Picking your wardrobe for your family shoot…
I receive so many questions about dressing for a shoot and hope that this little guide will clarify a few things. Clothing absolutely plays a role in the success of your shoot so here are a few ideas to help manage that…
My style is very clean, clear and fresh. I love to style and plan shoots, where I suggest clothing and often bring things for clients to wear. I also love it when people bring their own plan along to capture personality and their place in time. We can talk about all of this. Just let me know what you are thinking or bring it all along on the day. In a full shoot we have plenty of time to try things out.
Where are you thinking of having your pictures hung at the end of all this? If you have a beautiful pale blue and cream, Nordic inspired living area then your kids dressed as Disney Princesses and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will probably not add to the tranquility of your living space. Be careful with sports style clothing – it’s great for a few shots to capture your family’s interests at a time, but not for a whole shoot.
In the nicest way possible, I suggest that you consider your home as part of the family – as family photography is considered an art form these days, make sure your art says want you want it to.
Choose a color palette. Remember that you are also going to change a couple of times during the course of the shoot but it’s a great plan to start off with everyone looking like they belong together, without it being overdone. A few great examples we have seen – pale blue, indigo, cream and another strong, bright colour like red or emerald; taupe and cream with chocolate and pale pink; pale grey with black and white – lovely for a few classic black and white shots Different bright shades (especially works well on dark backgrounds and location shoots) Lots of people like to have a few shots of the classic jeans and white shirts and that’s fine – but don’t make that the only thing you bring along or it will be a little dull. Studio shoots are lovely for the gorgeous lighting and skin tones and a very plain outfit like this brings out those things, but it is also nice to have some personality in there too. White not the most flattering for everyone so if you are following the cool, calm, pale mantra you may want to go for something like pale blues and creams which flatter skin tones more.
Wear things you are happy and comfortable in. The hardest thing for some people (dads!) in front of the camera is to relax, so being uncomfortable is not going to help that at all. Make sure, if you have recently had a baby, that you aren’t trying to squeeze in to your skinny jeans after a week. It would be a mean photographer that didn’t shoot round tummies for the first couple of months! When you have rifled through the family wardrobes, throw it all on the sofa and think about anything which really glares out of place. If you are doing bright funky and clashing for a set of shots then keep a mix of prints in – for your child. A group of adults in different prints comes across as a jumble sale and usually results in people ordering a lot more black and white prints! Having said that, please throw come color and design in there, just make sure you like the mix before you bring them all along.
Kids in cartoons can be cute, to capture their interests at a point in time – but think about the difference between holding up a shirt on a hanger and sitting wearing it in a group, with someone’s arm around you, facing slightly to the side… all of which will squash, distort and obscure the character on the front. I’d suggest using your judgment, and definitely don’t bring all character clothing. Whilst I personally don’t see anything wrong with pictures being “of a time” I think that it’s very hard to out-personality Tom & Jerry or Shrek or Tinkerbell in each and every photograph.
Accessories and make up make all the difference. Bring along some great pieces to really set off the clothes. Sparkly clean wedding rings look lovely in close ups of babies and kids; while we are on hands, then nice nails are an asset too. We definitely see the difference when people have spent a little time on make up – nothing too heavy, but it’s a great idea to look more as if you are going for dinner than popping the children on the school bus. Unless you are incredibly dynamic in the mornings and look like a glamour-puss at that time and then go for it, by all means! Give yourself some options. It’s better to have the clothes along on the day than wish you had brought them, and wardrobe changes liven things up and generate new ideas in a session. People rarely wear everything they bring, but they are always happy they had the choice.
One more thing – if you like to pin – and even if you would just like a peek – here is my pinterest board on this very topic.
Looking forward to see you all looking wonderful…
Gen
