Portrait Sessions: Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Choosing the wrong light for the room

The most frequent problem I see is a session planned around the hour that suits the calendar rather than the hour that suits the room. A kitchen that glows at ten in the morning can be flat and grey by two in the afternoon. Natural light is the whole method behind our portrait sessions, so it deserves a little scouting before anything is booked.

Walk through the space a day or two ahead and notice where the window light falls and when it softens. In mid autumn the sun sits low and the colour turns warm, which flatters faces, but it also moves quickly across a floor. A session that starts an hour late can lose the best corner of the house.

If you cannot visit the room at the planned hour, send us a few phone snapshots taken at that time. We would far rather adjust the schedule than fight an unfriendly room with artificial light.

• Check the room at the hour you plan to shoot
• Note which window gets direct sun and when
• Send phone snapshots if we cannot visit first

Dressing for the photograph instead of for yourself

People often buy something new for a portrait, and it shows. Stiff collars, unfamiliar shoes and a jacket that has never been sat in all announce themselves in the frame. A portrait should look like the person on an ordinary good day, not a stranger who borrowed their face.

Plain, comfortable clothing in muted colours works best, because it keeps attention on the face and hands. Strong logos and tight patterns fight for the eye and can look busy once printed. For families, avoid matching outfits exactly; colours that sit near each other look natural, while identical shirts look staged.

Bring one layer you can add or remove. A cardigan or work apron changes the mood of a picture without a full outfit change, and it gives us something real to work with.

• Choose clothes you already feel at ease in
• Keep colours quiet and patterns small
• Bring one extra layer for variety

Treating the session as a performance

Many sitters arrive believing they must pose, and the camera punishes that effort. A fixed smile held for a count of ten tightens the jaw and empties the eyes. The portraits people keep are nearly always the ones taken between the poses, when someone laughs at a remark or looks away to answer a child.

We talk throughout a session, and much of that talk has nothing to do with photography. Ask us about our own mistakes, tell us about the workshop or the garden, let the conversation wander. The camera is quiet and patient, and it waits for you to forget it.

If you feel awkward, say so early. Naming the discomfort usually dissolves it, and we can slow down, change the setup or simply take a break with a cup of tea.

Crowding the frame with the wrong background

A cluttered background is easy to overlook when you live with it. The pile of mail, the drying rack and the television glow all become permanent features of the picture. Equally, an overly tidy backdrop can erase the personality that makes a home or workplace worth photographing.

The aim is a background that tells the truth without shouting. A potter's shelves, a gardener's tool wall or a family's well-read bookcase give context. A hallway full of coats does not. We move small things during the session, but it helps if you have already thought about what matters in the space.

Decide beforehand what the picture should say about you or your work, then choose one or two objects that say it. Fewer, better-chosen details always read more clearly than a crowded shelf.

• Clear surfaces within sight of the camera
• Keep two or three meaningful objects in view
• Tell us what the portrait is meant to say

Planning too much, or too little, for groups

Family and community group sessions fail in two opposite ways. Some organizers leave everything open and arrive with six people, no plan and a restless child. Others script every pose in advance and exhaust everyone before the first frame. A sensible middle path serves a group much better.

Tell us who is coming, the rough ages and any physical needs, such as a chair for a grandparent or a quiet corner for someone who tires quickly. Settle the order beforehand so nobody waits in the cold. We usually begin with the full group while energy is high, then move to smaller combinations.

Allow more time than seems necessary. Rushed groups produce tense faces, while a relaxed half hour of slack often yields the one frame everyone asks to have printed.

Expecting the final selection to happen on the spot

Another mistake comes after the shoot. Some clients want to choose the finished portraits on the day, from the back of the camera screen. A small screen is a poor judge, and a decision made in the excitement of the session often differs from the one made a week later at the kitchen table.

Our photo editor sequences and selects the images after the session, and the choices are clearer with some distance. Take time to look at the set at home, ideally on a larger screen, and live with a few favourites before deciding which to print or frame.

If a particular frame matters, such as a portrait for a memorial or a milestone, mention it beforehand so we can make sure it is captured and treated with care.

• Review the set on a large screen at home
• Pick favourites after a few days
• Tell us in advance about any must-have frame