Portrait shoot guide
With 13 years of experience as a portrait photographer, I have gained a lot of knowledge that can be helpful in making your portrait photo shoot as successful as possible.
Most of us don’t like being photographed, and the more help and support we can get, the better the experience will be.
Let’s start with general ideas ensuring you will be feeling and looking your best:
BEFORE THE SHOOT:
Planning for an early night the evening before your portrait shoot.
Hydrating well, which means drinkingenough water and staying away from excess alcohol for 72 hours prior to the shoot date.
Stretching on the morning of your shoot to feel comfortable in your body.
Avoiding foods, that you know from past experience, that make you bloated or retain water in your body.
HAIR AND MAKE UP:
If you colour your hair, ensure that your roots are touched up, don’t count on the magic of Photoshop as it might add a substantial cost to the retouching and you will not feel as confident as you would otherwise.
Whether you decide to book a professional makeup artist or do it yourself, keep your makeup matte for a natural light photoshoot. Avoid contouring, which might look great straight on, but is likely to be very prominent from side angles. Don’t get too adventurous with new colours that you haven’t worn before, you might be uncomfortable and worried about results.
If booking the service of a professional makeup artist, it might be a good idea to have a test makeup look done, and take few simple photos with your mobile phone camera, and make adjustments if needed.
If you love wearing eyelash extensions, please keep it natural. Lashes that are too full and too long make it difficult to photograph your eyes in a way that allows for a good connection.
WARDROBE CHOICES:
This is a very broad subject, but here are few main points:
You must feel comfortable to look comfortable.
Always take a short video, using your mobile phone, to see how your choices look on your body. Do not trust the mirror, as our mind has a way of making us look the way we want to. Do a little catwalk to see yourself from an objective point of view.
Bear in mind the type of fabric you wear and how it works with the mood you are hoping to achieve, eg. linen creases easily and is best worn when you want very casual portraits; heavy knitted pieces are very cosy and bring comfort to the images, but do not work well for more formal portraits.
Wearing oversized pieces in black to hide any extra weight you may carry most often results in your body looking heavier than it is. We can’t see the details in the black fabric and it creates more volume than slightly fitted pieces would.
BODY LANGUAGE AND POSING:
This will differ greatly between, for example, a business portrait and an actor’s portrait, or a young girl and her grandmother.
There is nothing you need to know or practice before, and full guidance will be provided to ensure you look your best and appropriate for the desired type of portrait.
HANDS
Your hands are very likely to be visible in your photographs. Remove any unwanted items, like hair ties, and coordinate your nail polish colour with your clothing, or tidy up your natural nails.
COMMUNICATION
The more open you can be about any insecurities relating to your body you might have, the better your photographs will be. Using light and posing can make a big difference in accentuating or taking attention away from certain features, as long as I am aware what we are minimising and what you want to show off.
If you would like to book a portrait shoot with me, please get in touch using the form below. Karolina
