hintsandtips

At Stark Photography we take pride in providing quality portraits that you and your family will cherish forever. So it makes sense to do all we can to help you with your efforts and planning to reward you with a portrait that will increase in personal value over the years. Here are some hints and tips you may want to consider to help insure a successful portrait.

Our standard sitting includes five poses and one outfit change if needed. If you need more outfit changes or poses, an additional five poses can be purchased for one-half the cost of the first sitting. This allows us to try a combination of several different formal and informal outfits, head and shoulders, three-quarters or full length formats. The type of pose you favor will determine what outfits you wear for the sitting.

It's always difficult to set clothing rules however you may want to consider that clothing looks very different in the three-dimensional world. In a picture there is only one dimension so you want to do all you can to avoid having the clothing steal attention from the face. The exception being of course if you specify to the photographer you want your outfit featured in a full-length portrait. For the classic head & shoulders portraits however things to avoid are large patterns, writing on the shirt and very bright colors. Solid muted colors and simple clothing are always the best. Long sleeves look best in formal poses and light colors draw more attention to the figure. In most cases the photographer can match the backround with your clothing and poses. For groups photos the word is coordinate. Everyone has an idea of what they look best in, but in a group that can lead to chaos. Tops are the most important element since they frame the face. Begin by selecting a color key, (blue & white, creams, dark blues and burgundies for example) and then lay all the tops out on the back of a sofa and stand back. If any article of clothing jumps out at you, the person who is wearing it will too. Also decide what "dress mode" you want. For formal, choose suits and ties for the guys, and dresses for gals, slacks for dressy and denims or the like for casual. You want to look like you are all gong the same place.

If you wear eyeglasses on a daily basis, the photographer will adjust the pose or lighting to avoid distracting reflections. Retouching is also available to remove reflections if they are present in the previews. You may also elect to remove the glasses for the portrait if you only wear them once in a while like for reading or driving. Another alternative is have your optometrist loan you a set of frames without the lenses or remove your lenses for the sitting.

If you have small children or if you are planning an outdoor sitting, the time you choose can make all the difference. For children we suggest plan around their schedule - not your convenience. Early morning is usually the best because crying, fussy, hungry and tired children are not what you want to capture in a portrait. For outdoor portraits, nothing beats early morning and early evening light. Mid-day is ok if it's overcast but the bright overhead sun will cause squinting and dark shadows in the eyes. The setting is equally important. There's nothing wrong with a studio sitting and backrounds but your living room or backyard adds personality to the portrait. A location with lots of trees and a pleasing backround offers better choices for groups and individuals. Ask Stark Photography where the best locations are near the studio.