GanderStickman One of the things to I go to great lengths to do is to get to know the person or people that I am going to be taking pictures of.  Most people hate to have a picture taken of themselves.  Hate is a strong word and my aim to to turn that around at least to like if not love ...

In order to do that we have to make a connection and to do that I need to get to know you.  

The 5 simple questions I always ask are as follows 

2014-02-09 11.10.27User comments 1. What are you going to do with these pictures once we've done them
    ... if I know what will happen to them I can bear in mind the wall they will take pride of place on when I shoot them.

2. What part of yourself do you like and dislike

    ... sounds a bit personal but I need to know if you do or don't like a part of yourself and if possible why.  It might be that you haven't been told to pose properly and are therefore quite conscious of one key thing.  If I can I'm going to get you to like all of yourself by the time we've finished.

3.  Are there any games or hobbies to include in the shoot.   

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    ... I am trying to capture the true you so if you play the guitar bring it out, if as a family to like to run around in circles playing tag ( and there is enough room ) let's do that to

4. When was the last time a picture was taken of you that you liked and why did you like it.
   ... most people have a picture of themselves that they really like.  In most cases it's a grab shot from a holiday or party rather than a posed shot from a wedding or other event.  It's because they don't like to be over posed, my job is to pose you so it looks natural 

5. What are you thinking of wearing and what is the colour scheme.  
  ... This a provides a bit more insight into you but it allows me to provide advice on what is best to wear when.  I shoot a lot of my portrait sessions in your own home so you can get changed as many times as you like that way you are going to feel comfortable and at ease.

All of these help me to know a bit about you but also help to put you at ease.  If you go into the shoot having had some discussion and understand the process a little then once the first 10 or 15 mins are out of the way and we are all a bit warmed up you will start to enjoy the process and once that happens the magic starts.