What to wear….

You’ve scheduled your family pictures paid the deposit and now you’re left wondering…. What are we going to wear?

This is one of the most common questions I get when I’m helping clients prepare for their sessions, I wanted to share a few tried and true tips that pull through each time.

1. Choose more Classic pieces then trendy for your group

When you’re thinking about clothing choices if you’re trying to choose between really trendy and classic I would always lean more towards the side of classic. We all remember the iconic “80’s Glamour Shots” and might even have a few tucked away somewhere of ourselves or a family member. Some fun on trend pieces are fun to mix in with the group if you’re wanting to, but I would stay away from putting every single family member in the latest fashion of the season. There are some trends that will always come and go anyways. Just ten years ago it was seen as ideal to put everyone in the exact same outfit. Cue the jeans and white button up shirts on the beach. Or the black tops and khaki bottoms.  Now it’s seen as more ideal to choose a color palette with a couple different shades or colors and use this to coordinate everyone’s outfits from.

Which brings me to my next tip…

2. Select a color palette and coordinate outfits around it.

Think about the season and location that you’ll be having your session take place. Is it in the summer with lots of green and a field of wildflowers? Is this a fall session with the leaves changing colors in the trees? Use this information to help you select a color palette with 3-4 different colors and then build everyone’s outfits around that color palette. This creates a more coordinated look instead of an exact matching look. It also makes it easier when coordinating a large group if you have a few colors for everyone to select from. I would also suggest laying out everyone’s outfits in your immediate family beforehand. This will help you visualize what you feel like needs to be added or taken away from the set to create the look you want for your session.

3. Stay away from any type of Logos

One for sure rule of thumb is to stay away from any types of logos. Unless you’re shooting the images as a paid advertisement they are too distracting.

4. Choose “Just Right” amount of Patterns

I also get asked a lot about how much is too much when it comes to patterns, this is something you have to be careful about as well. Think of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Too Much, Too Little and Just Right. You don’t want the patterns to take over the image and become a distraction but 10-20% of the group wearing some type of simple pattern can add some interest and layers to the image. Just make sure the patterns are adding interest to the image and not taking away from it.

5. Say YES to layers

Along with patterns, layers look great! Cardigans, blazers, scarves, statement jewelry pieces, patterned or colored shirts peaking out from underneath an outerwear piece all add to the image. Think of these as little detail pieces that you can use to help pull more of the coordinating color palette into the image from everyone’s outfit.

 

 

6. Choose what you already Love!

The last point I can’t stress enough, you need to love the outfit you choose for pictures. If you don’t feel comfortable in the outfit already you won’t suddenly feel great in it during your session. When you feel confident and beautiful it shows through in your images! Find something you love and have fun!

I’ll see you at your session 🙂