind bulky keys and cell phones, especially the guys. You don't want a big rectangle in their pocket in the photos. It's only an hour or so you can live without your phone. Live in the moment!! Avoid hair ties around your wrist. Hide them in a pocket. Also, no sunglass.. yes I know this is hard, but you need to be outside with your eyes dilated to the light. If you take your sunglass off right before the photo, you will be squinting. 

Transitions glasses, leave them behind if you can. They tend to be dark; you'll be the only one in the photograph with sunglasses. We want to see your eyes! If you are not yourself without your transition glasses, we get it, bring them along, and we'll make it work! 

Portraits with Kids

Feed and hydrate them before the portrait!! A photoshoot can be exhausting and exciting, and overwhelming for kids; the best way to avoid meltdowns is to start out on a full stomach. 

Bring juice boxes! With clear juice. Hide them in a bag or leave them in your car or at your beach rental. If you have a meltdown, you can always run and grab one. A 10-minute break with a sweet treat like a juice box (especially if normally they only get water or milk) can flip a bad mood! 

Portraits with Dogs

It's best to have your dog on a leash. We can  Photoshop the leash out of a few of the photos if needed. Bring a small squeaky toy, or treats you can hide in your pocket are great! We usually bring along a duck call. This helps get their attention and perk their ears up. 

If you want your dog in only some of the portraits, consider asking a friend to pick up your dog 1/2 into the session. Or ask a friend to join you for the shoot and hold your dog periodically. 

*No Cell Phones, Please* Children have limited smiles; when you are behind us taking photos on your phone, it’s distracting and rude. It prevents us from capturing the smiles we are working so hard to get. If you are taking selfies or answering texts is hard to capture candid moments. Your cell phone will not take photos as nicely as our professional camera equipment and 20 years of professional photography experience. We prefer photo sessions to be technology free. We’re happy to leave you time after the photo shoot so you can take your own photos.

AFTER THE SESSION 

After your session, we will get to work on culling your images down to the very best of the best (typically between 50-100 images/session, then editing those images and getting them up into your gallery. Once your gallery is ready, usually 2-3 weeks after your session, we will email and give you a call.

Copyrights (and wrongs)

Once you've got your digital files in hand, you are free to print them when, where, and as often as you wish - you can use them to make holiday cards, share on your social media pages or a personal blog, etc. The only things you can't do are related to the resale of your photos or use for commercial/business purposes. For instance, if you authored a book, you'd need additional permission to use one of the photos on the dust jacket, and you wouldn't be able to enter one of the photos into a contest and win prize money for it. Otherwise, you've got free reign. 

PRINTING YOUR IMAGES

Plan to order prints from your online gallery. We check every order and make Photoshop adjustments before printing the image. Please send us an email with any requests after placing your order. Our printing labs print on high-quality archival paper that results in crisp and punchy colors, and you receive products that you can pass down for generations. You also support our small business when placing orders directly through your gallery. Thank you for this! 

While everything we offer through your gallery is printed in professional labs and guaranteed to be beautiful, we also recognize that you may want to print your images yourself, and thanks to those digital files, you absolutely can! We recommend mpix.com or artifactuprising.com for online prints. Be sure to de-select any color correction options, and be sure to upload the original files you downloaded, not copies.

my favorite products you can order through your gallery.