The Five Biggest Fashion DONT'S for Your Family Session

One of the questions I'm asked the most as a photographer is, what the heck do we WEAR to our family session? In fact, it's one of the main reasons that I've curated a client closet and why each of my hour long sessions comes with a Styling Session. For those who don't have access to a client closet, through, or maybe just want to piece together your own wardrobe, check out five of my biggest fashion DONT'S for your family session.

Instead, stick with earth tones or soft, muted tones. Why? Bright colors are a poor choice for several reasons. First and foremost, they create what is known as a color cast on the person's skin, as well as on the environment around them. What exactly does this mean? If a child were to wear a neon colored shirt, that neon color would make his or her arms and face a little bit neon, therefore changing the child's skin tone. There's only so much editing you can do to fix this. Another reason to avoid bright colors is because they take away from your family and the connection that you share on camera. If we are so focused on the bright colors that you're wearing, we won't be able to lean into the kisses, snuggles, smiles, and love.

1. DON'T wear bright colors.

2. DON'T wear clothing that you constantly have to adjust.

This means, wearing the wrong bra for a dress or shirt; needing to constantly adjust the hem line of your outfit; or simply needing to tuck something back in after every camera click. Why? Having to constantly adjust yourself means that you're going to be more self-conscious and not able to fully relax in front of the camera, which is going to translate to your final images. Constantly adjusting your wardrobe also means that you are focusing on your clothing and worrying about angles or bits falling out instead of just focusing on your beautiful family. It is going to take away from your experience, and it is why I am VERY intentional about my style guide and the types of things that I recommend you skip or incorporate into your session.

This means having everyone in the same color or close to the same color, or having your family in the same or similar outfits. Why? Because in your images, everyone is going to resemble one giant blob of white, blue, or whatever color you decide to put them in. Instead, you want your family to compliment each other. This means choosing a palette that is going to work well for the entire family, as well as having the colors coordinate beautifully. I work closely with families to help them select a palette that is going to speak to them while also looking great on camera and for the location we are shooting.

3. DON'T have everyone in your family match.

This means clothes that are both too big AND too small. As parents, we love sizing up during sales to stash away, as well as having our kids wear something for as long as possible so we can get the most use out of it. This is great practice! Just not for picture day. Why? First of all, the clothes will require constant adjustment during our session, and we already talked about why this can be distracting. Also, clothing that's either too large or too small for the child will not photograph well, especially when we are trying to create beautiful connection and snuggles. Think about how distracting it will be to have suspenders constantly falling down, or a short dress without bloomers underneath when you're trying to twirl. It is going to limit the amount of poses and prompts we can do, and it also allows for things like underwear, socks, etc. to peek out when we don't want them to.

4. DON'T put your child in clothing that doesn't fit properly.

You will want to physically have any clothing you're ordering at least a few weeks prior to our shoot so you'll have ample time to fix anything that's not quite right. I can't tell you how many times someone has shown up to the session and admitted that they didn't try on their outfits until the day of. This can result in ill fitting clothing that will be distracting and take away from the session, which are all points we discussed. If you're able to see the issues with clothing before your session, you can gather things like double sided tape and have time to find a different bra.

Photography is an investment, and it is important that you enjoy the process and feel amazing on camera. Take these "Fashion DONT'S" into consideration when planning outfits for your next session!