before your session

Make sure that everyone is well rested and fed before the session. We encourage you to bring a healthy, non-messy snack for children, but please keep it out of sight until Anna mentions that it would be a good time for a snack. Please do not bring treats with the intention of bribing children during the session - sessions are about fun and playtime, so bribery is not needed.

Come prepared to play with your children and have fun yourself. Older children should be clean, dressed, and ready to go when you arrive at the shoot. Please remove any stamps, old bandages, temporary tattoos and worn off nail polish that you don’t want in your photos.

clothing

We will discuss style, colors, and any other questions you have in detail during your pre-consultation. Here are some general guidelines that you may find helpful when beginning to think about how to dress yourself and/or your family for a photo shoot with Anna.

For photographs of one person, dress to express your personal style. Solid darker clothing is best for black & white prints and bright colors are great for color prints. We suggest bringing a few different outfits for a variety of looks. In general, for portraits with more than one person, you will want to avoid busy and highly-patterned clothing. For groups, think about coordinating the clothes into a color palette - such as earth tones, jewel tones or pastels. Laying out your family’s clothes together in advance can be a helpful method of coordinating colors and styles. If one piece of clothing draws too much attention, switch that piece out and continue the process until you have achieved "color harmony" for the group - while still allowing for personal style.

In the studio and on the beach, bare feet are preferred. For outdoor sessions though, shoes can make or break an outfit. You may want to bring along some comfortable walking shoes depending on the terrain, in addition to a pair of shoes that you would like to be photographed in.

For location sessions, the same clothing suggestions apply, but you’ll also want to bring layers of clothing in case of windy or chilly weather. For a beach session, an extra set of clothes and a towel for your sandy and possibly wet children can come in very handy at the end of the session.

33 to 36 weeks into a pregnancy is an ideal time frame to take maternity portraits. (For a woman pregnant with twins, 27 to 31 weeks is preferable). Before a maternity session, please wear loose clothing for at least an hour before the session to minimize clothing marks on the skin. Feel free to bring in robes, sheer material and any fabrics that hold special meaning to you. We have an assortment of basic, sheer fabrics in the studio as well.

Contacting the studio prior to giving birth is helpful when arranging newborn sessions. When your baby is born and you are feeling rested, you can call the studio to set a more specific session date.

We prefer no clothing for newborn babies, except for an occasional diaper. For newborn sessions, photographing 3 to 14 day old babies makes for the calmest experience and optimal skin conditions. If you are looking for pictures of your newborn sleeping in incredibly cute poses, plan on the session when your baby is under 10 days old. If the idea of leaving the house with a baby so young is daunting - no worries as we are happy to come to your home and photograph the new family using natural window light. For newborn sessions please have plenty of blankets for the newborn, cute hats or artsy prop ideas, and extra shirts for the adults.

For baby sessions, minimal or no clothing for the baby is ideal. Women can wear tube tops (provided in the studio) if they like, and men can go shirtless or opt to wear a cotton tank top for a skin-to-skin look with the baby.

For sessions with dogs, (we love dogs!) please make sure the dog gets some exercise before the session so they are more calm. Bring treats or toys that the dog responds to and enjoys. Please make sure the dog is groomed so that long hair is not hanging in their eyes (unless you like it there) and they are in general "photo ready"! Want to include other pets/animals in your session? Just ask!

props

Anna’s style of photography uses few props, but adding in some personal elements can work well. If your child has a favorite toy or CD, please bring it along. We will always have mp3 speakers available on location shoots as well. Hats, special blankets, favorite dress-up clothes, fresh flowers and simple toys can be nice additions to your portraits. Any props should be “classic" in the sense that when you look at your photographs 10 years from now, they should not feel dated.

hair

If you have long hair, wearing it away from the face for location sessions is best, as outdoor elements can make keeping your hair in place frustrating, detracting from an otherwise fun session. For studio sessions, please bring a clip if you wear your long hair down in case we need to bring it back from your face for certain shots.

Children’s hair should be styled for children in a way that keeps it out of their eyes and face. For children, no make-up is needed, but we do recommend bringing along chapstick.

make-up

Women should wear about 10% to 15% more make-up than a normal day look - staying with natural tones. If you want to purchase black and white pictures, slightly more dramatic eye and lip color are a good way to go. It’s also important to put on makeup in a way that allows you to still feel comfortable and like yourself.

Want help with your hair & make-up? We partner with Tamra Marie Artistry who can arrange to come to the studio or to our location session for an additional fee - she is fabulous and you can check out her work at tamra-marie.com

scratches & blemishes

Scratches and bruises are common on small children, as are blemishes on older children and adults. If the scratch or blemish is reasonably moderate, we do not need to reschedule the session - these can easily be retouched out of the final prints, normally for no additional charge.

illness

In the case of illness (or labor), we appreciate 24 hour notice if possible. If a baby is feverish and grumpy, it will be better to reschedule then to try to force the session.