A Pre-Quince or Pre-Event Photography Session is scheduled months before your Quinceañera. You will get to do a few things that you may not have time for on the day of your quince, and it will help you get more comfortable around a camera and familiar with your photographer.
Posing for the Camera
Practice makes perfect and everyone like to be picture perfect, but that doesn't mean that you won't be nervous. We'll use your session to get to know each other a little better, get your nerves to settle down a bit and try different kinds of poses. Maybe you already posed in front of your mirror and you have a pose in mind that you would like to try? That's fine, let me know. We'll figure out what your comfortable with and which poses you lean the most towards.
You don't have to smile and look at the camera in every photo, but sometimes some girls get giggly and can't help but smile in every photo. Either way is fine as long as it is you, and your not trying be someone else. If you do this, you will start to feel uncomfortable and get more nervous, and you will lose all interest in continuing your session. So just be yourself, most of the best images come from the end of the session because as the session progresses you grow accustom to the camera and me as we talk and sometimes joke around.
Have multiple outfit Changes for you Pre-Quince Session
Most quinceañeras have at least two or more outfit changes during their party. You can use this session to get some photos of in your other outfits (and to wear your dress at least once more other then just for your quince). You chose those outfits for a reason so you should have a little extra fun in them.
Here, she chose to wear her quince dress, a denim dress, an all white outfit, another coral blouse, and her tennis uniform. We can also use this time to be a little more creative with your dress. You can include props from your favorite hobbies or sport and even include a pet. I think it would have been fun to get a couple of shots of her in her quince gown while on the tennis court, but it's not something that she wanted. She just wanted to hold off on wearing the dress until later in the day.
This one above I really wish had chosen to have a Pre-Quince Session. I love the boots and they look so great with her top, and her traditional dress was a surprise too.
I didn't see or know about these two outfits before hand, but I really wish I did. They were trying really hard to keep her surprise dance a secrete (and they succeeded). This is one of the things that your photographer needs to know about. I will go to your last couple of dance practices so I will know what is going to happen, and the best locations to take your photos from.
She only wore these two outfits for a short while during her dances and then she was back in her gown. So the only photos of her in these outfits are the ones taken during her dance. I can imagine her in both of these outfits somewhere on a ranch or with a horse.
Choose different locations for your session
Sometimes you can have your heart set on getting some photos at a certain location, but it's just to far from your venue or your day is just packed. Just use it for your pre-quince session, and go to the beach, the woods, a garden, a park, in the city or any place that has a special meaning to you. You have more freedom when choosing your location for you pre-quince session so make the most of it, and make it fun.
The first young lady above chose to go to the tennis court, the park, and then we went to a smaller park that has an old barn. The main reason that we chose the park was because the flowers were in full bloom, and we took advantage of that. We took photos in front of, next to, and under a large flower bush. Later we noticed that the flowers that had already fallen stained her WHITE PANTS pink where she sat on them. We learned our lesson, and I think she said that it did wash out, so it's OK. But we did get some great images that day, and by the day of her quince the flowers were all gone so we timed it right.
What to do with my pre-quince photos now?
There are plenty of things that you can do with your pre-quince photos. You can use then for your invitations, thank you cards, or get a canvas or frame to display at your quinceañera reception.
One of my favorite uses is for a guest book. You pick your favorite photos and I design a custom guest book with them. It could be anything from one image per page to multiple images, but there is always room for all of your guest signatures.