Session Preparations

For most, you can pack pretty light, if it applies to you and we are hiking for your session, bring any necessary medications you may need (inhaler or antihistamines for outdoor sessions), practical walking shoes, drinking water, bug spray, and a small hair and makeup kit for touchups.  

Please do not eat any foods with dye that may stain your mouth or lips before your session.

Please be well hydrated, well rested, and avoid foods that cause bloat/stomach upset.

 Most Importantly… bring your CONFIDENCE!!!!  

The absolute key to looking your very best is to exude CONFIDENCE during your portrait session.  

I cannot express this enough.  

You can ignore all the other advice here, and JUST be 100% confident… you will love the end result.  

Confidence is what makes or breaks it. 

How do I cultivate confidence?

Practice Makes Perfect

As silly as it seems, practicing your posing and facial expressions in front of a mirror can be invaluable to perfecting the look you have envisioned for your session. 

 Please avoid these common human habits that could sabotage your photos during your session: chewing gum, having your phone in your pocket, having your hair tie on your wrist.  

Special Note 

for Families with Small Children

Please avoid shaming, punishing, overwhelming, or overly directing children or other family during the session. I am a mother of 4 myself and have great compassion and patience for parenting and children. We want to maintain a fun and positive atmosphere. We want to avoid complete meltdowns. Plan your session around naptimes and mealtimes for small children.

 Wardrobe to AVOID: 

AVOID Bright or Neon Colors.   Bright neon colors can reflect unflattering color casts on your skin.  

AVOID Bold Patterns, Logos, or Words on Your Shirt.  Bold patterns, logos, or words on your shirt distract the viewer of the portrait from the subjects’ face.  

AVOID Bulky/”puffer” style vests or coats and loose fitting or flowy clothes.  Bulky/”puffer” style vests or coats and loose fitting or flowy clothes can be very flattering in person when the subject is viewed in motion.   However, in a still portrait, these types of clothing make the subject look much larger than they are in real life.  Your best bet is to stick with more form fitting clothing to ensure a more flattering portrait for your figure. 

Turtlenecks can be unflattering for some. If you have a heavier build, or short neck you may want to avoid turtlenecks and scarves.    

 Encouraged Clothing:

Layers.  Jackets, sweaters, cardigans, etc. are all great!  Layering adds great dimension in portraits.  

 Accessories.  Jewelry, scarves, or any other accessories are great!  Especially if it has some sort of personal meaning to you (class ring, gift from a loved one, heirloom, etc).   

Solid colors, subtle patterns, and textures; this adds a lot of visual interest to the portrait without distracting the viewer from your face.  

Classic Timeless Styles.  Electing for an outfit that is classic and timeless over something particularly trendy is always a good choice.  Fashion trends come and go but these portraits will last a lifetime and beyond.  You may want to select clothing that won’t make you look silly in twenty years.  

Encouraged Clothing:

Form fitting clothing tends to be a bit more flattering than flowy styles.  This is true mostly for those who want to appear slim and slender.  Selecting clothes that hugs your shape is the absolute best option for me to pose you in the most flattering way.  I get to focus on you and your best angles rather than battling the bulk and flow of loose-fitting clothing that will make you appear larger than you are!   

¾ sleeve shirts are the most flattering for portraits, completely sleeveless can be unflattering for some.  However, if you are super confident with yourself feel free to rock those shoulders.  

Necklines.  V-neck shirts or similar styles where the neckline is not tight against the throat are great for portraits.  It elongates the neck and shows off your collarbones.  A plunging neckline that shows cleavage probably isn’t appropriate for family portraits, so don’t get too carried away with that one!  😉    

Let's talk shoes... your feet will show!  Coordinate your socks (no white socks with dark pants and dark shoes, no crazy pattern neon socks etc.).  Make sure shoes are clean and match your outfit.  LADIES BRING COMFORTABLE WALKING SHOES if we are shooting on location, you will be walking.  Wear comfy shoes until we get where we are going and then change into your heels.  Walking in the grass with stilettos is not easy 😉

SAFETY OVER FASHION
If we are hiking at one of the Hocking Hills State Parks, I do require my clients to wear close toed shoes with good tread on the bottom for safety reasons. You can change shoes for photos if you wish.

 

 Hands

Make sure your hands are clean and nails well groomed.  

