Making the most of your Portrait Session
Memorable portraits take careful planning, and the clothing you choose is very important to your portrait’s success. Planning your portrait will help us to create an artwork of a very personal nature. As a decorative focal point in your home or office, it will serve as a reflection of your good taste, as well as a most appropriate expression of your personal style. These guidelines will help you make important decisions about your portrait.
Tips for Clothing Style and Accessories
- Very simple garments always photograph best.
- Turtle necks or V-necks are flattering provided that neither is exaggerated in style. Avoid very wide or particular deep V-neck garments, as wall as bulky cowl neck sweaters that completely hide the neck.
- Long sleeves are essential for teens and adults, as bare arms call attention to themselves and will over power the face.
- Women being photographed in full length should wear long skirts, pants or dark stockings in order to keep the eye from being directed toward the legs and away from the face.
- If feet are to show in the portrait , make certain shoes and stockings are in keeping with the visual intent of the portrait.
- Men should have a hair cut about one week before the portrait session. Women should be photographed when ever they are happiest with their hair in relationship to the time it is styled.
- If clothing changes are planned, bring clothing on hangers rather than in plastic bags.
About Clothing Color, Tone, and Style …
The goal of any fine portrait … is to direct the viewer’s attention to the face or faces in the portrait. Simple long sleeved garments in medium to dark tones of brown, rust, burgundy, green, or blue are pleasing choices when photographed against a dark background.
- Proper clothing allows the face to dominate the portrait. all other elements should be secondary.
- Bold stripes, plaids, checks and prints are confusing and do not photograph well.
- Especially bright colors, such as red and orange will completely overpower the face and ruin a portrait.
- Light-colored clothing calls attention to itself and away from the face. Avoid light colors that approximate flesh tones such as peach, beige, tan, pink white, and yellow. They overpower the face, make the subject appear unusually pale, and add bulk to the subject. Darker shades are more flattering and slimming.
- Light colors are appropriate against a white or pastel background or … with a dark background when interpretive “pictorial” study is planned.
- Couples or small groups should choose simple garments within the same tonal ranges. Light and dark tones together create visual confusion, as one subject comes forward and the others recedes.
Newborns
Newborns look best in their own skin. To capture that special newborn look, most of the session will be photographed with your newborn in his/her diaper. However, if you have any special blankets, outfits, props or hats, please bring them to your session. Newborns look fabulous in a variety of chic hats!
Clothing for Families
In a family group, proper clothing coordination is critical. When decorating a home, a major concern is to coordinate the colors and tones for the walls, carpet, draperies, and furniture. Choose clothing in the same tonal ranges so no single member of the family stands out because the clothing is too light or bright compared to the rest of the group.
Clothing for Senior Portraits
First of all AVOID STRIPES AND PLAID!! Solids photograph much better! Also bring a variety of color, don’t bring 5 blue outfits even if it is your favorite color. Avoid clothing that has wording on it except for your own school logo. Vary the style, all one look (like tanks) gets boring. Vary the dress level, bring some dressy, some medium and some casual. Remember, it is best to do one or two outfits that mom will like, then we can do the stuff YOU like.
Our new sessions let you do unlimited looks within your time period. This means if you change fast, you get more variety. Spend all day in the dressing room, you get less time in front of the camera. Most people can get 4-5 looks per hour. More if you are quick and work easy. We suggest you bring double what you think we will do so we have more to pick from.
Some shots are close up, others are full length. Plan outfits completely. It is hard to do a full length formal in your suit if all you brought was big old tennis shoes.
Also remember, as a general rule, light clothes look better on lighter backgrounds and darker clothes look better on darker backgrounds. So if you prefer dark, bring dark, if you prefer some of both, bring some of both.
Group your outfits together ON HANGARS. It is amazing how many people come in with clothes stuffed in a plastic bag and wonder why they are wrinkled! Make sure they are ironed. Although we have an iron for touch ups, we don’t want to waste your time on ironing.
HAIR
Avoid changing your hairstyle or cutting your hair right before your session. Let it be natural. Quick easy hairstyle changes during your session are OK, but make it quick or you loose camera time. Artificially bleached hair is often not best, in 10 years you might say “What was I thinking??” Bring your hair care tools and products with you if need be. It IS ok to show up early in curlers if you need to. Please, please, DO NOT put glitter in your hair or on your skin!!!
Although our photographer tries to help with hair, it is hard to know what your hair “is supposed to look like”. So make sure you like the look or let the photographer know your preferences. Hair style is ultimately YOUR responsibility.
JEWELRY
Best tip here, keep it simple. We want the attention on you. Big, shiny jewelry can distract from the real subject, YOU. If you have different jewelry for different outfits, you might put each set of jewelry in a plastic baggie and hang it on the hangar with that outfit.
PROPS
BRING THEM!! Bring props that help define who you are. Some popular choices are: Sports equipment (soccer ball, football, hockey stick, hurdle, whatever), sports uniforms, music instruments (from school, tuba to rock guitar), activities (dance leotard and shoes, swimming, hobbies, you name it!), vehicles (motorcycles can come in the studio or in our Portrait park, cars must go to the park, we suggest more than an hour session for car shots).
