Portrait sessions are different from headshots or events in one important way: there’s no external reason driving the shoot. No job application, no wedding, no work event. You’re doing it because you want images of yourself, or someone you love, that actually feel like you. That freedom is brilliant, but it also means people often turn up without much of a plan, simply because nobody’s told them one is useful.

Here’s what actually helps a portrait session go well, based on the sessions that consistently produce the images people love most.

Decide what these photos are actually for

This sounds obvious, but it changes almost everything about how a session should run. A portrait session for:

A milestone birthday or personal celebration tends to work best with warmer, more relaxed styling, think softer light, genuine laughter, maybe a location that means something to you.

A creative or artistic portfolio benefits from bolder choices, stronger poses, more dramatic lighting, outfit changes that show range.

A gift for a partner or family member usually calls for simplicity, clean backgrounds, natural expressions, images that will still feel timeless in ten years rather than tied to a passing trend.

Building a personal or professional online presence (which overlaps with our dedicated personal branding photography) needs images that work across multiple crops and platforms: square for Instagram, wide for a website banner, portrait for LinkedIn.

Telling me which of these applies before the session means we plan the right kind of shots, rather than defaulting to a generic mix that doesn’t quite serve any of them well.

What to wear, the advice that actually holds up

Most “what to wear for a photoshoot” advice is either too vague (“wear something that makes you feel confident”) or too rigid (a list of specific colours that ignores your actual style). Here’s what genuinely makes a difference:

Solid colours photograph better than busy patterns. Fine stripes, small checks and bold prints can create a strange visual buzzing effect known as moiré, especially in video or high-resolution stills. Solid or subtly textured fabrics are far more forgiving.

Bring more than one outfit. Even a simple change (swapping a jacket, undoing a top button, switching from heels to bare feet) creates real variety in your gallery without needing a full costume change. Most sessions comfortably allow for two or three looks.

Think about your session length and location together. A one-to-two-hour studio session with multiple backdrops suits more dramatic outfit changes. An outdoor session is more about layering: a coat you can remove, a scarf you can drop, rather than several complete changes.

Iron or steam everything the night before, not the morning of. It sounds trivial, but creases show up far more clearly on camera than they do to the naked eye, and rushing this before you leave adds stress you don’t need.

If in doubt, choose what feels like you, not what you think looks good in photos. The portraits people end up loving most are rarely the most “on trend”, they’re the ones where the person looks unmistakably like themselves.

Studio vs. outdoor, how to actually choose

Both work well, and the right choice depends on what you want the finished images to feel like, not which is “better” in the abstract.

Studio sessions give you full control over light, background, and mood, regardless of weather or time of day. They tend to suit portraits with a cleaner, more classic or dramatic look, the kind of image that will still feel relevant in years to come, without a specific location dating it.

Outdoor and location sessions bring in natural texture, movement and a sense of place: a specific part of Liverpool that means something to you, golden hour light, genuine environment rather than a backdrop. They’re more weather-dependent, and the finished images will always carry a slightly more “of this place, of this moment” feeling, which some people love and others prefer to avoid.

If you genuinely can’t decide, a hybrid session, starting in the studio and moving outside, or vice versa, is often the best of both, and something we can plan for in advance.

How to actually relax in front of the camera

This is the question I get asked more than almost anything else, usually from people who describe themselves as “not photogenic.” In my experience, over years of doing this, that essentially never means what people think it means. Almost everyone photographs better once they stop thinking about the camera. A few things that genuinely help:

Move rather than pose. Static, held poses tend to look stiff, because they are stiff. Nobody naturally holds a pose for more than a second in real life. Walking, turning, adjusting your jacket, laughing at something, these produce far more natural results than “stand here and smile.”

Talk during the session. Some of the best portraits happen mid-sentence, not mid-smile. If you’re someone who finds silence in front of a camera awkward, tell your photographer, a good session should feel more like a conversation with a camera nearby than a formal sitting.

Do a “warm-up” set you don’t expect to love. The first few minutes of any session are often the most self-conscious ones, simply because you haven’t settled in yet. Treat the first handful of shots as a warm-up rather than the final result, and you’ll notice yourself visibly relaxing within a few minutes.

Bring someone with you if it helps, especially for a first session. Having a friend or partner in the room (even just chatting from behind the camera) takes a surprising amount of pressure off for a lot of people.

What a session actually includes

Portrait sessions start from £175 for a 1-2 hour session, with multiple looks and backgrounds available, and finish with high-quality digital delivery. A non-refundable £25 booking fee secures your date and is deducted from your final session cost, and this is one of the sessions you can book online instantly, without needing to go back and forth over email first.

Choosing your final images

Once your session is done, you’ll get a proofing gallery to look through, this usually lands within 24-48 hours. A few honest tips for this stage, since it trips people up more than the shoot itself:

Don’t judge images at thumbnail size on your phone in poor light. Small, low-quality previews flatten expressions and exaggerate tiny details that disappear at full size. Look through the full gallery on a bigger screen before deciding on favourites.

Ask someone else’s opinion, but only one person’s. A second pair of eyes is genuinely useful, since we’re all bad judges of our own faces in photos. More than one opinion tends to produce decision paralysis rather than clarity.

Trust your gut reaction on first pass. The image you keep coming back to, even if you can’t quite explain why, is usually the right one, overthinking a shortlist for too long rarely improves the final choice.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a portrait session take?
Most sessions run 1-2 hours, which is enough time for a proper warm-up, multiple looks, and a relaxed pace rather than rushing through poses.

Can I bring my own props or outfit changes?
Absolutely, props, outfit changes and personal items that mean something to you are all welcome and often make for the most memorable images in the gallery.

What if I don’t like how I look in most photos?
This is genuinely one of the most common things people say before a session, and it’s rarely still true by the end of it. A relaxed, conversational approach to shooting, rather than static posing, changes this for the vast majority of people.

Can I get a mix of studio and outdoor shots in one session?
Yes, this can usually be arranged, particularly if discussed in advance so the timing and locations can be planned properly.

How soon will I see my photos?
You’ll get a proofing gallery to choose your favourites from within 24-48 hours of the session, with final edited images following once your selections are confirmed.