We’re so excited that you’ve booked your portrait session with us! Thank you.
We’ve created this page with some of the things we find most people want to know before they’re session. Feel free to call or email if you’d like more information or have questions on anything to do with your portraits.
Weather:
We’ll start here. If the day is questionable and you’ve got an outdoor session scheduled, we’ll touch base with you that day. (Make sure we have a good number to call you at on the Cape!) We don’t normally cancel or reschedule beach sessions before 3pm on the day of the session. The weather here can change so quickly, it can be pouring with rain, and by sunset can be spectacularly beautiful. So we wait. We cancel (reschedule) for really high winds, rain, lightning, or totally inclement weather. We love overcast, foggy, sunshine, hazy… Feel free to call anytime before your session if you have weather concerns and we’ll go through it with you.
Clothing:
For family portraits you’ll want your clothing to set the tone of your portrait. There are a few things to take into consideration. Where is your portrait going to hang? If you’ll be hanging the portrait in a very formal great room, jeans and white shirts might not be the best look, alternatively super dressy might not look great in your casual living space. How many people will be in it? The more people, the more busy clothing can become, we prefer longer sleeves, and pants/dresses/skirts for most adults in large groups and really simple colour schemes. Just a family of four? You can make it even more about your personalities.
You don’t want everyone to match exactly, that’s a great look for companies, but not so much for your family. Allow everyone to share their personalities through their clothing, it will make everyone happier. You might want to suggest a range of clothing, for example if you go the traditional white, light blue and khaki look, as long as everyone stays in those colours they can wear whatever they’d like. Mom might wear white capris with a pale blue top, her daughter could wear a white eyelet lace dress, her son and husband might both go with blue oxfords and khakis (dad in pants, son in shorts).
Some of my faves are:
white/khaki/light blue
different shades of blues
jeans and light blues, etc.
Pale green and yellows and khakis
yellows and light blues
greens and browns
Here are a few more guidelines for clothing.
Men should wear long pants whenever possible. Men can wear very minimal pattern (pale blue and white thin stripes, fine – navy and white wide stripes not as good!). Longer sleeves for large portraits is always our choice. Usually barefoot.
Women should wear longer skirts & dresses, capris or pants. In general more fitted clothing is generally more flattering than really loose and baggy clothing. Arms are usually best covered. Again, minimal pattern or very low contrast pattern. Usually barefoot.
Children should follow adult rules for teens and above, ideas are much more flexible the younger the child. Pattern is cute. Sleeveless is usually fine. Shorter skirts & shorts are okay. Barefoot is great.
If it’s chilly, dress accordingly in layers. It’s very hard to get a 2 year old laughing and smiling if they’re cold! I’d rather a cute fisherman sweater, jeans and socks and shoes than a chilly babe!!
Contrast within clothing will draw your eye to it, if everyone is in light blues and whites and one person is wearing royal blue, their clothing will be the first thing you see in your portraits. The darker the colour the more receding it is, so heavier members of the family should wear darker tones, with arms and legs covered as much as possible. If someone wishes to wear black, then you’ll want to adjust the entire family to darker tones, blacks, browns, deeper blues or greens, maroons, etc. Again, you don’t want one person in black and everyone else in white as the person in black will stand out.
View what some other families chose here.
Bugs.
It’s the Cape. We get the occasional bug. Here are some things you can do to minimize their annoyingness. Be careful with your use of hair products. Bugs love hair that smells of product! Do not wear perfumes or colognes. If the night is very still, without wind, be even more cautious, and use bug spray.
During the Session
Expect to be at the session for at least an hour (unless something specific has been planned prior) and know that as the sun nears the horizon the light continues to improve and Sarah sometimes has a hard time stopping when the light is incredible. Please do not plan anything immediately following your session when possible. Sarah always takes in to account the children and doesn’t push them past their comfort point, so don’t worry about that!
Be patient and relaxed with any children, it is normal for them not to sit and smile perfectly. There will be some running around. There will be silliness. Relax and enjoy it. Sarah has photographed hundreds of portraits, she’s got it covered! But it’s definitely easiest when parents expect there to be a little bit of craziness and to embrace it, we’ll all have way more fun!!
After the Session
We’ll have your photos online within a about a week, or you can make an appointment to come in to the studio within a few days of your session whichever works best for your family. If the online option is chosen, the gallery will be online for 2 weeks. During that time we’ll schedule an ordering consultation to go through your portraits and order together. All sessions ordered from during that time will receive a custom app of your family which can be shared with other family members (a $150. value!). All galleries that require an extension will have a charge of $75. for the extension. We love to give you the gift, we hate to have to charge you, so please make sure you plan accordingly!
Call or email us anytime with questions or for additional information.
