5 Simple Steps to making your portrait session awesome.
Congratulations! You are planning a portrait session and we could not be more excited for you! For many people, stepping in front of a camera isn’t something you do every day (selfies don’t count). To help ease your preparation, here are a few tips to use before the date of your session.
1. Plan Hair, Makeup, and Nail appointments for before your session.
Here at Justin Mikkelsen Photography, we recommend that you have your beauty appointment before your session. If you have it after, your new look won’t show up on camera.
Jokes aside, this is a really important step for most of our clients, and while it certainly helps the outcome of the artwork, it has an even more important job—making you feel beautiful. At the end of the day, great photography is about what it makes you feel, and the great thing about a makeover before photography is enjoying it for the rest of the day.
Pro tip: In our studio, we partner with awesome hair and makeup artists that can be available prior to your session. Contact us if you are interested in more information!
2. Plan your outfits one week before your session.
Have you ever gone shopping for a big event an hour before it started? That’s not fun, so here is a tip for keeping your wardrobe preparation smooth and stress-free. Plan your outfits one week before our session. That will give you plenty of time to go shopping, clean off the stains, and iron out the wrinkles.
Pro tip: Having a hard time deciding on your outfits? Did you know your photographer can help? Mirror selfies and laying out your outfits on the bed to snap and send to your photographer is super simple by text message, Facebook, or email.
3. Mentally prepare!
Remember what I said about a photography session being unusual? Well, aside from wardrobe planning, it’s time to gear up for being in front of the camera. The biggest piece of advice I can give is to keep the session fun in your mind. No matter the style of your session, this will be great if you believe it will be great. Tell yourself your are going out for a fun time, and you are getting dressed up for it!
Pro tip: If you are extra nervous about your session, try relaxed meditation with nature sounds (I like the ocean). Avoid alcohol, especially if it makes you flush. Whatever you do, DO NOT SPRAY TAN. Nothing good will come of it, trust me.
4. Brainstorm!
There’s a great tool out on the internet called Pinterest, and it’s awesome for preparing for your session. If you don’t have an account, go set one up and start a board to pin your ideas. Don’t want to do that? Start bookmarking great images or paging through magazines. There are so many resources for inspiration, and your input only makes your photographs more amazing!
Pro tip: Have some of your favorite images on your phone to share with your photographer on or before your session.
5. Eat, sleep, and leave early
Stress shows on camera, and that is no fun. So we like to recommend getting a good nights sleep the night before and have a healthy meal before your session. Try to avoid foods that could potentially make you uncomfortable, like pizza or lots of beans. Finally, don’t rush yourself to your session. We really want you to enjoy your whole experience, so if you leave a couple minutes early you will take the pressure off of yourself.
Pro tip: Bring a small snack. You can solve sudden hunger pangs with a little granola bar and keep moving forward with your session.
