WHAT STYLE OF CLOTHES SHOULD I WEAR?
The main thing is that you should feel comfortable in whatever you are wearing. We want you to feel relaxed and really enjoy your photo session. However, there a few guidelines which, if followed, will make a huge difference to the success of your portraits. First, consider the style you want. If this is sitting on the floor and an informal, relaxed style, then your clothes should reflect this, so jeans, chinos or casual trousers, and shirts or blouses are great. For something more formal, smart clothes should be worn and long sleeves look more flattering than short. If you'd like something elegant and classy, suits with dress shoes and long dresses with high heels work beautifully, For ladies, it's worth having your hair professionally styled and your make-up professionally applied, which will add that extra polish to your formal portrait. If you'd like both casual and formal styles, please tell us before your portrait session, so that we can plan for these and allow extra time for you to change and for us to take both styles for you. One golden rule - do not mix casual and formal styles of clothing within the same portrait.
HOW DO I MAKE SURE EVERYONE LOOKS GOOD IN MY FAMILY PORTRAIT?
For a family portrait, or any portrait which has more than one person in it, it's vital that each member of the family co-ordinates. This doesn't mean that you should be clones of each other; rather that you should all dress to complement one another. First decide on the style of portrait you'd like and a colour scheme. Making a decision about where you will hang your family portrait can help you decide this. A good idea is to lay the clothes everyone has chosen out on a bed and be brutally honest about whether they all look good together. Does anything scream out "Look at me!!!" If so, replace it with something that doesn't and see the advice above. It can be difficult with older children, teenagers and young adults because they are usually very fashion conscious and have strong opinions about what they like and what they'll wear, but they should not wear anything high fashion. For most people, the investment in a professional family portrait means that they want to display it on a wall in a prominent position in their home and enjoy it for many years to come, so it's important that it doesn't date quickly. No individual person should dominate the image because of what they are wearing and all members of the family should look great together. Beautiful portraits are all about faces.
WHAT ABOUT COLOURS?
Again, often the style of the portrait will have some bearing on your choice of colours. For a casual style portrait, blue denim jeans look great teamed with neutral tops. Warm autumnal colours with some texture are wonderful. Some colours are very dominant and are best avoided. Casual trousers in neutral colours and pastels work well too. White shirts or blouses teamed with blue denim look fabulous if you're going for a relaxed style of portrait, however for low key portraits taken against a black or dark toned backdrop, dark clothes in black, navy, dark brown, bottle green or maroon are great, again choosing similar tones for everyone. The idea is that when you look at your portrait, you are drawn to everyone's faces and not their clothes. Faces - the first thing you should notice in a portrait.
IS THERE ANYTHING WE SHOULD AVOID?
Please avoid stripes, bold patterns, seasonal or novelty outfits, characters or faces that are often featured on children's or babies' clothes, which although very cute are not suitable for a timeless professional portrait, anything high fashion unless for a fashion shoot, or logos, both of which will quickly date your portrait, short sleeves in portraits on black or dark backdrops, very low cut necklines on ladies, short skirts if you will be sitting on the floor, shoes and socks or tights on babies and small children, as bare feet look so much better, colours which will dominate everything else in your portrait and bib and brace style outfits or dungarees on babies, as the bib part can ride up and obscure their little face. In a casual portrait we will often sit you on the floor and bare feet look best with this style, so as your feet will be on show it's worth giving some attention to this area in the days before you come to the studio. We know that some people don't like the idea of getting their feet out, so if this is you or anyone in your family, please be sure to let us know and bare feet isn't your thing, please make sure that shoes or trainers are in good condition and properly clean, including the soles, as these will be on show in your portraits. Old or grubby trainers are a definite no.
I'M SELF CONSCIOUS ABOUT BEING PHOTOGRAPHED, CAN YOU STILL MAKE ME LOOK GOOD?
Most people have exactly the same hang ups about being photographed. We are very relaxed and friendly and we have a great rapport with our clients. Our aim is to make your session a lot of fun, to encourage you, to reassure you and make you feel fantastic.
DO YOU OFFER WEEKEND AND EVENING APPOINTMENTS?
Of course we do. We offer appointments to suit you but if you do need a weekend or an evening, please book your session well in advance, as available Saturdays and Sundays are limited, particularly during wedding season, and they get booked up very quickly.
HOW MUCH DOES A SESSION COST?
Our session fee is just £40 which includes our time with you in the studio, all image editing and a separate appointment with you around one or two weeks later for you to view your images in private and select your favourites. You will be asked to pay your session fee in advance, by bank transfer, to secure your booking. This fee is not refundable should you cancel or fail to attend but should you need to reschedule we will offer you a new date provided you give us at least 48 hours' notice. We will be happy to help you as much as you need to ensure that what you choose is perfect for you without any high pressure selling.
ARE PRINTS INCLUDED IN THE SESSION FEE?
The session fee is very modest to make it affordable to everyone. It is a fee for our time, skill and experience, not only whilst you are in the studio, but setting everything up beforehand, heating and lighting the studio, cleaning and tidying it after your visit, working on your images afterwards, and meeting with you again for your preview and ordering appointment. There are no products included, but prints are available from just £35.
HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN YOU ACCOMMODATE?
Our studio is not huge and therefore we can accommodate around six people depending on the number of adults and children. For larger groups we are happy to offer an environmental portrait session in a local park or other location of your choice.
WILL YOU PHOTOGRAPH DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS WITHIN A SINGLE SESSION?
We are more than happy to photograph different combinations of the same family within one session. If your extended family would like to have their own immediate family photographed, we need to ensure that only a maximum of approximately six or seven people are in the studio at any time due to safety and space and to reduce distractions for those being photographed. No additional spectactors are permitted and must to kept to only those people who must be present, but with extended families you are welcome to book a double session and divide it into two so that we photograph one family first and then the second family later. The price of this service is £75.
HOW LONG WILL WE BE IN THE STUDIO?
We accept only two portrait sessions a day - usually a morning and an afternoon session - although we will be flexible with the time to suit your requirements, including offering you an early evening session during the week. For this reason, we do not offer free portrait sessions unlike some photographers who allocate fifteen or thirty minute slots. This is unrealistic especially when children or pets are involved and our priority is to offer you the best possible service.
CAN FAMILY MEMBERS TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS OR VIDEO WHILST IN THE STUDIO?
We are asked this only very occasionally but our studio policy is that we do not permit anyone to video or take photographs whilst in the studio. This applies to the use of compact cameras, phones or iPads. We have to protect our business interests, which includes making sales from our work, prevent poor quality images from being posted on social media and avoid the photographer or our subjects from being distracted whilst the session is in progress. Please respect our policy, enjoy being fully present and have a great experience.
