Our goal at Ann Martin Photography, is to provide beautiful family pictures as reminders of your best times, These family portraits will become treasured mementos and become more valuable as the years go by. Portraits sessions last only a moment, and as soon as your family portrait session is done, that moment is already gone.
Your portraits can be made to be either formal or casual. The choice is yours and should reflect your life-style. We do ask that everyone in the group dress in the same style. Many groups will pick a color theme; everyone wearing blues for instance. Don't mix colors that will compete. DO keep all outfits in the same tone. In other words, have everybody wearing dark colors, or have everybody wearing medium toned colors. Do not have one person wearing, for instance, baby blue while another person is wearing black slacks with a orange plaid shirt. Keep clothing styles simple; classic and simple is best. These things will help make your group portrait cohesive. A favorite style of this studio is to have the entire family wear black against a black background. It doesn't have to be black turtle necks. Lace, ruffles, and v necks are made in black too! Wearing dark colors against a dark background will place the emphasis on the people and their relationship; your clothes and background won't compete with your faces for the viewers attention. Remember to dress from head to toe; shoes will likely show. Long sleeved shirts are best for portraits, short sleeves will distract your eye from the faces in your family pictures. I discourage clients from wearing white shirts unless the background is very light such as the scenery at the beach, because contrast tends to draw the viewers eye, and detracts the eye from the face of the subject. In general, avoid contrast between your clothing and the background for the best resultsFor a photo example, look at our Blog entry, don't wear a white shirt Our goal, is for the faces to be prominent, not the clothes. For this reason, we discourage busy patterns and bright colors in your clothing, they'll do the same thing, draw the eye to the clothes instead of the subject and big patterns will often make you look larger as well. A good rule of thumb is to "keep it simple". Shoes are also important. Bright white tennis shoes or sneakers should be avoided, especially when worn anywhere but on a white backdrop or super light colored scene, unless you want the focus on your feet! Also, please match your socks to your slacks. Don't wear white socks with black slacks. If you're sitting down, those socks are going to show. Don't wear lighter colored pants with darker colored shirts; when you do this, it makes your bottom half look larger than your top. Visit Ann Martin Photography blog and look at the entry, don't wear a lighter colored pant than your shirt and look at the examples, seeing is believing..it's not a good look! Choose classic clothing styles, trendy styles will only date your portrait, a classic style will look good now and twenty years from now.
Clients are asked to bring their pets in crates so that when the pet is not in front of the camera they can be safely crated or have a friend drive a seperate car so they can take the pet home when the the pet's part of the session is finished.
Choose a time of day that is best for your child, don’t schedule at or right before nap or lunch times. Your portraits will only be as good as the mood of your child. Casual and calm is the right approach to children. Don't get them all hyped up where they can't sit still.it's best to be casual, don't make a big deal of it. We allow parents to be in the camera room. Please relax and enjoy the experience. However, too many people in the camera room results in distractions and poor results. There is a large dressing room where you can take a break if needed.
Please bring items of importance with you to add interest to your portraits. You should bring props that aren't distracting or dominating. Don't bring bright plastic toys. Keep props simple. Bring props from home that are your children’s favorites. The blanket (a beautiful recieving blanket or that blankie your child drags around every place they go), favorite book or stuffed animal, that beautiful heirloom rattle, your family rosary, the monogramed silver cup. Traditional items are going to make the biggest impact. These type things make your child feel more comfortable and make the image special and more meaningful to you. It's a good idea to discuss with your photographer beforehand what you're planning to bring so they can plan ahead.
Glass glare on certain types and shaped lenses is nearly impossible to avoid, so we ask that you see your eye doctor for a "loaner" pair of frames. You can also ask your optomotrist to remove your lenses from the frames for your portrait session. You may want to borrow a pair of frames without the lens. Most optometrists are happy to provide these services at no charge. Removing glass glare from a portrait is difficult, expensive and results cannot be guaranteed. |
Wouldn't you agree, that for something as important as your family portrait, it's better to invest a little more money on photography than you had planned... instead of a little less than you should? Why risk your families precious memories on the least expensive or easiest to book, or photographer that best fits your schedule? Take the time to reasearch, spend what it takes to preserve your family memories in the manner they deserve.
We have an entire page devoted to high school senior pictures or portrait session information: senior secrets
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