Deciding what to wear can be overwhelming for a group of people. Here is a simple guideline for dressing for a successful session.
What to do...
- Think about where these pictures will be hanging in your home... If you’re planning on a living room wall display and your living room is decorated in neutral tones, choose colors that will coordinate or maybe the accent color of your throw pillow or curtains.
- More is sometimes better. Use Sweaters, scarves, jewelry, and hats to create layers. This will add texture in your photos.
- Be comfortable! Pick something you love and add to it . Wear something you will not be subconsciously wondering if it shows any of your "flaws"... some shoots I may ask the family to act silly, run or even be a little flexible during posing.
- Shoes are a small thing but make a huge difference! A pair of sneakers mixed in with cute boots and dress shoes can be an eye sore in your photos. Try to stick with neutral shoes for the whole family.
What not to do...
- Don't stress, make your family look like your family. If your little girl never wears dresses then find something she is comfortable in. When kids are made to wear things they don't like, it shows in the photos. Everyone should have fun!
- Don't match. Leave the jeans and white t-shirts in the 80's and instead choose a color scheme and coordinate.
- Don't be afraid of patterns. Here, a little goes a long way. Plaids, polk-a-dots, florals and stripes can be overwhelming when all paired together but mixing in a few patterns here and there are perfectly acceptable. Choose your base solid color theme and accent with just a couple patterns (large patterns look best).
- Don't wear logos. As much as I love to wear my brand name shirts, a family portrait is not the place for advertisement. Avoid sports or brand logos or sayings across the front/back of your shirt.
Here is a link to one of my blogs where I discuss examples in detail...What to wear Blog(click here)
Here is a link to a board I created on Pinterest for family style sessions, I like to use these ideas during my shoots as well...
© Paula Lee Photography