What should we look for in a location?
Most people over analyze this. Most of the photos we will be closer up. We will definitely get some shots with backgrounds, but it's not the majority of the time.
What does a typical shoot look like?
I pride myself on making the process of taking pictures quick, fun & easy! We will meet at the desired location, exchange some hellos, I will ask you if there are any expectations or specific photos you want & we will start shooting. If you are doing group shots, we usually do the large group first unless the participants are straggling in. If everyone is not present at the start of the shoot, we will start with some smaller combinations. I shoot until I have all of the combinations I am looking for. At any time feel free to offer your ideas or suggestions. I will ask you at the end if there are any more combinations you were hoping to get. In larger families, I do rely on you to make sure we get every combination. I can't predict that you want a photo of grandma & Aunt Sallie together. :)
While some people love a long photoshoot, I realize the average person isn't too excited about a 2 hour session, especially dads & high school boys. There are different packages for this reason.
What to wear:
This is the most common question I get and most people over think this! I have a few suggestions:
Basic Rule for multiple people:Choose 2-3 colors and neutrals (like white, navy/denim & khaki).
No more than 1/3 of the clothing pieces patterned.
Do not blend black & dark brown or black & navy.
I suggest looking through my website & seeing what look you like. I don't suggest everyone wearing the same color, but every time families show up with all white or all black, the pictures turn out great. So, don't stress about it!
For Family photos: Pick mom's outfit first. Mom needs to feel comfortable & beautiful or it just adds to the stress of getting 'the perfect photoshoot'. Too often we find something adorable for a child & then stress out to match everyone else around them. If you can easily coordinate with the child, great. If not, bring that outfit along & we can do separate pictures of your child in the cute outfit.
For Professional Headshots:
Women: Keep jewelry to a minimum. Stud earrings look best. Bring different necklines if you are not sure what to wear. Solids look better than prints. If you have the 1 hour session, you can start light with makeup and add more as we go.
Men: Take a good look in the mirror and check those nose hairs, trim those stray eyebrows and clean up the stray beard hairs. Make sure your collars are ironed. If you must wear a t-shirt, make sure it looks fresh. No reflective active wear or neon polo shirts. If you have the 1 hour session, you are welcome to come scruffy if you wear that look sometimes & shave half way through.
Clothing No-nos:
Do not wear shirts with words or loud running shoes. The exception would be for high school seniors looking to portray a look, business photos & sports photos.
Females stay away from poofy down vests unless you have a very small frame.
The bright neon athletic collar shirts are in right now for boys and men. Bring a backup shirt if you insist on wearing one of these. They tend to have a reflective quality and when I use flash, it comes out weird.
In Winter or a season with no leaves:
These photos can be my favorite with the tall dead grasses & the snow, but I do suggest warming up your wardrobe a bit during these times.
If you are not the most slender:
Solid colors or smaller prints are suggested.
Use jewelry for pops of color.
Do not wear a poofy down vest! Sometimes these look better in the mirror than they do in photographs.
If you desire to be slimmed in post-processing, do not wear prints.
Wear Spanx under your clothes.
Should I wear a lot of makeup?
Feel free to wear as much make-up as you feel comfortable with. Apply makeup as if you were going to a wedding, dance or nice event. If your skin is splotchy or you have a lot of acne, it is much easier to blend it if you have a good layer of foundation applied.
For longer headshot sessions it is easier to add makeup than take it down.
Getting ready:
Make sure your skin & lips are hydrated:
Dry cracking lips really can't be fixed without a lot of work & I will charge you for it if you want it fixed. Vaseline applied on the lips and nose a few days in a row before a shoot can do wonders.
DO NOT WEAR SUNSCREEN!
If I need to use flash for your session sunscreen makes you shiny. If your foundation has SPF, either tell me or invest in one without for the shoot.
If it's a windy day:
It's usually a bit windy in Northern Colorado, so a little hairspray can be your friend. If it's one of those crazy windy days, we might reschedule.
Can I bring props?:
Yep! I am not the photographer who is going to bring a huge vintage couch to an outdoor photos session, but I'm not opposed to any ideas you have. If you have an idea or you want to bring your own huge vintage couch, let's do it. I obviously need to hear these huge plans, but if you want to bring a child's favorite stuffed animal or a teen's guitar just bring it & we will incorporate it.
For individual photos, accessories like hats, sunglasses, bags, sports balls are always a fun way to change it up. Bring a bag to lug these things around though!
