The biggest question that I always get asked is “What should we wear?” or “What should the kids wear.” I’m going to go over a lot of information during this blog post so hopefully it won’t be too much for you.. When you are trying to figure out what to wear it can be a stressful time. Nowadays everyone doesn’t wear the usual white shirts and khaki pants although we all have at some point ( I know we did.) White isn’t a good color because it washes you out so I suggest staying away from that color unless you are layering it underneath something.
Top 5 tips:
1. Figure out what color scheme you want.
One of the things I ask my clients is where are you going to hang or display your wall portraits. What colors are in that room? Let’s say the room is beige/browns and you have on hot pink and lavenders, those pictures won’t look very good hanging on the wall. Some people might not care about that and others will. There are many websites in the internet that can help you with color schemes. Some are my favorites are Design Seeds and Pinterest. Here are some examples from Design Seeds to help you to choose from. Design Seeds has all sorts of color palettes that they choose from a picture. You can use them to help with clothing choices and also for your home decorating projects.
2. Get some inspiration from Pinterest.
Pick one or two colors and then you can fill in the rest with the neutral colors, like tan, white, black and grey. Find a neat plaid shirt and take the colors from that as other accents. I would suggest having the kids with the accent colors since you want them to “pop” in the portrait. Then the adults can accent their outfits with those colors by layering with jackets, scarfs, ties, hats etc. Here are some of my Pinterest boards to help you with some already coordinated outfits.
Here are some of my Pinterest boards to help you with some already coordinated outfits. Pinterest- What to wear and Cool Clothing Combinations.
3. Add layers to help accessorize your outfits.
Hats, scarfs, headbands, vests, ties and jewelry all add dimension and layers to your portraits. For girls and women it is easy to accessorize their outfits but it is harder for the boys and men. They can always wear ties or vests or neat hats if they want. Think about neat necklaces and scarfs for the women and girls. Little girls usually like to play dress up so accessorize them to the nines. Even cute tights and boots are great on them.
4. Lay it all out before the day of the shoot.
Lay all of the outfits out on the floor or your bed to see how they look together. A good idea is to try to split up the pairs that are naturally drawn to each other. For example, mom and baby. You don’t want them to both be wearing yellow so break up the colors. If brother and sister or 2 sisters are together a lot then break up those colors. It will all flow a lot better.
5. AND LAST BY NOT LEAST, MAKE SURE MOM LIKES WHAT SHE IS WEARING!!
If Mom isn’t comfortable in what she is wearing, she won’t like the pictures. Start with your outfit and work down to the kids and your husband. Feel good in your clothes. Son’t wear anything too tight because it isn’t flattering. If you don’t like your arms, don’t wear short sleeves wear 3/4 sleeves. Worry about yourself for once. Your kids and husband will love that you are in the picture with them and not always the ones taking the pictures.
Hopefully you all made it through my ramblings. If you have any questions, feel free to give me a call 856-313-0130 or drop me an email michelle@michellebakerphotography.com