These are general hints and tips to help you ensure you get the best results from your session and are given with the aim of helping to achieve memorable and natural portrait photo’s.  Above all try to be relaxed and let your personality show through, we’re not about making photography an ordeal!

Before the day

This may seem obvious but it is worth making sure that you get a good night’s sleep before your shoot so you are fresh and not tired looking. For good skin tone drinking water regularly is beneficial.

What to wear

Clothing that is neutral and simple normally looks best in photographs. We want your portraits to be cherished for years to come so bear this in mind when choosing what to wear. Both adults and children in today’s latest fashions can soon look dated.
Stay away from fabrics with noticeable patterns, checks, logos and bright colours. These tend to be distractions away from your face and dominate the photos. That said don’t think that we want to remove your character from the photo, our advice comes from experience.
For most situations don’t wear white, it often will dominate photos especially in bright conditions. There are exceptions here particularly baby and mother and baby photos.
If you are having group photos then similar tones and colours that complement look good. We don’t want you to look all exactly alike but neither do you want one person to stand out from the rest of the family. Also don’t mix formal and casual clothing for the same shots.

Where appropriate a change of clothing can bring welcome variety to a photo shoot and give you a variety of images

Colours

I don’t claim to be any kind of expert in this area but colours will have an influence on the ‘feel’ of your photo. Some people are lucky enough to be able to wear any colour but most of us have certain colours that suit us. If you have skin with a warm tone then wear warm hues e.g. autumnal colours and for a cool skin then of course complimentary cool colours e.g. blues. 
Wearing complimentary colours will compliment your skin tone in photos and appear clearer and brighter.

Babies

Baby’s lives revolve around regular patterns, i.e. feeding and sleeping times, so if possible try arranging session times to suit them. A tired and hungry baby will let us know and not make for good photos! However sometimes a sleeping baby is very photogenic.
Babies can be photographed in a variety of ways, young babies look good wearing simply a nappy (towelling nappies look more photogenic than disposables) as well as clothed.  Strong colours and logos can detract from your babies face. Bare feet often look better than shoes and can also be a focus of a photo.
Make sure the clothes fit well, a young baby with new clothes with room to grow can look untidy and spoil the overall look.

Children

It’s best not to make a big deal of a photo session prior to the event.  Telling children to behave themselves and to make sure they smile all the time can put them under pressure and can make capturing their true personality more difficult.
Often the best photographs of children are when they are unaware that they are being taken however we always aim to capture a range of shots from smiling and laughing to quieter and more thoughtful. Favourite toys or props can added to portraits and make the photo unique to you.

Although I mentioned bright and vibrant colours being a distraction sometimes there are exceptions. One is outdoor photography with children for example in Autumn where bright childrens coats can bring extra life to a portrait