Shannon started this wonderful idea - so go check out all of the participating ladies at her blog.
I am just adding to my list from two weeks ago. Carol asked me to give a few more tips for clothing etc. for photo shoots!
We usually recommend that our clients wear simple clothing. The less fussy, the better. Solid colors are best too. We want the child to be the focus of the image, not the clothing. Trendy clothing is not always a great idea, because it dates the image. Don't you just hate those pictures that just scream the '70's,'80's etc.?
If the background is light, we go with light clothing. Dark backgrounds,darker clothing. Rules are meant to be broken of course. We do veer off this course, this is just the basic idea we convey during an initial consultation. I have to be very flexible and try to read minds - LOL! I always try to give the client what I think they are after, then I get the good stuff!
We shoot almost all children barefoot. No clunky,trendy shoes to mess up an otherwise beautiful portrait!! Little tootsies are so much cuter than the soles of any shoes! It also saves the parents from a little extra stress and an additional shopping trip.
One more tidbit - no haircut just before the session!! Allow approx.two weeks growth. You don't want the fresh cut look and soooo many times, it gets cut just a litttttttle too much. Let it get to a more natural look before the shoot.
These are tips for professional shoots - don't go crazy with this for snapshots.
I hope this is helpful - It sure works for me!! ;D
those are great tips!!!
no wonder your hsots are so great - i didn't realize you are a pro.
my tip is up too
Posted by: Janice | May 24, 2006 at 05:20 AM
thanks!
Posted by: Jenn | May 24, 2006 at 07:06 AM
These are great ideas that I wish I had known when my older children were smaller! Especially the shoe thing. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Nettie | May 24, 2006 at 08:23 AM
Neat ideas! And...solid colors usually work best, eh? :)
Im new to your blog! Feel free to visit my blog too (you will need to 1. Register for FREE on the right side of the page first though before you can post a comment…this personalizes everybody’s visits a bit more). Once you are registered you can 2. click on “Leave Your Comments” next to any blog entry and then click 3. “Post Reply” on the green page that should come up for you (then login with your username and password and type your comments in the big message box and click submit). I hope to have you visit my site soon and I’ll try to visit your’s often as well!
God Bless! J
Posted by: Jessica | May 24, 2006 at 09:27 AM
Thank you for the tips. Can you share these with the yahoos over at Picture People- grrrr... :)
Thanks again- my tip is up too :)
Posted by: Amy | May 24, 2006 at 09:44 AM
i love me some itty bitty baby toes, and the trendy clothes tip is a great idea.
Posted by: Tess | May 24, 2006 at 10:10 AM
Thank you so much for putting up these tips! So often I go to take pictures of the kids and whoa! that is not what I was looking for! Wrong clothes, wrong background. Now I know better. Thanks!
Posted by: Susan | May 24, 2006 at 10:57 AM
I am a photo freak and I really enjoyed your tips...my fav was the barefoot tip! I just had my lil' girls pic taken in some clunky shoe but the rest of the shots we took them off!
Posted by: Theresa | May 24, 2006 at 11:46 AM
Thanks for these great tips! Photo places should have this pre-printed on a card or something to hand out to parents!
Posted by: Stephanie | May 24, 2006 at 12:00 PM
Hmmm ... can you share some tips for those of us that can't seem to get the auto focus to focus right on a digital camera? Or even focus fast enough? GRRRR!
Posted by: Gibee | May 24, 2006 at 01:26 PM
Faith, You ROCK! I love these tips!!! Thanks for sharing them!
Posted by: Addie | May 24, 2006 at 01:32 PM
I LOVE that you are giving tips for picture taking. Now can you just explain to me what an F-stop is and the ISP is? I seriously need a lesson in how to use my camera!
Posted by: Stephanie | May 24, 2006 at 02:21 PM
Thanks for the tip! Do you have a button on your site for all your photography tips? I think it would be awesome. I know myself too well, I'll forget...was it light on light or dark on light??
Posted by: Katherine @ Raising Five | May 24, 2006 at 04:28 PM
wonderful! i never thought i might be 'dating' my kids' photos in exactly the same way mine were as a kid. and how i hated that!
Posted by: HolyMama! | May 24, 2006 at 05:16 PM
I love your photo tips! I'm going to be toting a barefoot, simply-clothed kid to his next picture session. Thanks!
Posted by: kelly jeanie | May 24, 2006 at 10:33 PM
VERY helpful! Bare feet? Where were you when mine were little and I was fretting over just the right shoes for pics?
Posted by: Carol | May 25, 2006 at 07:52 AM
Thanks for these great tips. It's amazing the little things that make a difference between an "OK" picture and a great one!
Posted by: Carmen | May 25, 2006 at 12:27 PM