Most people over analyze this. Most of the photos we will be closer up. We will definitely get some shots with backgrounds, but it's not the majority of the time.
What does a typical shoot look like?
I pride myself on making the process of taking pictures quick, fun & easy! We will meet at the desired location, exchange some hellos, I will ask you if there are any expectations or specific photos you want & we will start shooting. If you are doing group shots, we usually do the large group first unless the participants are straggling in. If everyone is not present at the start of the shoot, we will start with some smaller combinations. I shoot until I have all of the combinations I am looking for. At any time feel free to offer your ideas or suggestions. I will ask you at the end if there are any more combinations you were hoping to get. In larger families, I do rely on you to make sure we get every combination. I can't predict that you want a photo of grandma & Aunt Sallie together. :)
While some people love a long photoshoot, I realize the average person isn't too excited about a 2 hour session, especially dads & high school boys. There are different packages for this reason.
What to wear:
This is the most common question I get and most people over think this! I have a few suggestions:
Basic Rule for multiple people:Choose 2-3 colors and neutrals (like white, navy/denim & khaki).
No more than 1/3 of the clothing pieces patterned.
Do not blend black & dark brown or black & navy.
I suggest looking through my website & seeing what look you like. I don't suggest everyone wearing the same color, but every time families show up with all white or all black, the pictures turn out great. So, don't stress about it!
For Family photos: Pick mom's outfit first. Mom needs to feel comfortable & beautiful or it just adds to the stress of getting 'the perfect photoshoot'. Too often we find something adorable for a child & then stress out to match everyone else around them. If you can easily coordinate with the child, great. If not, bring that outfit along & we can do separate pictures of your child in the cute outfit.
For Professional Headshots:
Women: Keep jewelry to a minimum. Stud earrings look best. Bring different necklines if you are not sure what to wear. Solids look better than prints. If you have the 1 hour session, you can start light with makeup and add more as we go.
Men: Take a good look in the mirror and check those nose hairs, trim those stray eyebrows and clean up the stray beard hairs. Make sure your collars are ironed. If you must wear a t-shirt, make sure it looks fresh. No reflective active wear or neon polo shirts. If you have the 1 hour session, you are welcome to come scruffy if you wear that look sometimes & shave half way through.
Clothing No-nos:
Do not wear shirts with words or loud running shoes. The exception would be for high school seniors looking to portray a look, business photos & sports photos.
Females stay away from poofy down vests unless you have a very small frame.
The bright neon athletic collar shirts are in right now for boys and men. Bring a backup shirt if you insist on wearing one of these. They tend to have a reflective quality and when I use flash, it comes out weird.
In Winter or a season with no leaves:
These photos can be my favorite with the tall dead grasses & the snow, but I do suggest warming up your wardrobe a bit during these times.
If you are not the most slender:
Solid colors or smaller prints are suggested.
Use jewelry for pops of color.
Do not wear a poofy down vest! Sometimes these look better in the mirror than they do in photographs.
If you desire to be slimmed in post-processing, do not wear prints.
Wear Spanx under your clothes.
Should I wear a lot of makeup?
Feel free to wear as much make-up as you feel comfortable with. Apply makeup as if you were going to a wedding, dance or nice event. If your skin is splotchy or you have a lot of acne, it is much easier to blend it if you have a good layer of foundation applied.
For longer headshot sessions it is easier to add makeup than take it down.
Getting ready:
Make sure your skin & lips are hydrated:
Dry cracking lips really can't be fixed without a lot of work & I will charge you for it if you want it fixed. Vaseline applied on the lips and nose a few days in a row before a shoot can do wonders.
DO NOT WEAR SUNSCREEN!
If I need to use flash for your session sunscreen makes you shiny. If your foundation has SPF, either tell me or invest in one without for the shoot.
If it's a windy day:
It's usually a bit windy in Northern Colorado, so a little hairspray can be your friend. If it's one of those crazy windy days, we might reschedule.
Can I bring props?:
Yep! I am not the photographer who is going to bring a huge vintage couch to an outdoor photos session, but I'm not opposed to any ideas you have. If you have an idea or you want to bring your own huge vintage couch, let's do it. I obviously need to hear these huge plans, but if you want to bring a child's favorite stuffed animal or a teen's guitar just bring it & we will incorporate it.
For individual photos, accessories like hats, sunglasses, bags, sports balls are always a fun way to change it up. Bring a bag to lug these things around though!
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Vanessa Houk Photography LLC
