1. What tops should I bring?
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Bring a wide selection of tops to try during the session. Avoid heavy patterns and stick to solid colours that you know suit you. Colours that bring out your eyes and show off your skin tone work well. Styles from urban to professional will offer us variety in look, too.
Bring your favorite top, even if it's a decade old (it's your favorite for a reason, probably makes you look good and you’ll feel good wearing it). Do you have an awesome jacket? Bring that too.
Women – thicker straps on the shoulder can work better than thin straps (your hair may cover thin straps and you could look topless). If in doubt, bring a few and we can pick and choose. Regarding bras, make sure you have a lighter option for lighter tops. If you have an off-the shoulder top, then bring a strapless bra too. It’s not the end of the world if you forget this, I can always edit out bra straps afterwards (but it’s much better to get it right during the shoot).
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2. Should I get a haircut for the session?
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It’s recommended you don’t get a haircut before your session. Leave it at least a week before. This gives the hair time to settle and, in case you’re not over-the-moon with your new cut, time to rectify it.
You’ll be able to change your hair style during the session. Normally you’ll start with a natural look, then use as much as you would normally to get a more styled look.
Women can go hair up and hair down, straight, curly, messy and neat – I have an area you can plug in tongs, etc.
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3. What should I do about make up?
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Start the session with a super natural look (it’s a good place to start) and we can always add more as we go along.
If you have a breakout on the morning of a shoot you could wear a tiny bit of concealer, however, I can get rid of anything when retouching the photos so it really isn’t needed.
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4. Can I shave during the session?
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Feel free to shave halfway through the session. Bring lots of aftershave as red rashes and shaving cuts aren’t an ideal look (though can be retouched).
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5. Can I wear glasses or contact lenses?
Contact lenses are fine. Glasses usually reflect the light I’m lighting you with and you end up with an odd glare on the lenses. If you only feel comfortable with glasses then I’ll reconfigure the lighting to accommodate.
6. How will the session run?
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It’s a good idea to arrive on time as you can get flustered or feel pressured if late.
We’ll begin with a tea or coffee, then chat about styles, looks and see what clothes you’ve brought along.
The session will last 2-3 hours and you’ll have multiple changes of clothes/styles - plenty of time for us to capture the best images.
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7. Where is the session?
The session will take place in my home studio in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. I have tea, coffee, music (feel free to bring your own playlist) and lots of plants.
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You'll have your own private changing room with snacks and drinks laid on. I’ll send you a WhatsApp location on the morning of the shoot and, if you’re driving, there’s plenty of parking on the street.
If you’re coming by train the location is a 25-minute walk from Leamington train station, there’s also plenty of Ubers and the fare is usually around £6.
8. When will I receive my final retouched images?
I’ll send you your unprocessed session images within 24hrs of the session. Once you decide on the images you want, email me the filenames and I’ll edit them into your final photographs.
Final images take 5-7 working days to complete but I will endeavour to get them to you as soon as possible.
If you would like to have additional retouched images above the number included in your package then these can be done for £20 per image.
Unprocessed aren’t available for personal use as they’re far from the finished article.
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9. What if I'm feeling nervous before or during the session?
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Not many people like having their photo taken so you're not alone here.
I’ll always try to make the session as relaxed as possible and I love playing music whilst we're working. Feel free to bring a playlist along and we’ll connect it to my speaker.
Some ideas that can help distract from the nerves include connecting to an action when looking into the camera (‘to love’, ‘to command’, ‘to engage’, ‘to detect’, etc). Some people feel comfortable channeling a person, character or actor they admire/respect.
Whatever you feel on the day, I’ll be there, on your side, to capture the best photos possible in the most enjoyable way we can.
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