What do I bring to a portrait session?
So a question I often get asked is what should the client bring to our session. Well a lot of that depends on the type of session and look that the client is going for. but most of the time I try to keep it simple. Most if not all of my work is done outside. The studio experience wasn’t for me. But we will start with the basics.
Bring yourself: I know this sounds a little silly. But it is the truth. Bring the best version of yourself. Confidence is makes for the best prop to use for a photo session. The photograph below was one of the few that I had used a studio for. Even with my studio full of props that we could use. We chose to keep it simple. Just have fun with your session. Give yourself permission to be carefree and just ignore the camera for the most part. For almost this entire session we had music playing, laughing and just having conversation. Because of that atmosphere we had a great session and we created some amazing portraits. Most of the time this is all you need. Just be yourself.
The little things: This session on the other hand involved a little more. This one was one I had done for a client out of state. We had so much fun doing this shoot. It took almost a month to plan. But the little things like hairbrush and hair ties. Neutral colors or something the same as your hair color. I can’t tell you the number of uses for a pack of hair ties for a photo session. They can be used for the obvious things like holding hair, but they are also great for things like holding parts of this dress. Or holding that bouquet together.
Some other things like baby wipes make a huge difference. So this wasn’t just a bridal session. It was a “trash the dress” session. Now this was some of the most fun I had on a shoot in a while. It’s not everyday you get to photograph someone completely destroying a very expensive wedding gown like this one. Baby wipes were a must on set this day. During the session we were mixing up some fake blood and getting the dress covered. We were all covered. So those wipes were amazing to have.
Another “little thing” is and extra pair of shoes. Like in this session where we had a little ways to walk between locations. you do not always want to walk in heels or barefoot. Sometimes a simple pair of flip flops makes a big difference at the end of the day.
Props: We touched on this a bit earlier. Props depend a lot on how the session was planned. So for “mini sessions” I use props. All of my minis have a set theme. Halloween and Easter come to mind. It might be haybales and pumpkins for Halloween or it may be giant plastic Easter eggs. But mostly throughout the year it is simple. Like in the next photograph, My client chose to bring a couple of things. She chose to bring a western style hat and we chose to use a rifle for the session. (The rifle was safety checked multiple times and no ammo was ever on set, more about that later.)
Now discussing this photograph for a moment. The rifle and pistol in this image were not loaded and the ammo in the side saddle are dummy rounds. Firearm safety is something that I do not take lightly. Now I do not recommend that you show up to your shoot and tell your photographer that you want to use a prop like that. It might make the situation pretty bad. This was something that was discussed months in advance.
I hope this answers some questions that you may have. Don’t over complicate things. Talk to your photographer and see what he/she would like you to bring and tell them what you would like to bring. Enjoy your session and most importantly, HAVE FUN!!!