If you’re anything like my family you probably have a million pictures of your children, tucked away, on your walls, in albums…everywhere. The surprise to most of us is that when we look around we realize it has been 2, 3, even 5 years since our last family portrait. Once we realize this it is then up to us to find, plan, and implement that task of a new family portrait session.

At Visual Impressions Photography it is my joy to help you through the planning process to the session and on to the design of your art pieces for your home. A few things are key to getting ready for your session and while my in person consultation will cover all these, I wanted to post the most helpful tips for planning for your next session here.
1. A lot of people worry about what they’re going to wear to their portraits.  As you begin to mentally plan what you will wear to your session, look around your home, get a sense of your decorating style and color palette. Since your portraits will be highlighted on your walls you will want to wear a complimentary color that will compliment your space. Great color schemes included, colors from the same family but not necessarily the same shade, this gives the sense of cohesion important in a family portrait while also showcasing each family member’s individuality.

2. We all want our family portraits to look fabulous, even going to get a fresh haircut or color the day before the session. I recommend getting a new color no closer than a week to your session, this allows that you will still have that fresh new shine to your hair but will avoid any mistakes during the color process giving things time to “settle”. With haircuts, I recommend no closer than 3 days to the session as this gives you plenty of time to become accustomed to your new look and style.

3. Any time we are planning a portrait session with small children we want to keep their schedule in mind. When are they at their best? Are they morning people or better in the later part of the day. Once you pinpoint this you can schedule your session accordingly to give your little ones the best chance for success.

4. Another point for small children is that they not be “coached”, by this I mean to avoid children who have been so prepared that they can’t relax and give a natural smile. Please tell the kids what the plan is but don’t mention smiles, the word “cheese”, or “please smile naturally”.  Most young children will give a natural look without any coaching. That being said, I should point out that I completely believe in “bribes”, I have a small stash of smarties in my studio that I will offer to young children that need a little coaxing. I always get approval from mom and dad before offering any treats and only have to use my stash 20% of the time.

These 4 pointers are suggestions meant to put you on the road to a great portrait experience. While they are helpful in any portrait situation I do want to stress how important a consultation is prior to your session, this is where I will go over our plan one-on-one and we will nail down your expectations and goals and build the session around your desires and style.