What do we wear?!

 

You are excited about your upcoming session, it seems to coincide with nap and feeding schedules….but then you realize: what are we all going to wear?!? Here are few basic portrait rules to start off with…

 

• You can’t go wrong with solid colors 

• Let’s leave that tee shirt (cartoon/sports team, etc, etc) at home or save for a couple of pictures at the end 

• Larger than life hairpieces may distract (or attract other little hands!) 

 

So where do you go from here?! Some traditional portrait wardrobe rules are made to be bent, or even broken (though not necessarily the ones above!!), so how do I know what to bend or break entirely?

 

It depends on the type of session you will be having...

 

The Star of the Show

 

If most of the pictures will be centered around one cute little family member, than its okay to play up the patterns and colors! Individual shots give your child a chance to show his or her personality through fashion like no other. Without the concern of clashing or competing patterns that exists in a family shot, the possibilities are limitless! So bring out that tutu she will wear for days in a row (and that you now loathe) or those rain boots he demands to wear even in 90 degree weather – and we can capture something bold, memorable and no-holds-barred fun! You may be tired of those accessories now, but you’ll look back years from now and chuckle about how they played a starring role in their lives as kids! 

 

I do recommend you steer away from tee-shirt type fabrics, however, if possible. Even the newest of tees still can look dingy or show every piece of lint out there. Other fabrics usually provide some unique texture that will translate much better to the image. All that being said, if your little one is obsessed with Elsa and has a favorite Frozen tee that she can’t live without, as a special treat at the end of the session we can let her sport it and strut her stuff!

 

Family Sessions

 

Coordination, not just matching, is the way to go when dressing for a family portrait or even just the children. Everyone in white, or navy polos and khakis all around can look nice and is easy to pull together, but creating a coordinated look between all family members is not as hard as it seems, and really can create a look that’s both pleasing and original. 

 

Here’s the trick: choose items for the entire family as if you were creating one outfit. If all of your choices were somehow on one person, would the result be pleasing, colorwise? This means it IS possible to coordinate AND break away from the monochrome madness! Choose one patterned item (for example a print dress for your daughter or a plaid top for your son) and the select the rest of the family’s clothing from colors within that pattern. That doesn’t mean you can’t have multiple patterns on family members, just make sure the patterns don’t clash and would be pleasing if those members were right next to each other.

 

Want even MORE advice about what to wear?  Click below for this great resource:

 

please tell me...what to wear for extraordinary photo sessions