Your hands will be prominent in many of the poses we do.

Eyebrows

Do they need touched up? 

Eyebrows matter!

Tanning 

Do not over-do the tanning bed or sun.  A three-day rest from tanning is recommended before your session.  Redness in your skin will show up much more in portraits than it does in person.  If you have tan lines, make clothing selections to conceal them.    

 

Though not required, hiring a professional can be a huge help and confidence booster on your session day, if this is a service that fits your budget and vision for your final portraits. Here is a list of some of our favorite local hair and makeup artists: 

Mutt & Jeff’s Beauty Shop

146 E Main St. Logan OH 43138

740-385-7617

Closest salon to the studio, only one makeup artist on site, over a dozen hair artists

Luxx the Salon

42 S Spring St.Logan OH 43149

740-216-4900

Text Hailey to schedule 833-206-2968 

https://www.heyprettybeauty.com/https://www.614beauty.com/

Katilyn Boyer (makeup only)Katilyn Boyer Makeup Artistry358 Lincoln Ave, Suite B, Lancaster Ohio, 43130614-557-7869

Savannah Gordon – Hair and Makeup Services425 N Columbus St. Lancaster, OH 43130740-731-1491

 

General Hair Tips

Avoid radically changing your hair before your session.  Haircuts should be done a week before your session to look their best.  If you color your hair, don’t forget your roots.  Highlights should be touched up two weeks prior to your appointment.  Try to tame flyways as best you can.  They will stand out and can be quite distracting.  If you have bangs make sure the length isn’t hitting at the level of your eye, the camera will focus on your hair rather than the eye itself.   Quick hair changes during your session are great but make it easy and fast or you lose valuable camera time.  

Styling Your Own Hair
Product is your friend. Use a leave in mousse, thermal protectant, hairspray, and pomade with a brow brush for flyways. Avoid spritz hairsprays, opt for aerosol instead. Opt to blow-dry your hair rather than allow it to airdry on session day.  If you are curling your hair, use heat protectant, be sure to curl away from your face, hold for 8 seconds and then let the curl cool for 8 seconds before touching it.  The longer you let your curls sit and cool before trying to style them, the longer the curl itself will hold.

 

 You are not required to wear makeup for your session, I am not a photographer that is huge on heavy makeup, I love a full face when it makes sense, but I also love and work with bare faces all the time.    Makeup in person looks much different than makeup in portraits, so if you do decide to DIY your makeup, please follow these guidelines to look your best.

  
FLASHBACK

Use only matte makeup, avoid any makeup with shimmer or glitter or SUNSCREEN.  NO SUNSCREEN. No products that give you "dewey" skin. These products reflect light back to the camera, a phenomenon known as flashback, and are extremely unflattering to use for portraits. Not sure if these ingredients are in your makeup? As a general rule avoid ingredients ending in "oxide" for your photoshoot.   

  Foundation

Use a silicone-based primer and silicone-based makeup.  Do not go heavy with foundation or concealer.  I will correct acne and undereye circles in post processing.  The more makeup that is caked on your skin, the less natural the result may appear.  If you are using a foundation, it is imperative that you are using the right color, so your face matches the rest of your skin. Sephora will shade match and sample for free.   

Lips

For the ladies, definitely considering wearing lip color and gloss! Practice wearing it before your shoot if you aren't used to it so you don't make odd lip movements during your session. For couples and families... there is almost always kissing! Wear something that doesn't smudge of transfer. Make sure your blush matches your lip tone if you choose to wear it.   

Lashes

False eyelashes are FANTASTIC for portraits, that said, please only attempt to apply them yourself if you are experienced at doing so. Please do not attempt false lashes for the first time on session day. Please no heavy-handed mascara or eye lash clumps, the camera will magnify that, and it is exceptionally unflattering.   

• ColourPop No Filter Loose Powder, YSL All Hours Powder
• Essence Extreme Waterproof, Lancome Hypnose Drama Waterproof
• Elf Halo Glow Liquid Foundation, Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin
• Maybelline Fit Me Matte, Lancome Teint Idole 24 HG
• NYX Epicwear Liquid Liner, Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner
• Sexy Hair Control Me Thermal Setting Spray
• Sexy Hair Styling Paste
• Kenra #19 hair protector
• Smashbox is our favorite brand for silicone based primer
• Lancome 24 hour wear