Portrait Tips

At Lakeside Camera Photoworks your image is everything! We have a beautiful portrait studio, professional photographers, in-house photo production, and hundreds of photo products to choose from. We are here to deliver the very best images to you. Here are a few helpful tips to help you prepare.

 

Clothing

Clothing choice is a very important part of creating beautiful and timeless portraits. Select clothing that is comfortable and reflects the subject’s personality. Also, think of how you will be displaying your finished portraits. You may want to choose clothing that will coordinate with your home decor and/or custom framing.

Children

Avoid logos, stripes, and distracting patterns. For fall or winter, textured clothing is a nice choice. For spring or summer, slip dresses for girls or denim overalls for boys is a traditional option. Bare feet are always preferred. Fun extras such as knit hats, scarves or favorite toys can add variety and interest.

Coordinate clothing when photographing multiple children, remembering that color and style should be similar from head to toe. Adding lotion on the face and lip balm on the lips makes a significant difference in close up face shots. Parents should clean their child’s face, eyes, nose, and lips prior to the session.

Infants

Infants are best photographed with a “curled” look during the first two weeks after birth. During this time, they “curl” and have that special freshly born look that won’t be there for long. Nothing photographs as beautifully as baby skin. Babies should be photographed wearing a diaper or diaper cover. Be aware of clothing that will constrict the skin and leave marks.

Newborn to 5 months – Since your baby is not able to sit up yet, there is little point in trying to make a “smiling into the camera” type portrait at this age. Your baby may be smiling, or not smiling, or even sleeping! All three are precious. The best clothing for this type of portrait is white or pastel shades such as pink or baby blue. This is a good time to consider a Mother/Baby Portrait!

Ages 6 months to 1 year – This baby is normally able to sit up, and will respond well with smiles. Babies 6-9 months should be able to sit or stand holding on to something. One-year-olds can usually stand and a variety of poses can be made. We will work with any clothing you like on your child.

Ages 2-3 years – Your child is walking and running, and likes to be independent, making the session much more challenging! You may want to bring things the child likes to play with to include in the portrait. (Use the same recommendations for the session and clothing as outlined for the one-year-old.)

Ages 4 and Up – Your child is verbalizing well by now, and is often shy to strangers. This is normally overcome by talking about things he or she is interested in. PLEASE DO NOT TELL YOUR CHILD TO SMILE, or practice smiling at home. This may result in a “fake” smile rather than a natural expression and will be a handicap for the photographer to overcome.

Family

Clothing for group portraits must be carefully selected to blend bodies together. First, decide whether the basic tone of the clothing will be warm-toned (browns, etc.) or cool-toned (blues/grays/blacks, etc.) Solid colors within the same color family are most appropriate for photographs with two or more people, where we are trying to convey a sense of unity. If each subject wears something with completely different colors, it is like having individual pictures. When one person is in a solid with the other in a busy pattern, the patterned outfit will be distracting.

Coordination is vital to the result of your portrait. Choose one to two solid, complimentary colors. Sometimes the tops for the females will be one color and the males will wear another color. All members of the group should wear the same color bottoms.

Some Popular Examples *White tops with Khaki or Denim bottoms. *All Black or Black tops and Khaki or Denim bottoms. *Shades of Tans, Browns, and Creams. *Different shades of Blue tops with Khaki bottoms. *All White from head to toe with bare feet.

Seniors

Solid clothing photographs much better! Also, bring a variety of color. Although certain styles will be “in”, we suggest you avoid clothing that has wording on it. Bring a couple different tones (light & dark) of clothing color so a wider variety of backgrounds can be utilized.

Avoid Changing your hairstyle or cutting your hair just before your photo session. Let it be natural. Quick and easy hairstyle changes during your session are OK but make it quick or you lose camera time.

Braces – Our computer experts can remove the braces for an extra charge and it’s worth it if you want to show a beautiful smile. Ask us for details.

BRING PROPS! They define who you are. Sports equipment, uniforms, musical instruments. Anything from skateboards to snowboards can be incorporated.

Business Sessions

Think about the image you want to project in your portrait – conservative, friendly, artsy, approachable – and dress accordingly. When in doubt, professional is always good, and friendly usually is too. If you’re unsure what to wear for a business portrait session, it’s hard to go wrong with conservative business attire. Deep colors – such as navy blue, gray and brown – are great choices. Gentlemen, feel free to add a splash of color with a tie. If you’ll be wearing jewelry, simple and conservative is better than big and bold.

General Retouching (Ask your photographer for details.)

Eyeglasses – frames with no lenses if possible. Additional fees will be charged to remove any glass glare.

Blemishes – blemishes can be removed by our digital artists for an additional fee.

Ask your photograher for more information on our Retouching Services.