Five Tips on What to Wear
One of the biggest questions on our minds while planning to capture a moment in our families history on photo is this: "What should we wear?" Another close second may follow: "What colours should we chose?" Which get our mental wheels turning... "What do we have that coordinate well together?" "What looks good, or what do I wear most?"
I'll give you five tips here that will hopefully help to simplify the choices and make preparing easier.
1... bear in mind the Environment the Session will be in...
Think about where you'd like the session to be and what the surroundings will be. As a general rule for lighter backgrounds, lighter tones are suitable. For darker backgrounds, pick tones that blend well. (See sample 2 bellow)
2... Focusing on coordination, not so much on matching...
Family photos look great with coordinated colours. Matching outfits can be nice, but with that it can become overpowering. Coordination breaks things up, creates a warm atmosphere, and displays the characters that make up your family. Think of ways in which you can weave a common theme and/or colour through your outfits. For example: Everyone wears something carrying the same colour through differing variations. Or if everyone wears jeans and similar patterned shirts, but the shirts have different colours.
In this example there are a couple themes: wooden shoes, stripes, and colour
3... Be thoughtful and avoid certain colours and patterns...
It is commonly said: "simplicity is beauty" There is so much truth to that statement. Keeping it simple is a general rule in portrait photography. It also goes for clothing choices. Complex patterns and textures can be distracting and show up different in the photo than to the natural eye. As in the photo above, the bold stripes distract the viewers eye from the faces. Simple colours is the preferred way to go. Think of ways to add a little texture and colour: scarves, hats, socks, or other accessaries.
For colours, neutral tones, desaturated colours, or earthy tones are the most preferable, because we are looking for natural skin tones. Bright and busy tones and colours are quite distracting, and especially if worn as a shirt or accessary, will affect the lighting on the face, taking away from the natural skin tones and distracting the viewers eye from the real story - you.
A sample of desaturated or lighter tones. Note here as well that the lighter tones blend well with the lighter background, as mentioned in #1.
Here you can clearly see how colours reflect onto the skin. I realize the colour here is not reflected from clothing but still shows the importance of neutral tones for family photos.
4... Keep the weather in mind and dress appropriately
During the season changes it can be tough to predict temperatures. The temperatures, sun, and wind are key things to think about. But keeping up to date on the weather can aid in choosing your wardrobe for the session.
In a moring session, it may start off cool so layer appropriately for comfort. If you have kids, keep in mind that you'll have active moments but also moments of being still. You don't want to be dressed too warmly for the weather or too cold. (in the first example photo, my sisters and I were freezing! The wind was so cold and our hands were going numb - definitely not the weather for a photo shoot in the clothes we chose!)
5... Be yourself!
Do not feel as though you need to dress to the nines when you usually dress down. You will be uncomfortable during the session and it will show in the photos. But do take it up a notch above your normal. Remember these are your photos and will be on display in your house. You have to be happy with them.
Here everyone was perfectly comfortable, dressed up a notch, still displayed their personalities, and coordinated.
I hope this helps you out in choosing the right outfits for your session!