Getting ready for Portrait Photoshoot
So, you decided to take a portrait photoshoot. Maybe there was an important change in your life and you wish to capture yourself in the present moment through photography. Maybe you need business portraits for your website or blog. Or, you need fresh content for social media.
Anyway, to get an eye-catching pictures you have to get prepared!
Here are some tips:
Define the idea and location of the shooting.
How are you going to use this photos? Example: for a business portrait, we can go to a studio or your office, find a suitable art space on peerspace.com. You probably don’t want to shoot business portrait at the beach in a swimsuit.
There are tons of options! We can take a city vibe photoshoot, against the backdrop of downtown skyscrapers, visit a rocky or sandy beach, stroll through Chinatown in the evening or create some cinematic shots with colored light.
For each shooting, I come up with an individual idea and select a unique location. Then I create a mood board so that both you and I make sure that we are on the same page, and how the result should look like.
Time matters.
In a cloudy and foggy weather, we can shoot at any time of the day - the light will be equally soft.
If you prefer to shoot at home or in the studio, then the time of a day also does not really matter.
But if we shoot on a sunny day, then the best time to shoot is early in the morning and pre-sunset hour (“the Golden hour”). At the same time, the light is as soft and magical as possible.
I would highly recommend to avoid any shooting from 12 p.m to 2 pm The sun will be high and deep shadows will appear on the face.
Consider your outfits.
Clothing is an important part of a successful photo shoot. I prefer monochrome outfits without print and small details. Clothing recommendations vary depending on the location, but always a good option: white, black, beige, blue and orange. I always give my clients outfit recommendation with links to online stores where you can buy and return your clothes after the photoshoot.
A little practice.
No one knows your body and facial expressions better than you do and you know your most winning poses better, than I do.
Just in case, I have a little posing guide that I created together with a professional model Daria Zhigalova. Try these poses for portraiture at home in front of a mirror, you will thank me later!
Everything else is the photographer's job! I will create the concept and idea of shooting, prepare the contract, provide selection and retouch the photos. I will guide you on site, where to look at and how to pose.
To book a photoshoot, click here.