6 Tips to Prep For Your Session
One of the biggest concerns that I find every one of my client’s have (no matter what type of client they are) is knowing what to do to prepare for their session. I totally understand this since being in front of the camera can be super nerve wracking! During the initial conversations when we’re getting your booking all set up, I always try to answer as many questions and make you feel as prepared as possible. But I’ll be the first to admit, sometimes when I’m driving to the session I’m even kicking myself for forgetting to give you some additional information that may make you feel more comfortable. As someone that gets super anxious about doing something out of my comfort zone, I know being as prepared as possible is key. So I wanted to create a little post with 6 tips to help prepare for your session.
Don’t be afraid to reach out with any questions! Whether it’s a tiny question or big one, get as much information from your photographer as possible. There’s nothing worse than letting your questions go unanswered and you’re left wondering. We love when you ask questions because it helps us be thorough and know that you have all the answers. I highly recommend asking any questions you have via email so that you can always reference back to the answer. Correction: there’s nothing worse than getting your answer and then forgetting what it was!
Try to pick out what you plan on wearing, how you plan on doing hair/make-up in advance. I usually recommend knowing all of this at least a week before your session if possible. This gives you time to make sure all clothes are washed if needed, or time to go shopping with ease. When you panic choose the day before, you run into a high chance of not feeling totally comfortable in your choice, especially if it’s a brand new outfit. Which brings me to tip number 3…
Don’t try out a new look on the day of your session. Always choose looks you know you are comfortable with.One thing that I’ve found to be true is that no matter how amazing the pictures come out, if you aren’t comfortable with yourself during the session you will likely be uncomfortable with the results. It’s more of a psychological thing than anything else that we associate our emotions day of with how we feel towards the final product. Plus, when you’re uncomfortable it totally shows on your face. It’s one thing to feel awkward because you aren’t used to being in front of the camera, that we can always work through. But when it comes to how you feel you look, it’s much harder to get past no matter how much reassurance I’ll give you. So, if you do decide that a brand new look is something you want to do, do a test run a few days before and go a whole day with that look so you know that you’re good with it.
Get everything together the night before. You know how our parents used to make sure that we had all our stuff put together for school the next day? They were definitely on to something there. I can’t recommend it enough to make sure your outfit, make-up, accessories, and shoes are ready to go the day before your session. Take it from a girl that is always running around the day of her own photoshoots, it is almost calming knowing that everything is prepped for you + allows you to arrive on location more at peace than if you were panic looking for the other shoe for twenty minutes.
Check out your location on Instagram. If you’re one of my clients then I likely had you do this when we were picking the location, but if not I always suggest getting familiar with your photoshoot location. There’s something about feeling like you know all the parts that helps relax us. If you feel like you have a good sense of the location, it will help you feel more connected to it & hey you might even make a mental note of a spot you’d like to have some of the photos done! I find the best way to get to know a location is to check it out in person if you’re able to, but this isn’t always possible. So, my next best option is to location search on Instagram. It will pull up all the photos that are geo-tagged to that location so you can get a good idea of what it looks like through different seasons and lighting times.
Pack some light snacks, water, bug spray, sunscreen, and makeup for touch ups. I highly recommend putting together a little bag filled with these items, especially water! A lot of us wouldn’t think that we would get dehydrated from a photoshoot, but you’re likely out in the sun and moving around during the session more than you’d expect. This little care bag is also extremely helpful for maternity shoots and shoots with kids. As my mama always said, it’s better to be prepared than stuck wishing you had something the whole time.
