Thanks so much for booking your family session with us! If this is your first group shoot, you may have a few questions before we start, such as what to wear. Here are some tips I’ve found to be pretty great ahead of our session!
What to wear:
- For the most part (depending on weather!), our session will likely be at an outdoor location. We’ll have 60-90 minutes at a location(s) of your choice. Comfort is key – if you feel comfy and natural, you’ll look comfy and natural (and not like you’re worried about those heels digging holes into the grass at every turn!)
- You’ll want to start thinking of clothes shortly after we book our session. You may think certain clothes will fit your little ones, or want to save that one special dress, but come the day of, you may run into issues such as clothes no longer fitting, or an item being dirty. Although I can take out the odd stain with Photoshop, it’s much easier for everyone if all parties involved are wearing properly fitted, clean clothes 🙂
- Matchy-matchy doesn’t translate well to groups. You’ll either look like you’re all wearing a uniform, or body language such as hugs and embraces will be more difficult to see if everyone’s all in the same colour! Your best bet is to choose one or two colours, and have everyone wear something that fits this theme.
- Be aware of your surroundings – if your location is full of greenery, you don’t want to become a chameleon!
- Another good tip is to look at your home decor. Brights? Neutrals? You’ll be provided with a mixture of colour and black and white images, but if you’re going to frame and hang these portraits on your walls, you’ll want to make sure the colour of your clothes goes with the colour scheme of your home.
- Try to avoid all white or all black. These colours tend to over or underexpose, and it’s easy to lose detail with these extremes.
- Mixing textures is fun! A nicely fitted shirt or dress is lovely, but adding accessories or textures like scarves, blankets, or belts help add interest to the images. This tends to work best with plain colours – if you have a pattern, sometimes less is more.
- Try to stay away from large logos – they tend to dominate the shot. Same with if the little ones want to wear a shirt with their favourite character on it – Batman may be the coolest thing in the world right now, but in two or three years, your child will likely have moved on!
- If you are wearing patterns, try to make sure nothing clashes.
- Feel free to bring props, toys, or anything else that says you. It’s often helpful to have familiarities, especially when it comes to little ones, to help keep them engaged for an hour, and if you’re fans of reading, board games, etc. feel free to bring anything that expresses your personality!
- Remember the weather! It could rain, get very windy, or snow – it’s always good to come prepared with layers (they can be added or removed, for variety as well as for changes of weather!) and perhaps an umbrella.
- Relax and have fun! I love to have adventures with all my clients and give them a happy, memorable, fun experience in addition to the photos. I look forward to working with you!
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