Preparing for your shoot

Every shoot is unique, but we've prepared some general guidelines to help you get ready for your session. We will provide you with specific instructions closer to your shoot. But above all, we want you to relax. Our team is dedicated to creating a fun and comfortable environment for you.

 

Lifestyle Sessions - Tell Your Story

Lifestyle photography sessions are designed to depict a day in your life doing what you enjoy with the ones you love.  Whether you’re going on an adventure or telling a story of a day at home, a photography session like this will surely be full of emotion and fun.  The most significant part about these sessions is that they are unique to you.  The key to planning your session is incorporating activities and ways to interact.

Here's a list of activities that you can consider for your session. The key is to choose activities that resonate with you, that reflect your personality and interests. Whether you prefer a laid-back day or an adventurous one, the choice is yours. And if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, why not use this opportunity to try something new? 

Examples: 

Making coffee or cooking breakfast at home 

-Bath time

-Snuggles on the couch or in bed

-Reading books

-Baking + decorating cookies

- Visiting your favorite coffee shop or farmers market 

- Building a fort 

- Playing your favorite games

-Cooking over a campfire

-Planting a garden

-Climbing

-Summiting a mountain

-Canoeing, kayaking, paddle boards

-Fishing/Ice fishing

-Laying lakeside

-Pillow fights

-Hot air balloon rides

-Flying kites

General Suggestions

Hair – If you’re getting a haircut for your shoot, do so about two weeks beforehand so you have time to correct it if it is not to your liking. 

Hair accessories – If you’re shooting outdoors, be ready to put your hair up and make it look nice in case of a windy day. Bring bobby pins, hair clips, headbands, or other favorite accessories.

Glasses – If folks wouldn’t recognize you without glasses, you want to wear glasses in your shoot – however, the glare on glasses can detract from your eyes in photos. You can have your lenses removed from your frames for your shoot (don’t worry, it’s what Hollywood does to avoid glare in movies), ask your eye doctor to loan you a pair of similar frames, or visit an inexpensive company online like Zenni Optical and buy a suitable pair of duplicate frames on the cheap.

Red eyes – Red eyes can detract from the overall look of your photos, so it's best to avoid situations that could cause them, like excessive drinking the night before your shoot. 

Lips—You will probably wipe or lick your lips during your shoot, so bring fresh lip gloss or lipstick to touch up. Dry or chapped lips can be distracting in photos, so it's best to keep them moisturized in the days leading up to your shoot. 

Teeth – If you want to brighten your smile, start your treatments about two weeks before your shoot.

 Breakouts—Start using African Black Bar Soap a week before your shoot to help reduce and limit pimples and blemishes. Equally important, don’t cake on a lot of makeup to try to hide blemishes—it’s almost always easier to Photoshop away pimples than to clean up overdone makeup. For fever blisters, avoid getting them in the first place, then use Abreva if one pops up anyway.

Make-up—A subtle application of makeup can really soften your skin and accent your facial features. But make sure you know what you’re doing and that it matches your skin tone, or your face may look orange compared to the rest of your body.

Facial hair – Men, freshly shaved with a new razor, shaving cream, and moisturizing after-shave lotion to avoid bumps and redness. Trim up your beard, sideburns, mustache, or goatee, especially looking for wiry stray hairs. Ladies, even if you have some light facial hair (particularly around your lip or chin), indulge in waxing before your shoot – even barely-there light facial hair will be noticeable in your photos. Men and women both pluck and clean up those eyebrows.

Moisturizer – Dry skin can really detract from a great photo shoot. Start moisturizing nightly a week in advance of your shoot. When you get out of the shower, dry off until lightly damp, and slather on moisturizer. Focus on your arms, shoulders, neck, face, hands, andanywhere you’ll be exposed to the camera. This includes your legs if you’re shooting in shorts or a skirt. ProTip: Use a sugar scrub for dry skin on your face, especially around your nose. Also, use a facial moisturizer on your face, not a thick body moisturizer, or you could break out. 

Nails – A fresh coat of nail polish will make a world of difference in your photo shoot. Pick a neutral color that won’t distract your shoot or clash with your outfits. Freshen the morning of the shoot, then be careful not to scuff it while prepping. Your photo shoot is an excellent excuse for a fresh manicure, but if you can’t go to the salon, make sure your nails look tidy and clean, including the cuticles.

 Bloating—Ladies, avoid high-salt and high-fat foods for two to three days before your shoot. Being bloated will sap your confidence and comfort in front of the camera.

Undergarments—Bra straps will not help your outfit look its best. Be sure to bring a set of bras and strap-adjusting accessories to work with any outfit you want to shoot in to keep those straps well-hidden.

 Sunburns and tan lines—If your shoot is booked for Saturday, don’t go to the beach on Friday. If you plan to tan before your shoot, do so at least a week beforehand so you don’t get burned. Be mindful of clothing tan lines, sunglasses tan lines, hat tan lines, and such.

Ironing – If you iron, iron the night before and then hang the clothes for your shoot. If you’re wearing something that wrinkles easily, don’t wear it in the car on the way to the shoot – just change at the location.

 Shoes – Ladies, youcan’t go wrong in heels or wedges. Men, clean’em up! Dress shoes are best [or boots down here in Texas], but as with most things, let your momma or your wife decide.