GLASSES
Most glasses glare! Some prescriptions more than others. Your best bet is to check with your optometrist. Most will “loan” you an empty set of frames similar to yours for your photo session.
SUNBURN/TANNING
AVOID SUNBURN! Sunburn and peeling skin DO NOT photograph well!! Tan, yes, burn, no. If you are a winter or spring session and your tan has faded, you might consider tanning. But don’t overdue it so you look too fake-and-bake.
COMPLEXION
We retouch blemishes, so don’t worry about minor breakouts. We even now offer an inexpensive option to retouch your entire folio or album!
PETS
Pets are OK as long as they are house broken. It is a good idea to have someone bring a pet, then leave with them after. Or bring a pet carrier to contain them while you are being photographed without them. Treats can be helpful to hold a dogs attention.
FRIENDS & PARENTS
Friends or parents are welcome. They can be a help. HOWEVER, if they distract you, it is best to have them wait in the gallery. You can have a couple of shots with a boyfriend, girlfriend, best friend or sibling at no extra charge.
WEATHER FOR OUTDOOR PORTRAITS
Let’s face it, we are at the mercy of mother nature. If it rains, no fretting will do anything about it, we simply have to reschedule. Don’t worry about clouds, they actually HELP! But rain falling IS a problem. If it is a morning session, we will take your phone number home and call you if we need to cancel due to weather, otherwise, we are on! If it is a daytime and the weather is questionable, simply call the studio.
TATTOOS, SCARS and BRACES
Just let the photographer know if you want tattoos to show or not. It is that easy. Scars are not automatically retouched, but can be removed or softened at your request. Extensive work may have a slight extra charge. Braces? Don’t worry. You could have the tops taken off for your photo session, or we can retouch them out by computer. But don’t fight smiling, a braces smile is better than a dorky holding back a smile look.
SPECIAL CONCERNS FOR GIRLS
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There are certain thing girls should be aware of and watch for in their preparation:
CLOTHING STYLES
Be careful of baggy clothes that might make you look larger than you are. Make sure your clothing flatters you.
If you think you have large arms, be careful of sleeveless styles, they can make your arms look fuller.
Wild to mild. We don’t really tell you what you can and can not wear. A little sexy is OK, but don’t make ALL of your outfits that way. We photograph everything from prom dresses to swimsuits. What one person likes may not be appropriate for the next person. Our philosophy is as long as it is rated PG, we don’t care.
CLOTHES FOR BLACK & WHITE
The black and white “glamour” look that is so popular is best with black clothing. The contrast between the skin and black is what makes them so dramatic. So bring some black, wild to mild. Or we have a few things here you can wear for fun. Dark bottoms are also in order.
OUTDOOR SESSIONS
Most outdoor sessions do not have places to change. But if you wear a layered outfit, you can add or drop a piece for a different look.
UNDERGARMENTS
It is amazing how many times someone will come in wearing flowered underwear and not realize it is a problem until they go to put on their WHITE PANTS! Or come in wearing a white bra and put on a black sleeveless shirt. Please bring appropriate foundation wear for each outfit. Flesh colored is the best you can hope for. Also, if you need a strapless, bring one. Tucking the straps down usually shows and looks bad. With today’s thin fabrics, you might want to carefully select these pieces so they do not give unsightly lines.
FINGER & TOE NAILS
NAILS SHOW! If they have the paint all chipped off, it will show. Many casual shots are done barefoot, so don’t forget about those toes! Avoid real bright colors. Natural or basic work best. We don’t want to draw attention to your neon orange toe nails. And they may look really bad with your next outfit!
TAN & STRAP MARKS
Tan lines are not attractive in portraits. We suggest you vary your swimsuit top or use a tanning bed to minimize any tan marks. Remember to not overdo your tanning, skin that looks like dark leather is not the most attractive.
MAKEUP
Makeup should only be slightly heavier than normal. About like you might wear in the evening. Mascara should be clean and contain no clumps. So if your mascara is old and clumpy, replace it first.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR GUYS
CLOTHING
Remember, if mom gets her nice shot, she is much cooler on letting you get what you want! So make her happy and keep her off both of our cases.
Bring the right shoes for the outfits. Docs or sandals photograph much better than big, bright tennis shoes.
Bring a dark t-shirt to wear under dark shirts. A white t-shirt triangle under a dark shirt sticks out like a sore thumb. so bring a black or gray.
Avoid large, bold brand names or words on clothing. Already, a few big names from just a few years ago, you would not be caught dead wearing now. No need to make your portraits advertising billboards for a clothing brand.
SHAVING
Please make sure you are clean shaven. Retouching stubble costs extra and still does not look as good as a clean shave. Got a goatee that mom hates, but you love? Do your casual shots first with it on, then bring a razor and go to the restroom and shave it off for mom’s formals. Everyone is happy that way!
HAIR
Be careful of changes right before your session. Bleached hair does not look as good in photographs. It is a short trend and you may find it looking real silly once the trend is gone. Natural or maybe frosted tips are better than the white, totally bleached look. You may not even have that by the end of the year.