Thank you for choosing Best Days Ever Photography! I am so honoured to be invited into your lives for a brief moment and capture some special moments for you. I am so looking forward to our session together!

General Preparation

To prepare for your session, I would recommend looking through my website and become familiar with my photographic style. From there, you will see that my sessions are not shaped like a tradition sessions. My goal to capture authentic and emotive images.  Be free to be yourselves! Come as you are – in whatever mood you are in! And yes, likely, (if you have young children), they will do something unpredictable! But let tell you in on a little secret – most of my sessions (in terms of ideal children’s behaviours) were much, much less than ideal. Please don’t worry if that happens – it will be okay! (I can’t stress that enough!)

Wardrobe Recommendations – General

Though this session is about you, wardrobe choices will really help add to make this session be successful. We definitely want to see you and your personalities to shine through and photograph well but not necessarily loudly through your wardrobe. It’s best to try to find outfits that will be timeless. You will find more article suggestions on your main information page.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Your ensemble should be unified stylistically. A photo session does not mean you need to be dressed up formally, though that may be what you want. Decide on a casual or formal look and go from there. I would recommend not mixing and matching casual and formal styles. For example, woman in an evening gown and man in shorts and a t-shirt.
2. My recommendation is to keep wardrobe as simple as possible and avoid anything that may easily date your photos or be visually distracting. Large logos, images/characters, words and prints can become dated easily and take away from you.
3. Your wardrobe should coordinate but not necessarily match. Choose a few colours or a colour family and go with it. Colour examples:

• blue, grey and red
• brown, cream, green, red
• yellow, white, green

4. Accessorize with a light touch. It’s great to add accessories. Definitely go for it! But choose carefully what you want to bring attention to. Remember, less is more! One thing to try to avoid are wide brimmed hats. There is a huge danger of the hat-wearer’s face to be much darker than the rest of the family. Please remember, your watch is also an accessory. I personally prefer for watches to be off during sessions unless it is meant to be a statement piece but this is something that is often overlooked so it is something to keep in mind.
5. If you intend on hanging these photos in your house, think about the place you will put it in your house. Think about the colours in that particular room. This will also help guide you in wardrobe and location choices.
6. Please apply heavy foundation and/or sunscreen carefully. Ensure that it is well blended as light as a tendency to reflect off of applications and photograph poorly.
7. Some grooming considerations: For men, consider whether or not you want your look to be clean shaven for the photos. For women, consider a manicure and/or pedicure for nails. I’m not recommending one over another but to be intentional about this area as it can be overlooked.
8. So much to think about? Where to start? Start with one outfit and work around it. When it comes our family’s photo sessions, usually that outfit is mine! 😛

Of course, these are just guidelines and not rules. If you’re not sure if something is going to photograph well, send me a photo. I am certainly available for consultation in this area.

Things to Bring To Your Outdoor Session

If you are familiar with my photographic style, I am not a photography who relies much on props. But friends, I’m obsessed with throws this season so I’ll likely bring one along for our session. If you have one that you love, please feel free to bring it along! Depending the age of the family members, I may bring in some small props or ask you to bring something to help engage your children. For example, if you have a baby or toddler, often a favourite toy, blanket or book is a great personal addition to the session. You and I will talk ahead of time to see if any additional props are needed for your session.

Other then that, it’s often good to be prepared and bring a snack, treat (preferably colourless and relatively mess free), water, a brush/comb, band aids, wet wipes, kleenex, lotion and hair clips.

How to Prepare for Your In-Home Session

Preparing for your in-home session are so special because this is the place you do life together. General preparations are pretty much the same as an outdoor session. One additional task that families need to consider are the rooms that will be in. In home sessions are more intimate so often there are photos in the master bedroom. If this is a room that we are using, solid, neutral bedding/blankets or simple patterns photograph best. The other room that is commonly used is the living room and kitchen.

A tidy home photographs much better than one that is not. This doesn’t mean that your home needs to be picture perfect. To me, a tidy home just means one that is free of clutter. A good rule of thumb is that if you don’t want to see it in your photos, then I would recommend hiding it somewhere during our session. We’ll talk about the best rooms to be in prior to our session