Tag Archives: Best Ways To Get Comfortable With A Photographer

What to wear for a family portrait session is obviously an important topic. What do you recommend? Do we need to match? Can we wear jeans? These are the questions we get from our clients all the time for family portrait sessions, and they are very important questions!

What to wear….

Whenever we meet with a family (or the family member in charge) to discuss the game plan for their upcoming session we usually spend a decent amount of time discussing clothing. Many people have anxiety over this, and while it’s certainly important to look your best when you invest the time and money to get professional portraits, there is no need to stress! Here are 5 fun and practical tips and ideas that may help…

Consider Casual. If you are comfortable you will feel comfortable and therefore you will look comfortable. There is nothing wrong with jeans and t-shirts, polos, or simple blouses. A family that appears to be relaxed and naturally enjoying being together makes for really nice portraits. Keep in mind that formal portraits can be beautiful as well, just know that it’s not a rule that professional portraits = formal portraits. Sometimes the decor of the room or rooms you plan to decorate can help you with this as well.
Coordinate Loosely. You don’t have to match exactly. You can put the boys in a blue and the girls in a pink just as an example, with everyone wearing similar style shirts. Everyone can wear different style shirts of the same color as well – white shirts are fine. Coordinate by color or style – just look like you are in the same group and belong together.
Avoid crazy patterns. No Hawaiian shirts for example. Just use common sense – you want the focus of the photos to be on the people and not on a pattern or a slogan like “I’m With Stupid” on a shirt.
Try a theme. We had a family do a Detroit sports theme with different jerseys of the 4 major pro teams – the Tigers, Lions, Pistons, and Red Wings. It was really fun! You can do it with your favorite college / alma mater too. We had a family where the dad and son had maize and blue Michigan sweatshirts and the mom and daughter had pink ones on and it was really cute. I used to think it was silly when I would see a U of M sweatshirt in pink in a store, but from a fashion standpoint it worked for the shoot! Anything that your family shares together can serve as inspiration.
Be true to yourself and your family. Certainly you can look to professional photographers for advice because they have plenty of experience with this, and they can make suggestions that work with different backdrops and settings. Always ask to see examples! Also remember however that you are the customer and you know your family best. Be careful of a photographer who won’t listen to you and insists on doing it his or her way. This is your session after all…

Always remember to have fun and savor the moment. You deserve credit for wanting to celebrate your family with a professional portrait session and you should enjoy it! Feel free to add to the discussion – what have been some of your favorite choices for wardrobe? What say you on the subject of what to wear?

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Frameable Faces Photography
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Frameable Faces Photography is a small biz retail mom & pop shop of Doug&Ally Cohen located in the Orchard Mall in West Bloomfield, Michigan, United States Of America!
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Ally & Doug can be reached at the studio at tel:248-790-7317 or emailed at mailto:info@frameablefaces.com
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Being “Frameable” is an attitude, a community, a way of life – a life you would want to celebrate and display on your walls for all to see! Tell us… ARE YOU FRAMEABLE?
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5 Reasons You Are Not Photogenic

May 17, 2014

by Doug Cohen

2 Comments

Photogenic

Photogenic is defined as “suitable for being photographed: likely to photograph well”. It seems about half of the people who come to Frameable Faces warn us that we are going to have a tough time with their session because they are NOT photogenic. Usually we just tell them we can’t help because we just don’t want the burden of trying to make such bad looking people look good. It’s probably hopeless right? WRONG!!!!!!!

Ally did NOT take this photo. I repeat – Ally did NOT take this photo… haha

Some people will go on and explain to us that “No – I’m serious. I don’t photograph well at all. I just don’t”. If you are one of those people then in all seriousness there are likely some legitimate reasons you feel this way. Here are 5 reasons you are not photogenic:

5 Reasons You Are Not Photogenic

You are not pleased with the way you currently look. Maybe you aren’t in the best shape of your life, or for whatever reason you aren’t thrilled with the way you look at the moment. Hey no one is perfect, but you are the best and most unique version of you! I wrote about this recently here. Embrace and love yourself! It’s okay! If you indeed have not been taking good care of yourself then make that change and start now! Meanwhile this is not the only reason you are “not photogenic”.
You aren’t naturally comfortable in front of the camera. Some people on a moment’s notice can just light up when someone is going to snap a photo. They take more pictures, they practice more, they are prepared. You are already convinced that you are not photogenic so you aren’t confident about being in a picture and you are not comfortable. That does not mean there cannot be an environment created with proper planning where you will be comfortable. There absolutely can be.
You are being photographed by non-photographers. This can impact a photo in a number of ways. The person taking the photo may not have an eye for it and/or you may not connect with them. Those two factors are really important for making a good photo – it doesn’t matter if it’s a ten thousand dollar camera without those two things.
You typically are not lit (or posed) properly. This is a continuation of the last point. There is so much more than just knowing how to work a camera to produce a good photo. Lighting (and posing for that matter) is a huge factor. For example when we first opened the studio a photographer friend asked us why we had our main soft box set up on the side of our studio opposite our window. He said that our main box was competing with the light coming in from the center court of the mall and impacting our lighting set up negatively. He was right. It wasn’t a difference I would have noticed but Ally sure noticed it after we made the change. This is just one example of many factors that contribute to the composition of a photo that all combine to make you look better. Real pros go to seminars and work with their peers – constantly honing their craft to improve all of their skills all the time.
You typically are not prepared to look your absolute best when a random photo is snapped. Maybe because of your line of work, your daily schedule or your hectic life in general you don’t have your best clothes on and your hair looking its best at all times. If you are female your makeup also might not be done when someone says “C’mon! Let me just get a quick picture!”

