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Everyone needs their picture taken, even those who don't like being in front of the camera. You can't always choose your subject, so be flexible and patient. Go with the flow. Try different lighting, different backgrounds, and multiple poses to give your subject the best results.

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It's important to get your subject to relax and be comfortable during the photo session. Sometimes this can be challenging, but even words of encouragement can go a long way. Having fun and continually telling your subjects what poses and expressions are working or not is essential.

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While your backdrop influences your picture, focus more on capturing the essence of the subject - the true emotion, real smiles, and candid moments.

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Make them laugh! Unless you're working with a serious theme, smiles are the best expressions to wear in photos. Make sure you get your subjects smiling with their whole face, and not just their mouth. The key to this is inciting a genuine laugh.

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With groups, recommend your subjects to coordinate their clothing, without all having to wear the same thing. A few complementary colours work better than all matching to achieve a natural look. See image a) above, for the fashionable family.

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If your portrait session is a large group (8 or more), where you will have numerous sittings, it's good to have a plan. If it changes a little, that's okay, but going in with a schedule in mind really helps to keep things organized!

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Flash or no flash outdoors? The dreaded question, but I love both! Flash sometimes gets a bad rep and people want to only shoot natural light outdoors. However, I feel its important at each outdoor session to work with both. See image b) above for a flash portrait and c) for a natural light portrait; both beautiful in their own light.

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If you're shooting outdoors, pay attention to the time of day. When I shoot an outdoor wedding, timing isn't an option and I often have to work with harsh midday sun - not ideal. If I could choose the perfect outdoor times on a sunny day, it would be what I call the "Magic Hours." In the summer season this is just after sunrise (6 to 8 AM) or at sunset (6-8 PM). At this time, the lighting is perfect as the sun is low, soft and complimentary.

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Lastly, always come prepared for every shoot. This may seem like a no-brainer, but depending on the photo shoot, having extra batteries, chargers, duct tape, umbrellas, make-up, blankets, props, etc. can often save the day :)