GETTING READY FOR YOUR SESSION
Taking a few simple steps to prepare your home and your wardbrobe can elevate your photos to another level.
It doesn’t take much and you will be so glad you did it.
WHAT TO WEAR
I usually ask my families to wear earthy neutral and pastel colours. These colours work incredibly well with my editing and my brand and really really allow for keeping the focus on you! Zara’s clothing is fool proof for children. They always seem to offer the best colours and styles.
Having said that, I once shot in an incredibly colourful and boldly decorated home and if those clients had worn earthy neutrals, it wouldn’t have worked.
Think about your Home and what would work well.
Heavy patterns and logos/character clothing will really detract from the timeless look we are aiming for and confuse the aesthetic.
It’s best to co-ordinate but not match. Pick a few key colours and put everyone in variations of this.
I am always on hand to help with clothing conundrums. Feel free to WhatsApp me your options and we can decide what would work best together.
07843 563807.
KEEP YOUR CHILDREN INFORMED
Make sure you let your children know that I am coming. I find it best not to talk about it too much or put too much emphasis on it, but do let them know and then remind them on the day that I will coming.
When I arrive I won’t whip out my camera straight away, we will have a chat and I will introduce myself to the children. I’ll let them show me their favourite toys and be very much guided by them. If I am with you to capture a new baby, perhaps I’ll start doing this first so that any siblings can see what is going on and hopefully, want to join in!
In an ideal world (and I know that newborn babies don’t live in an ideal world!) baby will have been fed before I arrive and be in the clothing that you wish for them to wear or down to a nappy, wrapped in a blanket ready for the session. There are usually many breaks for feeding baby and settling and this is perfectly normal and expected so please don’t worry about this.
It’s really important that, even if the children aren’t feeling cooperative, that we don’t let them see any frustrations! We have time and will use it to ensure that we capture happy children.
YOUR HOME
A lot of clients worry about how ‘photo worthy’ their Home is. I get it! We bought a dooer-upper and it’s not an overnight process! But if you’re reading this section of my website I’m guessing you have already chosen to have your shoot at Home. And I am so happy about that!
The truth is every home has areas of great light - little pockets of it - that you may not have even noticed. And there are a few things you can do to help me make the most of these light pockets and the space in your Home.
De-clutter. I’m not saying your Home needs to be perfect. But gathering up items that are in places they don’t belong and throwing them in a Monica cupboard will work wonders. For example, bedside tables often have baby feeding paraphernalia, drinks glasses, phone chargers etc cluttering them up. Making your home clutter free will really make sure the focus is on you as a family
Change the duvet set. If like me you have way too many duvet sets, I can tell you that an un-patterned, neutral duvet set will work best. I cannot stress what a difference this makes! Again, it allows for the focus to be on you and keeps the images looking fresh and clean. Be sure to iron it too. Creases don’t look great on camera.
EXAMPLES OF GETTING IT RIGHT.
Earthy tones, complimenting without matching. Don’t be afraid to dress up a little.
Advanced warning - I will ask you to remove your socks! I hate socks and they make images look messy!
