How to prepare for a portait session

There are a few things that I seem to tell everyone before their sessions, and I thought I ought to just type it all out and put the information out there so I can just send links ;). Efficiencies.

Bring props and accessories.

Bring ALL the accessories. I will never stress this too much. The difference between an awesome session and an average, but still pretty nice, session is that fun hat you bought on vacation, your favorite sports memorabilia, the red lipstick you've been dying to try, or a stack of books that has been living next to your bed. When we have something that is so very you to play with the images become more of a representation of you and less of just another pretty picture.

Makeup. 

Go bold with makeup. Never have nude lipstick on because your lips will disappear. Also, go a little heavier on the eyeliner and mascara than your normal daytime look. This will make your eyes pop. However, don't go too heavy on the blush. I can add color to your cheeks during editing, but it is much harder to take it out and have it look natural.

Clothing.

Once upon a time someone had a session and did not like the pictures because the clothing they chose fit poorly. You can easily make sure this won't happen by bringing options. If something you are wearing does not photograph well we can have different options to work with. This goes for accessories too.

I took this picture on Easter. My fashionable older sister was wearing an adorable skirt/shirt combo that I was dying to photograph. It was just the slightest bit windy out, and the skirt did everything I hoped it would.

If you don't know what you have that photographs well, just send me a couple pictures. Go shopping and text me pictures as you try on outfits. I want you to get the best out of your images and clothing is such a big part.

Weather.

Dress for the weather. If it is a bit chilly out, then put on some layers. Easy as pie and keeps you happy and smiling for the pictures. I generally only reschedule for issues like extreme weather or rain. We can discuss the specifics of the daily weather, but bear in mind that poor weather does not mean that the images will be poor. Quite the contrary! Some of my favorite pictures were taken in "bad" weather. 

Here's a picture of me out in the frozen tundra of Illinois. It was about 30 degrees. I would never ask you to deal with that as it would constitute as extreme weather, but below is another shoot I did with actual clients in crazy windy conditions. We just dealt with it, and you know what? A couple of pictures wouldn't have been possible without the wind.

This is Vivian after she found a piece of white foam that the wind picked up. She was SO excited about her new sheet of foam, and it kept her in a good mood so we could get a few more smiling photos from her toward the end.

 Fun optionals.

Pinterest.

If you feel so inclined, go ahead and make a board on Pinterest of pictures you like and want to use to inspire your session. If you want to pin images I have taken, all of my images are pinned here:
http://pinterest.com/ejw211/emily-s-blog/
You can also find me through that link and send me a request to pin to your inspiration board. Then we can both be on the same page (literally) about where you want your session to go.

Music. 

My favorite shoot so far was with my roommate Tori. Everything came together perfectly. One thing we tried was we found a song to inspire the session.

Now, we didn't want to play the song while we did the shoot (we didn't have a stereo, we would be moving to different locations, it would just be a hassle). As we got ready we played this song on repeat so that it would be firmly ingrained in our minds. During the shoot we were singing this song and getting inspired by it. I like to think that this was a good way to keep our energy and creativity up. Feel free to send me songs that portray a certain mood you want your shoot to have. Otherwise I'll be listening to Pandora, and who knows what that could mean ;).