Here are some suggestions to help you plan for your portrait session and a few FAQ's that many of our clients ask us.

Relax!  Have some fun!  Its photography and we know and enjoy what we're doing.  If this is the first time you or your family has worked with a professional photographer, you will be pleasantly surprised. We work in a relaxing way. Beautiful portraits take time, thought, and planning so we won't rush through your session.

Great photographs can be made during anytime of the day with proper planning.  Timing for environmental or outside photography is important however.  The warmest natural light will be obtained if you plan your session in the late afternoon or early evening.  Early morning lighting is great also.  Unless it's a cloudy day, direct sunlight can cause very harsh shadows in your portraits that are not very pleasing.

Preparing for your portrait
A nice portrait takes some careful planning. Your clothing choices will have a big impact on your portraits success. When more than a single person is to appear in a portrait, and in some cases with just one person, clothing choices can make or break the portrait. Here are some guidelines to help you when making decisions on the colors and styles of the clothing you will wear at your portrait session.

With well made portraits, the objective is always for the face to dominate. Your skin highlights should be the lightest or brightest or the most noticeable part of the photograph. When a dark background is used, everyone in the photograph looks best when wearing medium or dark toned clothes. If you have a dark complexion, the same rule applies.

Couples, small groups and families should choose clothes that are in the same tonal range. When you start mixing tonal ranges (bright shirt, dark pants, plaids, stripes etc.), this creates visual confusion. The lighter colors start to dominate the portrait and appear to come forward. The darker colors appear to recede into the background. This will confuse the eye. The person wearing the lighter colors will become the dominate subject and can appear heavier than in reality.

Proper clothing selection for families is critical. It makes the difference between a portrait of seemingly unrelated individuals and one in which every member of the family belongs to the group.
For close-up portraits, long sleeves may be the best choice for teens and adults. Bare arms call attention to themselves and will overpower the face. Of course, if your portrait is in your sleeveless gown, this rule doesn't apply. Because darker clothing is slimming, it is often a good choice for close-up, full-length and three-quarter-length portraits where a dark background is used.

Make-up and hair styles
Many people believe that for portraits, you need to apply a little more make-up than you normally would. This isn't true. A good rule of thumb is to wear as much make-up as you would if you were going out for the evening. You should sculpt your make-up down beyond your jaw line and blend into your neck. Around your eyes, try not to wear too much dark make-up. Try to avoid making your eyes look recessed into their sockets.

For women, you should wear your hair any way that you feel comfortable. Try not to style your hair in such a way that it hangs down in your face. It might cause shadows. Men should shave shortly before their portrait session.

Jewelry can add to your portrait. When choosing what jewelry to wear, select conservative styles that won't detract from the most important part of the photograph, your face!

Small children
Small children generally have an attention span of about two minutes. There is a technique we use when small children are part of your portraits. Don't make a big deal about posing! Try not to schedule your session during feeding or nap times. Sometimes a favorite toy will help them to relax. Being held by one of the parents or a sibling will help as well. Let us know of any special needs and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Length of your session
Beautiful portraits take time to create.  Your session will be customized for you or your family. The length of your portrait session will depend on the number of locations you will be photographed in and if there are small children involved. Typically, you can plan on between an hour and two hours. We try to do several different locations and arrangements. This gives you more portraits to choose from. Since we want you to get the type of photographs that you want, we are very flexible and respect your time.

For Brides
In preparation for your sitting there are a few things to consider. You will probably want to use a bouquet of flowers in the color of your choice for your portrait. We can provide neutral flowers and the traditional red rose, however we recommend that you consult with your florist, as some of them will provide a small bouquet for your bridal sitting at no cost. This is an exciting time for mothers, sisters, and friends to help you in dressing and making sure that every hair is just like you like it. If you are unable to have someone come with you, Judi or Shannon love to assist the brides.
Call us with any questions or concerns you may have in preparing for your portrait with us.

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