One of the biggest concerns for family portrait sessions is... What to wear? So, I thought I would share a few tips for you to consider when preparing your look for your upcoming family session.
- Be Comfortable... You want to select outfits for your entire family that not only make you feel great, but that they also allow you to feel comfortable. You want to be able to move around easily, and be comfy whether you are sitting or standing. You will want to make sure you like the way you look in your outfit from head to toe and from every angle. With families we like to get many different looks and shoot from many different angles and of course to capture fun expressions and activities from you and your family.
- Coordinate, Compliment { but not so matchy, matchy}... In selecting the outfits for your entire family consider having your color scheme coordinate with each other rather than match to the point of looking like you are wearing a family uniform lol :) You want to blend together nicely, and give a complete look to your portraits for sure, but you don't have to all wear the same thing to do that. I find that if you start with the children's outfit first, that possibly have a pattern to them or multiple colors, you can then layout the rest of the families look by pulling out coordinating colors. One example would be... your daughter is wearing a floral print dress and then you pull out all the colors that are within the floral pattern to create the color scheme for the rest of the family. Another example would be... your son and hubby are wearing the same plaid shirt and the ladies of the family are wearing colors that go well and compliment to patterns that they men of the family are wearing. You can choose to all wear jeans, or you can mix that up too and have the ladies of the family wearing dresses and/or skirts while the men in the family are wearing jeans or slacks. Mixing it up while blending together is the best way to go. Colors, textures and even a few small prints always look great when the family blends together in a color scheme.
- Accessorize... accessories are a great way to change up your looks and add a little interest to your portraits. Consider adding a flower to your daughter's hair, a trendy fun hat for your son, or how about adding a scarf and/or jacket if it's cool enough outside.
- Props... are always fun to add into a session. Consider including vintage suitcases, old quilts (made by grandma or great grandma), old vintage chairs, or a couch out in the middle of a country field. The main idea here is to keep it simple, fun & unique for your family session.
- Patterns... are OK! really!! as long as they are used in moderation. Patterns work great if one or two people in the family are wearing them and they coordinate together well. Consider small floral prints, small checked prints, etc. Then pull the colors for the rest of the family out of the pattern outfits to give a complete look to your family.
- How will they be used?... think about your family images and how you will display them. Example... if you are wanting your family portraits displayed in your family room with a framed print or a collage of canvas gallery wraps, you may want to coordinate your families look to match the decor' of your home. However, if you are wanting whimsical fun images of your children playing, twirling & laughing to hang up in the play room or bedroom, you may want to go with a more playful clothing choice for you little ones.
A few things to avoid...
- Clothing with logo's, graphics, characters, and/or labels. These always distract from the main focus of your image... the family.
- Major hair changes before your session. It's best to not have a drastic change in your hair style prior to your family session. If you end up not happy with your hair you will not like your photos. So avoid getting a new color or cut within a week or two of your session.
- Everyone wearing white shirts. I love how white shirts and jeans look; however, in portraits the human eye will always view the lightest part of an image first and then see everything else in the image. So if you are all wearing white, that will be the first thing you notice about the image and not the faces in the image. Your portraits are all about YOU.
- Wearing white or light colored socks with jeans or dark colored pants. This is usually something that people tend to overlook, but it is worth remembering. You can have the best family portrait and be wearing those white or light colored socks with jeans and/or slacks and guess what?! those socks are going to stick out first. It will be distracting again from YOU, so be sure and put on dark colored socks or if it's warm outside, why not kick off the shoes & socks all together.
I hope this is helpful in helping you prepare for your upcoming family photo session. Remember, when you book your session here at SP, I will always work with you and help you with clothing, locations, props, etc. to get the images that you are wanting for your family. It's truly all about you and capturing the wonderful, amazing bond that you share as a family.
Love & Laughter -
Deanna
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