{Top 10 tips on dressing for your Photo Session!}
‘What should we wear for our photo session?’ It’s the most common question asked by Mums before their family session so here are my favourite tips to help you in advance of your session.
1
Mum, don’t leave yourself until last! It easily happens when you have to get clothes ready for every other member of the family too! Choose your outfit first (just aim for a colour or set of colours that are fairly accessible to Dad and the children as well). Chances are, due to the wide choice and lower cost of children’s clothing, a last minute shop for them will be quicker and less painful on your wallet as opposed to a last minute trip for you.
2
Choose around three colours for your group portrait. Choose colours with similar harmonious tones that go nicely together and have everyone work within that colour palette. For example: tan, a lighter olive green, and denims.
3
Choose colours that work in harmony with your environment. I am writing this in the Autumn time so if I were choosing a colour palette for every bodies clothes I would go for something that worked in soft harmony with the oranges, golds and yellows of autumn. Notice I am not actually saying which colours in particular as I do not ever want anyone turning up to a session with me thinking they have got it all wrong!
4
Mix your colours up a bit. Once you have decided on your palette of colours, mix them up a bit. Not everyone has to be wearing all of those colours in their outfit. But try not to add in extra colours at the last minute. It is very easy for someone in your group to grab a random scarf or change their shoes at the last minute to suit the changing weather, whilst forgetting about the original purpose of planned outfits.
5
You don’t all need to be completely ‘matchy-matchy’. There are a few tricks to matching everyone up in a relaxed manner. You can aim for different shades of the same colour. Alternatively, have one person wearing a patterned outfit (perhaps Mum or the littlest member of the family) then pick out different colours in the pattern and distribute them unevenly for everyone else’s outfits. Or try working with contrasting colours or a wider variety of neutrals.
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6
Keep the focus on you and your families beautiful faces. Avoid distracting colours, busy patterns and/or logo’s. The idea being that the photo session is for you and your family. This is not an ad campaign for your favourite football team or any particular brand of clothing (sorry!). Patterns are fine but choose soft patterns with muted or very harmonious colours. You can also use very regular, simple patterns such as a soft plaid shirt or a check, soft fine stripes (no wide ones ladies!). A ditsy print dress also works very well as it’s a very soft pattern.
7
All formal or all casual? Make sure everyone sticks to the same type of clothing. Mum in 6 inch heals in a park alongside Dad in his wellies just doesn’t really work unless you want your family portrait to highlight you personality differences as a family. So make sure you have put some thought into what kind of shoes everyone will wear and wether you are going to have coats or no coats. Sometimes you can get away with no coats if everyone pops an extra layer underneath!
8
Make sure your children like their outfits! I have spent many pounds sterling in past years on lovely knit jerseys or soft fluffy winter hats for photography sessions with my children. I made the mistake of introducing them to these said new outfit on the morning of the session and they have simply refused to wear them! So introduce the clothing to them before the session and make a big fuss about how lovely they look in it. On the morning of the session make getting dressed fun and try not to rush this process at the last minute!
9
Wear clothes that genuinely flatter you and show some shape! In the Autumn it is easy to hide behind a big chunky coat and a big thick scarf, so much so, that you begin to look bigger than you actually are. Even if you are not feeling like you are the size you would like to be, it doesn’t matter what kind of shape you are, just aim to show some shape. It might mean choosing a more fitted or longer lined coat. It might be that you choose an A-line top to hide a wobbly tummy with some leggings to show off your legs. Whatever it is you choose to wear, don’t be afraid to show some shape!
10
Be comfortable and happy. Above and beyond any other tip, being comfortable and happy needs to be everyones main priority on the day of your photo session. If this means throwing all the rules out the window and turning up in contrasting brights and mismatched children’s shoes because your two year old woke up twice in the night and the dog hid your car keys, then so be it. Be happy and enjoy being with the people you love on the day of your photo session as the whole point of being together in that one picture frame is because you love and adore each other, no matter what you are all wearing. If you are not comfortable or happy it will show in the photographs.
If your still stuck for ideas and you need some visual inspiration then head over here: http://www.pinterest.com/sarahangelphoto/what-to-wear-this-autumn/
