Its really important that the people I am photographing feel comfortable and feel they can be themselves. This is especially true for kids. Don’t get stressed the day of your session. Make sure you and your kids are excited about it! Your kids will feel your tension and it will show in your final images. We all want our kids to look as cute as can be when showing off pictures of them to family and friends. Just keep in mind that a child’s idea of being cute or smiling good may not be the same as ours. Let them be themselves! Let their little personalities show. They will grow up so fast and it will be nice to go back and look at pictures of them and remember them exactly how they were at that age. If your child is a little camera shy, I am all for bribing them! Don’t promise Disney world or anything crazy! Just promise them a little something to help motivate them to enjoy their photo shoot(: I LOVE working with kids and am happy to do whatever I can do to help bring a smile to their face! (: Props are always fun, but I don’t like going overboard. I want my subject to standout, not get buried in patterns, colors and props. I prefer pure, clean images opposed to *over done* and over edit images.

I have a super awesome, detailed PDF file I email my clients with tons of “what to wear” info. Just email me and ask for it(:

Styling is something I am happy to help you with, but I don’t want to over help you. I want you guys to still be you, not Jennifer Williams’s idea of fashion.

Think layers. Probably the biggest difference between sessions that look great and sessions that look wow: little boys in a t-shirt, with a button up over it, along with a blazer. Throw on a fun hat (bowler, fedora, stylish ball cap) and you’re set! Little girls: same thing, leggings, fun skirt, tank with a sweater and a tasteful (not too big and overwhelming!) headband.

*Side note: Stay away from gaudy gerber daisy flowers in neon colors and mesh hats with rhinestones, they look dated and tend to take away from your little one’s gorgeous features.

Coordinate. As you think about your color palette, imagine your family being one complete piece of artwork. Each person/outfit will bring together a feeling of formality and coordination. Instead of everyone wearing the same shade of blue – think about what accent colors might look nice with said blue. Perhaps blue plaid shorts for your son with a t-shirt, vest and hat. Pull some of the colors of his plaid shorts to find a great skirt or dress for your little girl. Dad can wear some jeans and a shirt that coordinates with the plaid shorts and skirt on your daughter, and finish it off with an awesome jacket and fedora. Mom will round the entire family out with some great boots, leggings and darling dress that (again) coordinates with the family color story.

Comfort is key.

If you know you’re going to be doing a lot of walking during your photo session, laying on the ground, getting wet…anything at all, you’ll want to be comfortable in what you’re wearing. If you have a pair of heels that you’re dying to wear for your photos, it might be a good idea to have a pair of flats with you just in case. And as they always say, if you’re comfortable, you’ll feel more confident and it will show in your photos. So, look nice, even dress up if you like, but don’t wear something if it makes you self-conscious or you know you’re going to have keep adjusting it during your shoot.

The most important piece of advice I try and tell my clients is just be yourself. The above are all great tips, but just remember , the focus is YOU and you want your personality to shine through. Don’ t stress over your kids giving me a *real* smile. Having a strange lady hold a camera to her face while trying to get you to look happy can be very intimidating for small kids. So its best to let them relax and get comfortable and just let them be themselves! Of course we want them to have a clean face and combed hair, but forcing smiles doesn’t usually work. However I fully approve bribing your child with something. You want them to act a certain way and smile pretty, make all that work worth it to them(;

Newborn sessions.

I prefer to keep baby naked or in a diaper cover. I am not opposed to putting baby in a *special* outfit, but please keep in mind that newborn outfits very rarely fit a newborn the right way. And in order to *see* the outfit, we would be very limited to the poses we could do. Now, if we are doing sibling/family shots during the newborn session and you want an outfit on the baby that is fine. Just stay clear from noisy outfits that have too much going on. Babies are so new and pure and I prefer to photograph them that way. Bright or wild colors and patterns are just too much of a distraction. For mom/baby, dad/baby and parent/baby shots I have wraps that mom can wear. I suggest wearing a nude color bra under the wrap. You can also just choose to wear a solid color tank top or tube top. Dads can wear solid color shirts such a black, white or tan. Dads can also go shirtless to get some sweet skin on skin shots. Feel free to ask me any questions that you feel I didn’t already answer(:

Delicate Details Photography| Toccoa GA Newborn Photographer

Maternity | Newborn | Baby | Child | Senior | Portraiture