One of the biggest concerns for every client is always “What should I wear?”, especially family photos. The more people involved the harder it seems to coordinate and lets face it, the black t shirts and matching jeans has been out for a while (at least for us anyway!). I have to wonder though if people only ever did that because they just didn’t know what to wear, or they actually all just wear matching outfits as a family on a regular basis. Well we are going to clear all of that up the best we can today! Whether you are coming for a family session, portrait session or even new born we will give you some basic tips for each type of shoot as well as some great examples of what to wear. It doesn’t matter if you are a plain jane or a high-heel-loving-diva there are lots of ways to spice up your session and give it that “wow” factor without having to be someone your not. There are many aspects to creating a great photograph that go far beyond the skill of the photographer and styling in our opinion is one of the most important. You can be the best photographer in the world but if your subjects are all wearing matching ninja turtles t-shirts, well… It’s probably going to take away from your photo. That’s just one example and maybe a little extreme, as I am sure that would never happen but our goal here is to educate our clients on what photographs best and how you can help us make your shoot even better!
So for today’s post we will kick it off with the hardest session to style…
First let’s start off with a few important tips and then we will show you some examples of successful family sessions.
1. There is a HUGE difference between “matching” and “coordinating”.
Many think they need to come up with one thing that everyone can wear that matches. Whether it be the matching jeans and t-shirts or picking two colours that match and everyone wearing only those colours. Trust us when we say the less you try and “match” everyone, the better. You want your session to reflect who everyone is as a family but you also want it to flow and look effortless. How do you do that? On to tip number 2!
2. Coordinate
The best way to start the coordination process is to pick one article of clothing that you love. It doesn’t matter who it is for, although I would say most times mom would be the one to make the call. It’s often easier to start with mom’s outfit or a little girls outfit because they are more likely to wear something with more colour, patterns or textures. Doing it this way means you won’t get overwhelmed with all of these different outfits you have for each family member. If mom wants to wear a really cute flowy patterned dress with lots of colour, then start with that. Then from that first outfit, you can draw colour from that dress and incorporate it into the rest of your families outfits. They don’t even need wear the exact colours that are in the dress, you can also choose colours that compliment the dress. It never hurts to have someone dressed in a neutral colour either if you have a larger family, neutrals are easy and can also balance things out if you have a whole lot of colour happening. We also don’t want to look like a big giant rainbow family either, so it’s to find that perfect balance of solid colours, textures, and patterns.
3. Be sure to choose outfits that are going to be appropriate to your choice of location.
If you are wanting photos taken on a beach, then it will look a lot nicer if you are dressed in something that you would actually wear to a beach. Not jeans with boots and a jacket, instead mom can wear that pretty sun dress and a cute pair of sandals (or barefoot) and dad can wear a pair of jeans or khaki shorts with a complimenting shirt rolled up. So if you really wanted to wear those cute heels you just bought, the beach may not be the best location. Keep in mind too that certain styles don’t always match certain locations. Ask yourself what location would really compliment your families style?
4. Layering
In the summer months this is a little harder to do but layering is a great way to add visual interest and will also allow a lot more variety in your shots and poses. Instead of just bringing along your shirt and jeans or just your dress, be sure to bring a little sweater or jacket as well as some scarves or hats. You can do this for your kids as well, and trust us even adding a little jacket or piece of jewelry can drastically change the look of your photos.
5. Personalize it
These are YOUR family photos not ours so you want them to reflect who you are as a family. If you are musical, then everyone bring their instruments along. If you are a family who loves to golf, then maybe you should do your session at a golf course. If you spend most of your summers on the water, then be sure to book your session in the summer and have your location be at your summer home. Maybe you love nature and going on hikes, so why not incorporate that ? You get the idea!
6. Parent’s don’t stress out about your kids and their behaviour
This isn’t so much a style tip but a very important tip to keep in mind when taking your little ones to get family photos. Your children may be very well behaved at home but sometimes kids can just be kids, especially when they are in a different environment. As frustrating as it can be to get children to cooperate, let them be who they are. Sometimes it is simply impossible to have every person looking and smiling at a camera, and in our opinion the more candid it is the better. If your little one loves the camera anyway and will sit and smile, then great but if that is not their personality try not to force it and trust that your photographer will be able to take control of the situation. From our experience a lot of kids will sometimes listen to us better than their parents so it’s best to just come knowing that whatever happens, it will be fine! Oh one more thing, if your little one is attached to a stuffed animal or maybe needs something to keep him/her occupied, then bring along that teddy bear or maybe bring some treats so they will listen!
7. Avoid any Logos, or clothing with writing
This one is pretty straight forward, if you have a shirt with a tiny little emblem on it then that should be fine but stay away from large logos. This goes for all family members, dads and their sports logos and even your kids. I know those little shirts that say “Cutie” or “Mom thinks I’m cute” can be pretty adorable but chances are you won’t be able to make it out anyway and it will have less impact than you think.
8. Don’t play it safe
We don’t mean lets play dress up and go wild, but just don’t be scared of colour, pattern and texture. These three things are key and if you have a little bit of all of them then you are doing great!
We recently made a Hind Hart Studios Pinterest Page and thought we would share our “Family Sessions” Board.
http://www.pinterest.com/hindhartstudios/family-sessions/
Here are some examples that Michelle shot in the past. These clients did really well with coordinating and we believe each one represents a lot of the tips we just provided.
We hope these tips will help you in the future when booking your family session
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