Helpful Tips for Families Before Their Portrait Session
Spring is here and this is the perfect time to photograph your outdoor family portraits in Houston! We have compiled a list of our 5 most helpful tips for families before their portrait session. Lisa & Michael Carr, one of Houston’s top family photographers, both have over 20 years of photographic experience.
They will make sure your Family Portrait is beautifully crafted. We will help you with coordinating and planning clothing for your family portrait to make sure everyone looks their best.
Here are the 5 tips for families before their portrait session:
- Scheduling
The timing of your family portrait session is very important. We recommend early morning, around 9am, or late afternoon, around 4pm. As summer approaches, 6:30pm may become an option. We use a balanced mixture of natural light and professional grade location lighting equipment to insure everyone is lit properly.
The portable location lighting is equivalent to studio lighting but used in an outdoor setting. The lighting results are a crisp well exposed portrait. We will work with you to determine the best time of day for your portrait based on the location as well everyone’s schedules.
If young children are to be included in your portrait, you should pick the time that is not right during their nap time but when they are at their best. For outdoor portraits we always recommend scheduling two dates in the event of rain or bad weather. We do have a studio available which can also serve as an option for your family portrait should weather become an issue. - Clothing Selection
Everyone’s clothing does not need to match in colors, but there should be harmony with everyone’s attire in the portrait. For example, if you want a casual spring or summer portrait then the children could wear shorts with light colored tops or dresses, and the adults could wear casual pants and khakis with light colored shirts and blouses.
Colors should be complimentary and in the same tonal range. It is always recommended to stick to solid colors or a very small pattern so clothes are not distracting. Long sleeve shirts work best as well.
We will discuss your portrait vision and clothing options during your pre-portrait consultation here in our studio.
- Hair and Makeup
For men and children in the portrait, we recommend a hair trim about 2 weeks before your portrait. For ladies, a trim or haircut and color if needed 2 weeks before your portrait is recommended. This is not the time to try a new hair color or a new haircut or hair style!
We partner with a nearby salon that takes care of our client’s hair and makeup for their portrait. The salon will help you look your best and make sure you are picture perfect and ready to go! Remember to have a manicure and pedicure the day before your portrait too! On the day of your portrait be sure to bring a hair brush and comb, powder, lipstick or gloss and makeup for touchups during your session. - Get Plenty of Rest
Rest is so important before your portrait. If you are tired or up late, it will show in your images. Go to bed early and stay well hydrated before your portrait. - Portrait Location and Scale
During your consultation, we will discuss where you plan on hanging your selected portrait in your home. This is important for us photography wise so we capture your images with the end in mind. For example, if the space warrants a vertical portrait, we want to make sure we have plenty of vertical images for you to select from.
During your portrait order appointment, we will show your images and project your images in our studio. We will also show you the proper size portrait based on the space in your home where the portrait will reside.
About Us
Michael and Lisa Carr are full time portrait photographers specializing in creative and timeless family portraiture. We offer outdoor family portraits, at home portrait sessions in the Houston area, as well as timeless in studio portraits.
We are a full service portrait studio. What this means to you is that we complete your portrait from the beginning to the finished phase: conception, capture and full artist embellishments to your final wall portraits. We also offer custom framing for your wall portraits.
We hope you have found the 5 tips for families before their portrait session a helpful article. To learn more about our studio and portrait photography for your family portraits, visit our online portfolio to learn more. We would love to talk with you about your family portrait. You can call us at 713-461-2862.
