Not all but the majority of women rarely like photos of themselves, it's just a fact!  We are our own worst critic no matter how many people tell you that you look great, you see the smallest little thing that may not even be there but oh it is to you.  This makes getting photos of yourself you not only like but LOVE a challenge.  Now of course the photographer plays a HUGE roll, don't get me wrong; it's not all on you but bottom line if you are tired the day of your photos, don't like your hair & makeup, hate your outfit and are just generally not thrilled; it's going to come through on the photos.  I am soooo lucky that I have not run in to this even once yet mostly because people are happy the big day for photos has finally arrived but also because setting the mood of the day starts with the moment you wake up.  DO....wear something that you feel great in, not something that someone else thinks looks great but you secretly hate.  If you don't like your outfit, it's going to show; trust me!  Further to that, an outfit can look great one day and bad the next, point in case....I have a pair of jeans I just bought in February.  I never wear jeans but wanted something other than dress pants or yoga pants to wear out.  I also had a baby 9 months ago and am almost 38 years old so standing in the dressing room with a pair of jeans put the fear of God in me!  But they came home with me and those jeans one day (when I am in a great mood) look fantastic!  I can honestly look in the mirror and go, not bloody bad for almost 38 and a 9 month old baby!  Then the next day, not enough sleep and cranky girl syndrome those same jeans can draw out "what was I thinking, someone is going to try and harpoon me thinking I am a whale"!  Seriously, wear what you feel GREAT in that day and know that you look great and you are going to have fun and get AMAZING photos!  Keep everything light and happy.  This is going to be a great day so give yourself plenty of time and don't rush.  Let your photographer guide you but please BE YOURSELF!  This is where in my opinion the whole Lifestyle Photography "thing" has taken right off.  We all know the structured portrait taken at a local department store and everyone is all matchy matchy, you have 1 or 2 poses and honestly if the background was changed you could place this photo in any given decade over the last 30 years easily!  Don't get me wrong, there is nothing at all wrong with having a "proper" completely posed photo in your arsenal but that's all you can get at a department store, nothing to show your lifestyle, emotions and who you and your family truly are!  I will always take some standard "posed" traditional photos as they absolutely do serve a purpose but there will be 10x more of true lifestyle ones when I am done which is why I do not do any studio work!  Let your true self come through and I guarantee you will have photos you love....walk along holding hands telling of something funny and right there is true emotion for the camera!  Let the kids play!  If I sit a child down and say look and the camera and smile we are going to need allot more than an hour to get a bunch of great pics.  We will get those ones but the ones that will melt your hear are going to be the spontaneous ones where the child is free to play and have fun and forget I am there.  For a full list of DO's and DONT's leading up to a shoot, head over to my FB Page www.facebook.com/christinabethlehemphotography and click on the drop down (7) and there you will find a note/document with tips for a photoshoot.  It covers everything from men's shaving/haircuts to what you can do about glare if you wear glasses and want to wear them in the photos!  Hope you found this helpful and as always...follow, share and comment on the blog.  I also look forward to answering any questions you may have :)