Preparing for Your Pensacola Family Portraits - Part II

What You Need to Know to Have an Awesome Portrait Session

Makeup’s easy, so we’ll start there.  Makeup is a great prep for your session.  Even if you usually wear very little or even no makeup, applying some makeup for your session is a good idea.  On the flip side, don’t go overboard and pile it on too heavy either.  Clumpy mascara and thick foundation will show.  

• Bronzer - No bronzer!!  Bronzer gives you a beautiful sun-kissed glow in person, BUT it gives you a shiny, sweaty look in photos.
• Eye liner - Eye liner is your friend.  Eye liner, if applied well, can do nothing but good things things for you!  If you don’t usually wear eyeliner, avoid going too heavy.  
  
• Powder - Powder is your other friend.  A little loose powder can smooth out your complexion and will absorb light leaving you with a soft glow.  
  
• Lip Color - I am the world’s worst about forgetting to put on lipstick, but even I put on lipstick or a tinted gloss for photos.  I suggest sticking to a gloss or a not-too-dark lipstick, and reapply as necessary throughout your session.

A simple way to think about makeup for your portrait session is to put on about 25% more makeup than you’d usually wear.  So you see, the makeup part IS easy.  

Location, location, location.  Let’s talk about location options and how you can choose outfits to suit the location.  Where we take your pictures has a lot to do with determining HOW your portraits will look in the end.  Is it in an open field or beach (bright, open), urban/ warehouse area (dim, grungy, edgy), or in your home (personal)?  I want the location of your session to be about you which I why I really like your input on where we shoot.  I have my favorite locations and can definitely make suggestions, but at the end of the day, this is your session and YOU need to be happy with the look of your pictures.  The options are boundless.
Below I’ll list some of the most requested location types as well as thoughts on what kind of clothing to consider and the best times of day to shoot based on each location.

Blues for miles

The Beach - Pretty much every family I know has a family portrait taken on the beach.  It’s a classic for a reason.  If you choose to go the Beach Portrait route, this is the place to break out your summer & spring outfits - and to lose those shoes!
What to wear for a beach session?

• Think about the colors that are already there - blues like the sky, greens and yellows of the sea oats and sea grasses, and teals like the Gulf itself.  Another fun way to go for a sunset session would be to wear warm colors - reds, orange, pink as compliment to the beautiful sunset colors.

Best time of day for beach portrait sessions - Beach portrait sessions have the most beautiful light in the hour after sunrise or within an hour of sunset.  The combination of our beautiful, sandy WHITE beaches and the glaring sun can lead to harsh (read: unflattering) shadows and squinting during daytime sessions.  Overcast days are another great option for beach portrait sessions.

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Urban areas - Urban areas can be VERY versatile and fun.  Glam it up for contrast, or grunge it down to play off the area.
What to wear for an urban session?

• Thinking glam?  What breaking out some fantastic cocktail wear and suits?
• Wanting a more grungy look?  Think comfort - torn jeans, edgy tops, with more intense makeup.

What's a good time of day for urban portrait sessions?  Urban areas give us more leeway as far as shooting in the “right light” goes.  We can find a lot of shadowy areas even in the middle of the day and we can use the harsh sun to our advantage.  It all depends on the look you want.

Park-type settings - If we’re being honest, parks are MY favorite session location.  There are so many great parks in Pensacola, Gulf Breeze, Milton - the whole area!  Every area photog has their favorites.  Park setting suggestions are great for the area forts as well!
So, what can you wear for a park session?

• My only “what-not-to-wear” suggestion is red.  Unless we’re shooting for Christmas pictures, you want to avoid red when in a primarily green location.  I’m sure you can figure that one out.
• If you’re into neutrals, that’s beautiful, play with blacks, browns, blues, whites.  Parks are also a great place to really play with some color: purples, yellow, pinks, bright teals - they all look great in a park situation.

Family portrait sessions in the park can give us some wiggle room as far as time of day.  As with beach sessions, the most beautiful light is during the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset.  But, depending on the amount of available shade, we can make most times of day work.

Pleasing Poses

Lastly, let’s go over a few tips about posing to please.  I want to keep this simple, because most of these are common sense and things you already know.  You just forget to think about them when you’re in front of the camera.  Luckily, your photographer should be looking out for them and directing you into pleasing, natural poses.

• It’s all about the Stance - Don’t stand facing squarely towards the camera.  Angle your body slightly 
• Slimming any Woman - Don’t keep your shoulders on the same plane.  Drop your front shoulder a bit.  The easiest way to put this, is your body looks most pleasing when it’s in a relaxed “S”.  

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boxy pose vs "S" curve

• Chins - No matter how skinny you are, when standing in a natural, relaxed state (or sitting up straight to have good posture) there’s always a little pooch right below the chin.  It’s super simple to take care of this though - just bring your ears forward.
  
• Skinny arms - I saved the easiest for last.  Just pull your arm an inch or two away from your body.  Insta-slim!
  

Below are before & after examples showing how simple changes can make a big difference.

Below are a couple of examples of what a few tweaks in posing can do!

I hope you enjoyed this and realized how easy it really is to get the great family portraits that we all want!  Keep an eye our for our third installment where we talk about sessions with children - what to do, what to expect, and what not to do to get the pictures you'll love!