THANK YOU FOR BOOKING YOUR ANNIE BEE SESSION!!
Needless to say I am SO excited!
Now then – to make sure we capture EXACTLY what you would love (that thing that makes you cry every time you see it – either in an album or on the wall) lets start having a little think:-
WHAT TO WEAR
The first thing that EVERYONE panics about is ‘What To Wear’ and my simple answer to that is …..whatever makes you feel like you!
From a photography perspective there are only three big No-No’s:-
STRIPES (which sometimes, especially if they are narrow stripes, can give us weird patterns known in the trade as ‘moiré’)
CHECKS
and
BIG LOGO’s or PATTERNS
Checks ,Logo’s and Big, Bold Patterns draw the eye away from the most important part of the picture – your face.
If we are photographing a lot of you then don’t worry too much about ‘matching’ everyone. ‘Matchy-Matchy’ photos can look a bit twee. A common colour – or colours from a similar colour palette – can work to pull everyone together. So maybe Dad in a purple shirt, Mum with a purple scarf and little people in blue.
Have a look at my Pinterest boards for some inspiration:-
What To Wear – On Location with Annie Bee
What To Wear – Little People and ‘See Me Grow” sessions
but DO NOT PANIC! Just phone me if you are struggling.
And just some advice – if you are coming to the studio I tend to match the backdrop to what you are wearing.
If we are outside – we sort of need to do the same thing. White and black are actually quite rare in nature – so try to avoid a lot of black (you’ll see some examples of why I think this doesn’t work on my Pinterest board). And a lot of white is tricky too …..unless we are on a beach!
So – if we are outside – try to stay ‘neutral’ with your colours. Clothing suppliers I LOVE for outside shoots are Roe and Joe and The Simple Folk. Check out their look books for some dreamy ideas.
Or – if you NEVER know what to wear, whatever the occasion – why not make a little investment in something SUPER important- yourself!
Pop over to one of my wonderful clients – Sarah – at HOUSE OF COLOUR. Sarah is Northamptons leading image and colour consultant. Trust me – you will never struggle with your wardrobe ever again!
WHAT TO WEAR – NEWBORNS
“What to Wear” is slightly different for your newborn shoot.
Firstly – and most importantly – dress Daddy in layers that he can take off. Newborn babies can’t regulate their temperature so the studio will be VERY WARM so that we can safely photograph them undressed (the babies that is – not Daddy)
Daddies find the heat unbearable!!
Secondly – dress baby in something super-easy to remove when you first arrive. A front opening baby-grow with no vest underneath is ideal. Baby will often arrive fast asleep and if we can undress him without waking him we can often get some super sleepy shots right at the outset.
For the same reason a feed just before you leave home is a fantastic idea as baby then also arrives with a full tummy and will be even MORE settled.
And don’t forget to bring feeds and nappies. Newborn sessions are never quick and a lot of wee’s, pooh’s and feeds will be going on in the two to three hours you are with me!
WHO TO BRING
Everyone! My session fee is my session fee – and it makes no difference if there are 3 of you or 30 of you!
The only thing I ask is that you tell me EXACTLY who is coming. Your session needs to be fun for everyone – and if I’ve planned a session for you and your three lively under 8’s and you suddenly arrive with 80 year old grand-parents then my plans might just fall apart!
If you have booked a Newborn Session then, without DOUBT, we need to include older siblings. However 3 hours in a super-warm and super-quiet newborn studio is not conducive to their 3 year old sibling behaving impeccably! So we just need a bit of a plan beforehand.
And it is SUPER important that you don’t suddenly arrive on the day with pets that I don’t know about. If you’ve got pets….then you MUST include them in your family shoot! Pets are family too. But we need to structure sessions with animals to keep them safe and well and happy. So I just need to know they are joining you.
WHAT ARE WE SHOOTING FOR?
Give this some thought. What do you want to DO with your beautiful images afterwards?
Are we shooting for the wall? Have you got a place in mind for a beautiful portrait? If so – let me know in advance (simply because this might determine whether I shoot predominately landscape or portrait. Something ‘over the fireplace’ needs to be landscape but something ‘at the top of the stairs’ possibly need to be portrait!)
Send me some pictures of the room. And the wall where you think you might hang something (Don’t worry…..I won’t hold you to it!!) Just pictures taken on your phone will be fine. I’ll pop them in your file here at Annie Bee and it will simply help me build up a picture of what you would love.
And after your session don’t be afraid to come back for some help. It won’t be a ‘hard sell’ appointment where you have remortgaged your house by the time you leave. It just means you can tell me which images you love from your session and I can show you some ideas for making the most of those memories
If you are an ‘album’ type person I can show you how your images would look laid out in one of my beautiful Italian albums.
Or if you are you a ‘print’ person and can show you some beautiful Memory Boxes!
So – just ask!
WHAT HAPPENS NOW
Between now and your session consider adding anything you love to a Pinterest Board and share it with me. Just add pictures of images you love – even if it is NOT what we are photographing. If you add landscape images that stop you in your tracks then I will IMMEDIATELY know the colours and tones you love!
I’ll contact you a few days before your session just to confirm timings and the weather forecast and to discuss some of the things that you’ve been sharing with me.
But in the meantime – any problems, or drama, or panics, or amazing ideas…..then I’m on the end of the phone 01604 770013.
Annie xx