I don’t know why you would, but if you want to make your photographer cry, I can tell you how. It’s a well kept secret. Or actually, maybe it isn’t? I don’t know. But if you want to reduce your light chaser to a sobbing mess, wear patterned, fluro rainbow clothes in different styles. It’s that simple! And now you know. Bye! 😉
Seriously though, what to wear at a photo session? This gets asked a lot, and in my booking information sheet, I send some visuals of family outfits that look well put together. Why does this matter? Because busy and or clashing clothing take focus from faces, and this is legitimately a problem with family photography and portraiture. It results in imagery that just doesn’t quite work, but you can’t put your finger on why. By all means, dress how you want, but it’s worth bearing in mind.
It is completely unnecessary to buy new clothes for photos sessions and one of my pet peeves is when people feel that they need to buy new outfits AND pay their photographer. Who can afford to do that? No, with some simple refining of your family’s favourites, we can have everyone dressed in a photogenic way in no time. Read on!
Personally, I always dress my family in clothes we like, in simple, coordinated colours and denim, not matching but coordinated (there is an important difference!). In this little session I did in my bed, you can see I’ve chosen blues and pinks, plus some khaki and grey so we’re not all matchy matchy. It looks good, coordinated but not matching, subtle enough that you don’t realllllyyyy notice the clothes at all, which is of course what we want, unless we’re shooting fashion! It’s not boring, and there are pops of colour, and some fave handmade items and nothing new. It’s very us, and very photo worthy. That is your aim!
Let’s see some more.
It wouldn’t be fair to my lovely clients to show sessions where the outfits didn’t work, so I can’t show you what I feel isn’t good, but I can show you a few that I love, that suit the wearers and make great imagery.
The Wong family went with grey, blues, white and some black and it looks great. Classic, but lovely. It was a cool winter’s day, so everyone is dressed a little warmer, and age appropriate, too. Miss 5 actually chose her own outfit. Well done, Elouise! Choosing coordinated needn’t be boring or lacking in originality.
Jane and fam have kept it simple and summery, with mama and daughter in pretty coordinated summer dresses, and Daddy in a tee. This is a great example of everyone’s clothing coordinating in more than colour but style too. You can also see how patterns work, which is well in this case, though I never feel they look quite as good in black and white. Everyone is comfortable and the clothing is not overpowering.
At the other end of the spectrum, is this wintery session with the McCarney fam. Ali is knitwear designer, Boris & Stasha, and made all the knitwear you see, as well as designed most of it, too. She is incredibly stylish, obviously, and put together these outfits that again feel coordinated without being matching and certainly not boring! She didn’t buy anything special, but rather chose favourite pieces. This is an example of clothing really working for the location style and colour wise, too. You can find her and her handknit amazingness on Etsy, Ravelry, Facebook and Instagram.
Last example is Simone, Jarrad, Elanie and Cameron during their autumn family session. Simone did buy a new piece for the girls each – the playsuit and skirt – and then mixed in wardrobe staples and her favourite floaty top and jeans. The result is effortless perfection that suits them down to the ground.
A final word about black: it’s my favourite too, don’t worry, but it can come across a little harsh, particularly in natural settings. If someone is head to toe in black, it can look as though their head is floating. Bear this in mind, my fellow black lovers!
Ultimately, you want to wear something you’re comfortable in, and feel good in, because feeling uneasy translates in imagery so keep it simple and don’t overthink it. Choose a few of the simpler family favourites, add some staple pieces like denim with them and you’re done!
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