What to Bring to the Session & What to Prepare For

              How do you get the shots that you want?     By talking with me!   :o)   Bring your ideas to the table we are MORE than willing to listen!   We are very open to discussion on what you desire in your portraits and will work very hard at trying to capture that perfect image that you desire.   Feel free to   provide us with a list of a few shots that you would like to capture, you will be assured that we will take every measure to assure you get those ideal images before the shoot is over.

Ideas to think about:

• Type of images:   do you prefer one style over the other?   Traditional, journalistic, artistic, natural?   Let me know I can lean the imagery one-way or the other during your sitting.  
• Where are you going to place your portraits?   If your idea is to have a large image over the mantel and a vertical shot will not work... let me know and I will take more horizontal images or vice versa.  

                  Props are more than welcome! They can help bring character to your image and can help define your person through your image. You can bring them for you and/or your child.   Select toys or sports gear that reflect your child's interests.

            For portrait clothing select clothing that does not draw attention away from the face. I recommend solid, muted colors. Avoid bright colors; bold patterns, or clothing with writing on it.

                  For outdoor family portraits, the best colors are those found in nature, such as blues, maroons, greens, creams, hues of purple or tans. Make sure that the colors that each individual family member wears,  all of you will coordinate when placed right next to one another.   All of the people in a portrait should be dressed in a similar style, so no one individual stands out too much (of course its ok if the mom does a bit).   A few other recommendations.... if you are planning on using this portrait in a particular room of your home as a display piece... think about coordinating the colors in the room to the shirts you wear.   Bring a pillow, blanket or heck even the whole couch will work :o)

                Group formal family portraits: Make sure everyone wears solid colors or small corresponding prints and that they blend well with each other. Jeans or kaki pants with solid color shirts looks very nice.     If the woman wants to dress a little different that can add a slight bit of interest in the photo and I recommend something flattering that will match the tone of colors the others are wearing.   If there will be many families, each family should coordinate with their immediate family.   It is recommended that everyone bring a change of clothes.

              Group casual family portraits:  Ok, have fun with this ... go out and buy/rent all matching Santa gear...or matching Christmas sleepers etc etc the sky is the limit ... Yep those can be the best images! And besides.. you will have something that you can decorate the home with in the future for Christmas like a Christmas tree but capturing the small ones Christmas spirit while it lasts! (Ask me about elf gear... I   have it for the little ones).  Talk with me about your idea and we even might be able to bop ideas off of one another and I might actually have the perfect location for your perfect image!

                If you wear glasses, it's best to take them off. Do not wear darkening lenses. The best option for those of you wearing glasses, is to stop by your Optician and get frames without lenses. Or simply have them take the lenses out for you.   If you do decide to wear   glasses, touch up rates apply to remove glare, which starts at $50 and can go up depending on how bad the glare is.  

        Makeup should be   applied very slightly heavier than a normal daytime application. But, do not overdue. Make special attention to get the makeup lines around the lips and eyes straight. Gloss applied to the lips helps to enhance the fullness. Acne can be taken out digitally but five o'clock shadows cannot. A line of white liner on the lower lid of the eye helps to create a larger eye area.     Seniors should apply makeup lighter at the beginning and then if you would like to have fun you can jazz it up later in the session.

                I highly recommend Sarah Schachterle for makeup artistry.   She is a very talented and wonderful person to work with. Sarah has taken numerous classes and currently does all the makeup for the Denver Nugget cheerleaders and the professional Mammoth Cheerleaders.   Her email address is: sschachterle@pepsicenter.com her website is www.sarahschachterle.itgo.com

            I recommend doing your hair the way that you normally do it or the way that you want. If you desire different hairstyles throughout the session you should come with your hair down and then later   on during the session do the up-dos.   I recommend hairspray for both males and females. Hairspray contains the stray hairs that can be portrayed as frizz.

            I highly recommend   Cassie Boyd for a hairstylist.   She is extremely knowledgeable and talented in up-dos.   She currently does the up-do's for the Denver Nugget Cheerleaders and the Professional Colorado Mammoth Cheerleaders.   She is a pure delight to work with! Her email is:   cassie@thestraightcurl.com   and her website is:   www.thestraightcurl.com  

                    Make sure that your young child is rested and fed before the portrait session. Consider bringing snacks or a bag of toys that you can reveal at different times during the shoot. It is sometimes best to dress them right before the shoot so they do not have time to soil their clothes. Make sure their hands and faces are clean. I also prefer to photograph children with their shoes off so, clean feet are preferred.   Children especially some children are a bit unpredictable in their behavior in photographs.   Our style of photography works around this and we are very patient and try our best to work with each child to assure you get some great images even if your child is camera shy!

                It is our philosophy not to have imagery leave our studio until it is its absolute best. So acne, some wrinkles, bags under eyes, age spots, are examples of things that are touched up and included in my portrait package. Each and EVERY image will be opened and scanned for flaws and corrected where needed. Head swaps can be done and there can be a charge on this if it is extensive.

                If you have a particular mark that you would like to keep on your images make sure you let us know and we will make sure to not erase that scar that defines your person!