We are very often asked by our clients if they should tan before their session. Our simple answer is absolutely not!

Now, you may not necessarily like that answer, you also may ask why. You may even think that tanning is harmless. Even telling yourself a spray tan will help you not look so pale.. etc.. But, we love your natural skin tone, and our camera does too!

We’ve Got It Dialed In!

So, let’s take a deeper dive into the reasons why we don’t recommend tanning. Between our equipment, lighting, and editing style a fake tan (i.e. spray tan, tanning lotions, etc.) can tend to make your skin look very orange, and no one wants that! Even the best of the best spray tans or tanning lotions can cause some wacky skin tones in-camera. Especially when it isn’t applied evenly. Unless you want to run the risk of looking like a cast member of Willy Wonka, we say skip the fake tans. This goes for tanning beds too! We’ve also seen clients come in with orange palms from tanning lotions. We have seen it all, and highly recommend avoiding it!

We have also had several issues in the past years with ruining furniture or bedding. Where women who get spray tans too close to their session can end up staining our furniture or bedding. Even their lingerie. When you spend a lot of time and money on a session we don’t want stains to ruin it.

If you are truly terrified about looking like Casper in your images, we promise to give you a nice natural glow. We would rather add a little ‘warmth’ to your images with our tried and true methods than potentially have to reschedule your session because your skin tone was off. We get it – you want to look like a bronzed beauty for your shoot, but in reality, your pasty skin will look much more natural and beautiful without the fake tan! You can trust us on this one.

What If I Have Harsh Tan Lines?

Try your absolute best to stay out of the sun, like seriously. This is the best thing you can do for your skin. Try and avoid the sun as much as possible leading up to your session. Try not to schedule your photos immediately after coming back from a beach vacation, a cruise, or your best friend’s wedding where you were outside all weekend!

We do have the ability to edit out harsh tan lines. Any additional retouching beyond our normal can be added on for an additional fee, however, we simply recommend trying your best to stay out of the sun!

Hair & Makeup: Ashley Tolman Beauty

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