Tell Me What YOU Want, What YOU Really, Really Want

I want to know. Tell me what you want, what you really, really want in a portrait session. Do not hold back. Do you want bold colors, do you want close-up photos, full-length poses, poses that show off that tattoo on your shoulder.

Why am I so obsessed with you? (I hope you got that casual Mean Girls reference.) I want to know those things so I can get them right in camera. If you want a full body shot vs a head shot, I'm going to switch up my shooting style, settings, and maybe even my lens. I do not want to kill the quality of the photo by cropping it super tight in post processing.

If you have a feature of your body that you love and want to show off, then let's spend more time photographing that area. Love your eyes? I'm going to ensure I have them well-lit so I can capture catchlights in them. Simply put, the catchlight is the light that is reflected in the subject's eyes from an internal light source.

What about something of your body that you don't like? Or are insecure about? I once had a client tell me that she was super self-conscious about her double chin. I'd known her for five years and I had never noticed her double chin. But it doesn't matter what my opinion is of her double chin. The fact that she was insecure about it was the issue. I could have just said, "What, you're gorgeous!" But her feelings would not have gone away. I wanted her to love these photos. So I talked her through how to pose to minimize her double chin. It's a bit silly, but stretch your neck out (I call it Turtle Neck) and put your tongue on the roof of your mouth. That's action helps tighten up the extra skin around the chin and neck area. I also varied my angles of shooting. I knew shooting up at her would be discouraging. So I focused on shooting her eye level and slightly higher.

So you think you're awkward? Hey-o! Me too, me too! I love a good outtake too. Some of my favorite photos of myself are when I'm hamming it up the most.

Listen, I understand I'm awkward. But at least I'm not boring, OK?

Remember when I did an entire awkward photoshoot for Beth and Jacob's 20 year anniversary photos? I wrote an entire blog post about it.

But honestly, I want to know your plan. I am a planner. A list-maker, a visualizer. Maybe that's because my standard mode of operation is Anxious AF. Let's talk through your vision, your hesitations, your goals. I want your photo session to be topnotch.