Maternity

 Moisturize that belly!

Props: Gather your props – ultrasound printout, alphabet blocks that spell your baby’s name, baby shoes, stuffed animals, flowers, whatever you’ve seen in other maternity photos.

Wardrobe: Wear whatever you feel comfortable and pretty in—long, flowy skirts, especially solids, are nice, as are strapless bras that coordinate with them. Tube dresses are great for showing off your shape. Bring a pair of regular jeans, not the belly panel ones. A button-up shirt also makes it easy to transition into showing your belly.

Nude/semi nude: If you’re doing semi-nude/implied nude photos, bras and underwear will create noticeable lines on your skin, so wear loose-fitting clothing to the shoot. You can add undergarments as necessary for photos later in the shoot.

Significant others: Bring your significant other! They’ll make a great prop for your photos and greatly expand the number of different photos you can make during your shoot. They should bring outfits that coordinate with what you’ll be wearing, such as a dark long-sleeved shirt or sweater and dark pants. The focus should always be on you, your expressions, your emotions, your personality, your joy, and your connection.

 

Newborns and Babies

Clean faces: Use a washcloth to clean away flaky skin and eye boogers.

Fingernails: Trim those tiny fingernails and toenails with appropriate baby trimmers. 

Scheduling around your baby: Book your shoot around your baby’s feeding and nap times, working with your baby's natural rhythm. The perfect time to shoot is right when the baby is laying down for a nap. If your baby normally falls asleep after a feeding, wait to feed the baby until you’re at the shoot. Baby photographers allot plenty of time for this sort of thing to set up the best situation for great photos.

Diapers: Dress up paper diapers. Cloth diapers are classy and stylish, but if you don’t use them, bring bloomers or decorative diaper covers—solids are preferred.

Wardrobe: Nothing is the best wardrobe for a newborn – no outfit fits a newborn well, and they often look swallowed in clothes. Accessories are suitable – little hats, dainty headbands, boys in crocheted hats, etc. Bring sentimental items like the quilt Grandma made for the baby and a baby blanket from your childhood – they’re great for the youngster to lay on.

Pacifiers and bottles: If your baby takes a pacifier, bring it. If your baby is bottle–fed, bring an extra bottle to help put the baby to sleep.

 

Children

Clean faces: Clean, clean, clean—clean nails, clean hair, wipe away eye boogers, clean feet (sandals on kids = black feet!), wipe snotty noses, and fresh-scrub teeth. The cleaner the kid, the better their photos will turn out. 

Diapers: If your child is still in diapers or pull-ups, make sure to tuck them away or wear bloomers.

Naptime: If your child is still of napping age, make sure they nap before the shoot.

Extra help: It is perfectly okay to bring bribes to a photo shoot. Given a stage and being the center of attention, our kids know exactly when to act their worst. Some cereal, Smarties, or other candy that won’t stain teeth can help a short photo shoot go smoothly.

 Foods to avoid: Avoid colorful drinks or lollypops within 24 hours of your shoot, and don’t let them eat or drink anything that will stain their faces, teeth, or mouths.

Wardrobe: For girls, you can’t go wrong with cute dresses, rompers, and dainty hats or headbands. For boys, jeans and polos or a button-up shirt, or a T-shirt with a button-up over it can be adorable, as well as overalls for the right age and personality. For siblings, the children don’t have to match perfectly; they just coordinate. You can’t go wrong with dark, rich monotones, which drive the attention in photos to sweet faces and darling expressions instead of loud prints or colors. If nothing else, pick a color that compliments your child’s eye color.

 

Families

 

Dad: Have a fresh shave or trim, and use a new razor with shaving cream and a moisturizing after-shave lotion to limit bumps and redness. Make sure nails are clean and trimmed. Wash your hands. Clean up your shoes. Moisturize and scrub away flaky facial skin (see above for general advice). When you wash your face, watch eye boogers and sleep crusties. For wardrobe, go for jeans or pants, tucked polo or dress shirt with a belt, or go casual with just a T-shirt or untucked polo, button-up short sleeve, etc. In general, whatever your wife tells you to wear. Again, you don’t have to match the rest of the family perfectly; just wear something that coordinates.

 

Mom: Women know what to wear, but in general, unless you are extremely thin, you may want to wear something that covers your upper arms. Long—or 3/4-sleeve tops are very flattering. If you wear jewelry, aim for subtlety and be aware of it twisting or turning.

 

Kids: Follow the same advice as above, but again, everything needn’t match. Simply coordinate with the parents’ outfits. If Dad’s in a T-shirt, don’t put the kids in dress shirts—make it make sense.

 

High School Seniors

 

A polished look: The biggest tips for seniors are to have an even tan, avoid getting sunburned, clean and freshly paint their nails, and moisturize and scrub away dry skin.

 

Wardrobe: Bring a variety of outfits—cap and gown, something casual, something stylish. Ladies slip a dress in there to throw folks off, and fellas try a formal look to impress. Wear what you think you look best, but take the opportunity to try a new look just to surprise folks.

 

Props: Bring props that recall your high school years—a band instrument, sports gear like a volleyball or baseball bat, your beloved (or cursed) high school car, a letter jacket, or sunglasses. Most of all, rep your style, whatever that may be. Your senior photo should be unique to your life and personality.