What to wear to your family session
Choosing clothing for your photo session can be a daunting task, but fear not! With a few simple guidelines, you can ensure that everyone looks their best and your photos turn out beautifully.
First and foremost, focus on finding clothes that fit well and flatter your body shape. Well-fitting clothing not only looks better but also helps you feel more confident during the shoot. Most importantly, you want your clothes to fit you well and be flattering to your body shape. Second to that is being coordinated to the others in your group.
So how do you do this? Here are some tips!
- Wear mostly solid coloured clothing. Big prints, stripes, busy patterns and vibrant colors can create a distracting effect in the photos. Solid colors create a harmonious look that allows your faces to be the focal point of the image.
- Choose low contrast outfits (all dark tones or all light tones) for everyone. Avoid pure white if you can. If you must wear white, choose light-colored bottoms as well.
- Choose only 2-3 colours for your group portrait. Pick a few colours (with similar tones & low contrast) that go nicely together and have everyone work within that colour palette. Don’t worry about “matching” each other… just think “looks nice together”.
- Consider your location/background when you choose your colours. Are you getting portraits done on the beach (blue tones) or out in nature with green/browns behind you? In the city? At night? Choose colors that will complement your surroundings.
- Textures are good, use bright colors only for accents. Sweaters or scarves and other textured clothing is great. Bright colors compete to be the main focus of an image, so use them sparingly, if at all.
- Bare skin attracts the eye. To keep the focus on your face, wear tops with sleeves or at least that cover the shoulders, and skirts to the knee or below. Bare skin will attract the eye and can reduce the effectiveness of your portrait. It also makes it easier for ladies to sit in various positions if they are not worrying about a very short skirt.
- Choose dark socks and shoes. When it comes to footwear, opt for dark socks and shoes to avoid drawing attention away from your faces. White or brightly colored shoes can be distracting and take away from the overall cohesiveness of the photo.
- Do your hair & make up the way you’d normally do it while wearing these clothes – no fancy up dos with jeans, no pony tails with evening gowns, etc. The best portraits will reflect who you are and bring out your best… You’ll like the photos better if they look like you. If you don’t normally wear make-up, you can still put a little lip gloss and foundation or cover up on if you have it, but it’s ok to come without make-up too.
Visit my family photography page to view some examples of how other families chose to dress for their outdoor photo session.
In a nutshell: Avoid clothing with obvious brands, logos, or lots of different patterns. Stick to mostly solid, muted colors like earthy tones, muted gem tones, and monochrome outfits to create a timeless look