In short, not everyone is always at their perfect weight walking around 100% totally ready for their close up at a moment’s notice in perfect lighting with their favorite outfit on and hair perfectly styled to be taken by a random family member or friend with an iPhone who doesn’t know how to use the camera on it.

Here is the shamelessly self-serving part of this article – as you have probably figured out, these 5 reasons you are “not photogenic” can largely be addressed by going to a real professional whom you connect with. I don’t just say this as an ad for Frameable Faces. I mean it in general. It applies to any professional who knows what they are doing. Just don’t be hard on yourself if you haven’t always been pleased with how you look in photos. It is not necessarily your fault!

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Frameable Faces Photography
**********************************************
Frameable Faces Photography is a small biz retail mom & pop shop of Doug&Ally Cohen located in the Orchard Mall in West Bloomfield, Michigan, United States Of America!
************************************************
Ally & Doug can be reached at the studio at tel:248-790-7317 or emailed at mailto:info@frameablefaces.com
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Tune in to the Doug&Ally Morning Show T-F between 8:30 – 11 EST UTC-4 on Periscope or Twitter along with many other live broadcasts on their channel, and find them at the following:
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**********************************************
Being “Frameable” is an attitude, a community, a way of life – a life you would want to celebrate and display on your walls for all to see! Tell us… ARE YOU FRAMEABLE?
**********************************************
Join the Frameable Faces Community – sign up for our email newsletter for the best of the week in the Frameable Faces World! Click here!

7 Tips For Getting The Most From Professional Headshots

September 18, 2012

by Doug Cohen

3 Comments

In today’s world of social media and with the opportunities available for online networking and marketing, great professional headshots are more important than ever. So where do you start? How should you go about it?

7 Tips For Getting The Most From Professional Headshots:

Go to a pro. Okay so we’ll admit that this tip is a little self serving – this is a blog for a professional photography studio after all… But whether you live in Metro Detroit and come to us, live in Metro Detroit and don’t come to us, or wherever you might be reading this, the point is do NOT leave your professional reputation and image to a friend with a camera phone, and choose your studio carefully. Headshots are not that expensive and you need to make a good impression – it’s worth spending the extra 100 or even 200 dollars to have a high quality photo. A good headshot by itself is not likely to land you a million dollar deal, but a crappy unprofessional headshot could potentially lose you one.
Have your headshot match the type of business you are in and your approach to that business. For example, if you are an attorney you will want a different headshot if you are in the business of putting away the bad guys or enforcing non-competes for corporations than if you are an amicable divorce attorney. If your job requires you to be tough and serious than you may want to look serious in your photo. If your job requires you to be helpful and understanding than you may want to look caring and inviting – with a nice smile.
Try to stand out a little. Depending on your business it helps to not be boring. If you are in a creative business and you are trying to increase sales based on your ability to come up with a wow factor then it’s okay to be edgy. A cool hat, an unconventional expression, a different color background – if you are an artist be true to your style.
Be careful in trying to stand out. Don’t go overboard. If you are trying to stand out and it comes off as silly or unprofessional it can backfire. If you find yourself asking if your idea is a little too cheesy than it probably is. Use the advice of your pro who is in the business.
Be prepared. This would seem to go without saying, but think about your clothing ahead of time. Make sure your hair is done/combed properly, and if you are a woman a good rule of thumb is 30% more makeup than usual.
Make sure you update often enough to match how you look. If you gain or lose a considerable amount of weight, if you have decided to shave your head or shave your beard after wearing one for 5 years, if you have gone grey since your last headshot, it’s time for a new one.
Update your profiles. Once you get your headshot make sure you update every profile you use online – especially the personal profiles you use for business. This includes your website as well as your LinkedIn, twitter, and others for example. As an extra tip within a tip, consider how you use your different profiles. For example you may use facebook purely for personal purposes and therefore you may not want to use your professional headshot for your facebook profile. That’s fine, but be aware that just because you’ve distinguished your personal profile as personal that doesn’t mean that how you conduct yourself there may not impact your professional reputation. It can – absolutely.

We hope this helps and we wish you success! What other tips do you have that have helped you for getting great professional headshots as a client or taking them as a photographer?