What to Wear
The number one question that I receive is, "What should we wear?" It may seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be! Here are my tips on what to wear for your session!
Coordinate, but don't match exactly. If dad will be wearing a plaid shirt, choose a shirt for mom that is the same color as one of the colors in the plaid. Same for kiddos! If mom is wearing a floral pattern, choose a solid color top for dad and kids from the colors in the pattern. In a group, it usually makes it easy if one person will have a pattern, floral, etc. and then match everyone else's colors from there.
Don't have everyone wear a black shirt, or everyone wear a white shirt, etc. Think of a paint chip with the different colors - it is acceptable to wear different shades of the same color, but you don't want everyone to match exactly. Dad and son matching and mom and daughter matching is fine, but you don't want mom, dad, son, daughter to all be wearing the same colors. You also have to be aware of placement, and if everyone has the same color top on, the image can look like a big blob with heads coming out!
How will it look hanging on your wall? If you have yellow walls, do you want your family wearing oranges and reds? Is your home decor bright or muted colors? Think of it like a piece of art that you will hang in your home - you want the art to match your decor and personal style, so match your outfits accordingly.
Avoid graphic t-shirts, clothing with sayings, etc. While it can sometimes be cute on the little ones, with the way bodies move, you don't want what is on the clothing to distract from the image. I do not recommend brand names being plastered on the shirts either.
Don't wear something that limits the poses that you can do - for example, if you wear a short skirt, we won't be able to do a cute group shot on the ground without seeing your business. I don't want to expose you! :)
Wear the same type of clothing - you don't want to have your children all dressed up with dressy clothes and cute dress shoes then dad is wearing a casual t-shirt and tennis shoes. Everyone should be casual or everyone dress up. You want to match each other.
Make sure your kids are comfortable. Don't force your daughter to dress up if she will be angry about doing so - a toddler tantrum about wearing a tie isn't cute for photos. I don't mind the tantrum at all, but sometimes, it is easy to choose your battles and make sure the kids are happy and not giving them extra fuel to be mad at us!
Don't feel pressure to dress up if you don't want to do so! Casual photos with jeans look just as good as dresses and khakis.
Colors that clients have worn together that I personally LOVE are as follows:
Olive green, grey, and coral
Navy blue, grey, yellow
Maroon & navy
Burgundy (dark purple), navy, & cream
Navy, olive green, maroon
Grey, olive green, cream
There are stores that sell coordinating outfits, too! It helps take some of the pressure off if you are looking to purchase something outside of what you already own for this special occasion! I personally like stores like Kohl's, Old Navy, and Target to find matching outfits. Read on about this subject with the links below!
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/fashion/a20634306/target-matching-family-outfits/
https://www.prettyextraordinary.com/5-places-to-shop-for-mommy-and-me-outfits/