So you schedule your photo session and you see all these beautiful images on social media, and the internet or photographers websites and you dream of having these beautiful canvases or frames designed and hung on your walls, in your beautiful home. Now to plan!!! EEk. Overwhelming stuff and all the things to talk about and how do we get there, how do we achieve this and bring those visions to life, the perfect session whether it be a maternity session, a family session, in home session or even a newborn session.

Location location location!!! The Northern CA part of the Bay Area is my play ground and I love that we have so many amazing locations. From the ocean to the fields to trees to the forrest, literally a play ground for photographers. I have some great ones just in my little area of Livermore. Choosing your favorite or a place that is special to you is always special too. This can also be as simple as a lifestyle photography session in your very own home or even an in studio lifestyle small family session. These are some of my most favorite and intimate settings for sessions. The place where all the love happens. Next thing to start thinking about is what to wear? This can be fun or can sometimes be a struggle. Don’t worry I got you!!! I love this part. Being that I am a Family and Lifestyle photographer I always look at style and color and textures, I love texture. Colors can be simple, earthy, or neutrals, or even bold colors. I usually talk with what color ideas you may have to start and find out what colors you may be drawn to. Then we can start looking at a color palette. Next we start running through our options from dresses to rompers to even a simple pair of jeans or pants. I suggest we aim to be comfortable and not miserable. I love to see textures in clothing , mixing up colors and adding layers always looks amazing and gives us different feels and changes up the look ever so lightly. I always try to think and say to clients what do we want to feel when we see our photos? I always like seeing textures flow in the wind so sometimes love a flowy dress or even longer skirts, and if its breezy or windy, I feel like they add to the mood and the feel in the photos we capture. Not a dress or skirt person? Not a biggie at all, sweaters with a blouse and cute jeans or leggings can also be great, or a jumper I feel like it creates a feel and a vibe. There really is so many options to do to style a great session. I have some awesome places that I suggest my clients take a look at. Some of these places are as simple and affordable as amazon, but also other stores you can actually shop in is H&M or Cotton on and Cotton on kids, even Target. For places you can order things from a favorite of mine is Vici, Jens Pirate Booty, Baltic Born, and Joyfolie and there really is tons more. Let me know if you need more to check out and I am happy to help. Look again at colors and palettes when adding the other outfits. I love earthy colors, neutrals, bold colors are also gorgeous, i love me some fall colors too. For in the home or in studio photo sessions I suggest lighter colors or earthy tones. Things to stay away from would be all white or all matching any colors, I do not suggest over using one color ever. If you have chosen 1 main color go to pinterest or even google and plug in that color with some others and see what palettes you can find or I can help send you some ideas of what looks good with that main color. We can go thru and find the colors and styles that mesh. We also definitely want to avoid loud clothing or bold neons and also clothing with logos. Hats are awesome and fun when they are the stylish ones. Making each outfit its own is awesome you just want outfits to mesh and flow together with the other colors or patterns. With patterns I suggest keeping it to a minimum and 1 pattern to be worn, it keeps it less busy. The styling is fun, and a pain. But that is what I am here for. I offer styling with all my sessions. There are so many vibes created with style and color and background, so many little things that contribute to the overall picture. I really love earthy and boho and even modern styles, and simple styles. There really is so many styles out there and so much we can do. For my clients, I also offer some dresses and also have some stuff for the kiddos in my client closet. I can also offer more stores or shops to shop at beyond whats named in this blog. I really love this stuff. If you have picked me you love my style so lets get to planning!

Once all that business is handled all there is left to do all you have to do is show up and start having fun!!! at location and have fun! The most most most important part here is have fun. Love on each other, make some memories, breathe in the moment and share your love, dance in the sunlight, hug on to one another, hold each others hand and hold onto the moment, pull one another in, tickle one another laugh in each other’s ears, whisper something funny and giggle away. There will always be some direction but really just snuggle up and snuggle in and look at each other and feel the moment together. The camera and photographer will be there but it is there to capture your story and your love. The session may not always be comfortable and can sometimes be a little awkward especially at first, but it will warm up a little after a few minutes. Try this: Think of a word before the session that describes what you wanna see when you picture your images on your walls, and think of that word during the session. No pressure for the kiddos to smile , or for you to face the camera with a perfect smile, just have fun and let the kids have fun, breathe in the moments and feel it.