1. Please make sure your child is well-fed and well-rested prior to our session. However, please don't feed them too much sugary snacks the day of the session because they come in too jittery and are not able to be still for the shots, or if they are crashing from sugar...well, you know how that goes! This really affects kids under 12 more so than teenagers.
2. I am completely fine with having other children (sibling or friend) at the studio. However, please make sure they have activities to do once they get here (this is for the smaller kids) to prevent boredom or fussiness.
3. Wardrobe: Please bring at least 8 to 10 different tops to the session so I can go through them and help you choose the best ones to use. Clothes should be in solid colors (no logos, patterns, pictures, or writing on them) and in a variety of styles and fabrics. Colors should be bold and intense, for example, if you are going to bring yellow, don't go for a lemon yellow. Instead, go for a ripe banana yellow. You get the idea. We usually don't shoot in white or beige colors so you can leave those at home. These instructions apply to boys and girls, but see below for some more specific suggestions.
For girls, don't bring dresses since we will not be seeing the bottom. Also, sequins and glittery designs on clothing are not desirable. You may bring a cute jean jacket and/or jean vest but make sure it is the right size and fit on your daughter.
For boys, tee shirts and polo shirts are fine. Bring both v-necks and crew necks. Also, bring jean jackets or zippered hoodies for a layered look. I usually direct my clients to Target as they have very nice and inexpensive solid shirts, especially for boys.
Please visit my Kids and Teens portfolio for more ideas on clothing.
4. Hair should be kept natural and product-free. For girls, please do not wear hair accessories such as head bands, clips, pins, hair ties, bows, etc. Also, do not curl the hair as casting directors like the hair to look natural. Blow-outs are fine (and recommended) if you feel it's necessary to smooth out the frizzies, or if you need to create more volume. The idea is to have the hair look groomed but not done. The pageant look is a big no-no in headshots, so stick with clean and natural. Earrings should also be taken out and left at home. Ninety percent of the time, agents I work with will ask me to airbrush earrings out in post-processing, so I'd rather you don't have earrings on for the shots to begin with.
For boys, keep hair natural-looking with mininum or no product in the hair. I have hair prodocuts here in case we need to use them. If you need to give your son a haircut, do so about a week to two weeks before our scheduled sesson as freshly-cut hair is not ideal for headshots. If you have any questions about how he should wear/style his hair for the headshots or auditions, I urge you to contact your representation as they are the ones marketing your child so they may have other ideas not covered here. Or, if you don't have representation, feel free to call or email me if you are unclear about the hair issue.
5. Glasses: If your child will be wearing his or her glasses for one of the looks, please pop the lenses out of the frame as the glasses will reflect the windows here and we will not be able to clearly see their eyes (which defeats the purpose having professional headshots done). Even non-reflective lenses reflect. If your child's lenses will not come out of the glasses without damaging them, I suggest that you purchase a pair of inexpensive reading glasses (they should be less than $5 for a pair) and take the lenses out of those.
6. It is imperative that you be on time for our session as we are working with natural light and the time I gave you would be the best time to have you arrive for the most beautiful light. If you are running late, please call or text me to let me know. If you arrive early, please call or text to see if I'm ready for you. Try not to arrive earlier than five minutes before our appointment time.
Please contact me if you have any questions that were not addressed here.