You wouldn’t know, but this Photo Session with Chantea started at 6:30 am. She found us on Instagram and called me wondering if we would be up for doing a photoshoot at this creepy abandoned factory she had found in town. Guess what we said? Yup, let’s do it! But because of her busy schedule and the fact that she’s a mom of 4 kids (no big deal), we had to start taking photos at 6:30 am. I think we can all agree that no matter how much of a morning person you are, it’s hard to look and feel amazing and fresh for a photo session this early. So here are a few key things that will help you prepare for an early morning photoshoot:

#1 Go To Bed Early

Going to bed early and having a good night of sleep will make a difference when you wake up the next day at 4 or 5 AM. Even if you can’t sleep until 10 or 11 pm, it’s important to just lay in bed a bit earlier than normal, maybe read a book, and definitely avoid tv or scrolling through your phone for another hour or two.

#2 Pre-Set Your Things

In the ice show (we were skaters with Disney On Ice for a while if you didn’t know), whenever we needed to change costumes really quickly, we would pre-set every little piece of the costume, so we could change as fast as possible. This applies to your morning! You don’t want to be looking around for your mascara or your clothes early in the morning. Prepare EVERYTHING you need the night before and pack it somewhere you won’t forget – by the door, for example!

#3 Eat & Drink Coffee

It might feel too early to eat breakfast, but if I were you, I wouldn’t skip it. Prepare something the night before, overnight oats are one of our favorites on-the-go breakfasts! And if you’re a coffee person, like we are, MAKE time to prepare + drink coffee. I don’t know about you, but if I don’t have my morning coffee, by 8 am I have a serious headache. So when Stephan and I have a sunrise shoot, one of us always responsible for making coffee to go. This is a big priority in our lives, lol!

#4 Set Several Alarms

Set a few alarms, maybe 3 minutes apart from each other. If you live with your partner, have him/her set an alarm as well! You never know with technology, something can always go wrong, and then you end up sleeping in until 10 am, or being woken up by your photographer calling you and wondering where you are!

#5 Know The Meeting Spot

Knowing EXACTLY where you’re supposed to meet your photographer will make everyone’s lives easier. Let’s be honest, our brains work slower in the morning, or most people’s brains do. We always send our couples a PIN location and a link to it using Google Maps, so there is no way we’ll miss each other!

A few more things:

• This gorgeous woman is going back to modeling! Go show her some love and head over to Chantea’s Blog! 
• We were also able to shoot Chantea and her husband, Michael, at Fresno State last year! The university was the place that they met, and where he proposed to her, right in front of the library. Check out this Photo Session HERE!
• Want to know what the best places to shoot around Fresno are? Check out my Top 10 Places!

And if you would like to chat and hear more about some of our favorite places for photoshoots, please contact us, we would love that!