Use it as an excuse to dress up
These photos will be hanging on your wall for many years to come, so I want you to look at them and remember how amazing you felt during your session, and putting on a beautiful dress, or your new favourite pants is a great way to feel amazing!!
Don’t feel like you need to spend a fortune on your outfits though, I can help you put together great outfits at any price point.
Coordinate, but don't match
Long gone are the days of family sessions with matching white shirts and black pants. You’ve seen them, right?
I suggest avoiding matchy-matchy, and picking 3-4 neutral colours as a base, have each outfit pick from those.
I suggest starting with one outfit, and let’s face it, it’s usually mums! Is there a dress you love, or a colour that looks amazing on you? Start with that and we will work from there.
The other option is to start with one patterned item (I’ll get back to patterns in a bit), and use the most prominent colours from there to pick the rest of your palette.
Pick your colour scheme depending on your location, so if you’re heading to the beach, you could wear softer tones that match the colours that you would see at the beach!
Here are some examples of colour schemes that work well
Earthy Tones
Wear warm tones such as:
- Maroon and Brown
- Tan and Denim
- Cream, Navy, Tan
- Denim, Crimson, Mustard
Vibrant Colours
Try the following sample combinations to set apart your subjects from the surroundings:
- White and Blush
- Teal and Blush
- White, Tan, Light Blue
- White, Navy, Yellow
.
Light & Bright
- Teal and Orange
- White and Tan
- Green, Yellow, Blue
- White, Tan, Light Blue
Christmas Season
- Glitter and White
- Crimson, Tan, Blue
- Green, Rose, Copper
.
Need a place to start?
Take a look through the Client Closet
Now back to patterns. My best advise is keep it simple! Pick only one patterned item, and avoid overly busy patterns. Also keep the accessories on the family member wearing the patterned item nice and simple too.
Avoid anything too small – like a tight stripes – as these can cause distortion in your images.
With saying all this though - rules were made to be broken, so if you have an outfit idea that goes against these tips, let me know and we can chat through your options.
Feel free to send me through your planned outfits if you're feeling unsure of them, or ask for some more help, I am always happy to help out wherever I can.
most importantly I want you to feel comfortable during your session, if you're not into matching outfits and want to wear something that really represents your family, go for it!!
