Getting your child ready for a portrait session

There are a few things that all parents can check when getting your child, or themselves, ready for a portrait session at my Raleigh studio.  I hope these tips are helpful. This a digital age where many people assume that anything can be done in Photoshop. This is not really accurate and too many adjustments will degrade your images.  Minor touch ups of scratches and when possible, bruising are part of a normal edit and part of every little child. This list just helps us both by pointing out some things that are easily avoided but sometimes forgotten in the busy life of being a parent.  🙂

 Some clients print the check list at the very bottom of the post and hang it up.  My list is another way to make sure your money is well spent and you get amazing images of you children.

1. Children, (parents too),  should be very well hydrated starting days before the session. Glowing skin comes from being well hydrated. I would say this is most important step in getting ready for a photo shoot.  Another part of hydration can be done from the outside.  Aquaphor on all parts of the skin that will show in an image daily for a week or so prior to the session does wonderful things for most people. (NO AQUAPHOR THE DAY OF… HAHAH… VERY SHINY.) This helps with all types of dry skin issues including redness around the mouth and nose from colds etc….  Every parent who has done this says they THOUGHT their child was well hydrated until they did this and were AMAZED at the difference in skin.

2. Lips should be buffed and free of dead, loose skin.  To prepare lips add Vaseline the night before to loosen dry skin while they sleep, buff lips before the shoot.   I shoot close to the face and soft moist lips are a plus.

   

3. Skin should be clean on any exposed part of the body.  It is good idea to check young children for temporary tattoos but also ink marks for the little artists out there.

4. Fingernails should be cleaned just before coming in.   MY STRONG RECOMMENDATION IS TO NOT HAVE NAIL POLISH ON THE CHILD. Dirt under nails is very obvious in photos.

5. New clothing should be tried on prior to arriving at the studio. I mention this because it has happened that the new clothing did not fit properly.  Clothing should be free of wrinkles, pet hair AND lint as well.

6. For older children prone to acne.. I can remove the acne better in Photoshop than I am able to remove that same acne spot heavily covered with make up.  I usually say discontinue drying acne cream the week before the session and bump up water consumption.  Buff face very well to get rid of loose skin that may be a result of skin drying acne creams.

7. You do NOT want to use rub on tanner right before the shoot. It generally shows on hands and feet, knees and elbows. It almost always shows inconsistency in skin tone on your body and will show orange near eye brows. I can not fix this in Photoshop.

8. I recommend using mascara that lengthens but does not thicken, the camera sees that as a  small blobs on the lashes.  There is no fixing that in Photoshop.  Waterproof mascara generally is more smudge proof.  We want the camera to see you before it sees your makeup.   Remember eyes are the windows to the soul.  Black in the water line on the bottom and top closes them up and makes them look smaller.  Again, not what you want.  Look at the  makeup in the three portraits below.  Each young lady has on a different amount of makeup. Notice though that they have no black under the eyes. Blush has  been nicely blended.   Eyes are enhanced and shine in the images.

9. For the ladies. Do get your photos made with your children, let’s have fun and make memories. Don’t worry about lines, it’s a natural part of life.. however BB cream may be the way to go for portraits as it does not sit in our smile lines quite like heavy or darker foundation. Basically, applying make up for the occasion will give you a better end result.   We all probably apply heavier makeup when we go to a dance club but this may look very out of place at a family photo shoot.

10. Finally in the summer months I recommend that people of any age avoid a swimming pool the day of and day before a photo shoot.   Chlorine and googles tend to make your eyes red  and puffy.  This is difficult to fix in Photoshop.  Remember those outfit choices as well if your child has tan lines.   Try to cover tan lines with clothing.

11. A good rule of thumb for anyone being photographed is that if you can’t see it it’s not there.  For that reason I recommend covering with clothing any area you do not wish the camera to see. Huge bruises, band aids, rash etc.

12. For parents, I recommend putting on your outfit and looking in the mirror prior to the session.  Turn in a circle.  Are bra straps visible? Is your bra too tight and pressing into your skin?  This may be noticeable under clothing as lumps and you may not like the look.  If you have areas that you do not wish to show clothing can cover those areas.  Upper arm weight bothers some people in images, sleeves can cover this.  Again if you can’t see it it’s not there is the motto. Simple things to remember if you want to practice posing. HERE

13. If you have a newborn follow this link HERE

Print This for easy reference. These are the things to do to make sure you get the best photos of you and/ or your child.

Over use of Photoshop is not conducive to great images. I use Photoshop for minor fixes like acne, scratches, small bruises.  I can not fix some things nor is it part of the packages as it requires many hours in post process to fix certain things that are easily avoided by good planning. For example, it’s very difficult to Photoshop lips but very EASY to apply Vaseline in advance to make sure they are not flaky. 

1. Hydrate inside and out.  Very important.

2. Lips, buff and moisturize. Very important.

3. Nose check, inside and out.  Use a wet cloth, not a dry cloth as that dries mucus and spreads it. If  a child has mucus at the rim of the nostrils this is obvious when they smile an lean back a bit. I will ask all parents to wipe noses inside and out at arrival.

4. Clean and manage hair. Spray or product down fly away hairs.

5. Fingernail check.  I recommend no polish for young children. Chipped polish is very noticeable as is dirt under nails.

6. Skin check: free of marks and dirt, food and mucus.

7. Quit skin drying acne medication a week prior to shoot. DRINK TONS OF WATER.

8. Try new clothing on to make sure it fits.  Press AND lint roll clothing if needed.

9. Avoid chlorine for 24 hours prior to the session.

10. Cover large bruises and tan lines with clothing if possible.  As with anything in a photo “if you can’t see it, it’s not there.”

11. For parents… makeup is best applied for the occasion or type of image we are shooting. BB cream seems to make ladies look younger around the eyes than thicker foundations.