Outfit Planning
Choosing the right outfit for your session can be a daunting task, especially when you have to think about what multiple people will wear! Here are a few things to keep in mind before we get started on your outfits:
Comfort is key. Feeling comfortable in your outfit will help make sure our session is a success. You may have found the perfect wool sweater for your child that matches effortlessly with the rest of the family but that sweater may irritate their skin causing them to complain or scratch in every shot. You also may have a dress you love but the strap constantly falls down. This will distract you and will take away from the moment.
Think of the full outfit. Many people often overlook shoes in their outfit planning process. We will get lots of closeup shots but also plenty of full body ones so footwear can really make or break an outfit.
I love to incorporate movement into sessions so choosing an outfit what allows you to run, sit and raise your arms will enable us to have some fun.
Avoid bright colours, large logos and clashing patterns.
Make sure everyone has tried on their full outfit prior to our session to ensure everything fits and feels great!
Let’s chat about colour schemes! I find that neutrals and light colours work best with my editing style and offer a classic, timeless look. Choosing two complementary colours and using neutrals like cream, beige and grey to bridge the outfits can help make sure everyone looks cohesive without being too matchy-matchy. Try to mix up the order of how your group wears the colours. For example, everyone in olive green bottoms and a tan top would not work but one family member in an olive green dress, another in olive green pants and a tan sweater, another in khakis and an olive green and cream plaid shirt would look very polished.
You do not need to shy away from wearing dark colours. If you feel most confident in black, go for it! Balance out the darker colours by pairing black jeans with a cream sweater or softer neutrals on the rest of your family members. The two families above did a great job incorporating black and still looking cohesive.
Patterns can be tricky because if too many people are wearing them, they can quickly clash. In the above examples, you can see that one family member is wearing a pattern and everyone else is in complementary solids. Try to pull two colours from your patterned article of clothing and use those colours to help build everyone’s outfits.
The family above choose navy and mustard yellow to build their outfits around. Notice how there is a great mix of people wearing both colours and some in just one of the colours. The pattern on the little girl’s jumpsuit has both of the complementary colours and we do not see more patterns.
I hope this guide helps answer some of your questions. Please do not hesitate to email me if you have specific questions or want to show me a picture of your outfits.