What should I wear for my appointment?
It is best to keep your clothing choices clean, and simple. Clothing that is too flashy can attract attention away from the most important part of the photograph... YOU! Stay away from patterns, prints, logos or wording. A logo on your football jersey for you senior portraits works really well, but for family portraits, that big guitar logo across your chest is just going to be distracting. Keep your clothes relative to the look you are trying to achieve.
Dressy vs. Casual - Outdoor portraits tend to be more casual. Jeans and a nice long sleeve shirt are simple and classic, and perfect for outdoor photos. Suits and ties contrast the surrounding too much, and doesn't make sense. For something more formal, indoor portraits on dark backgrounds work much better.
Colors - The hardest part of coordinating family portraits is often deciding (and agreeing) on the clothing choices for the session. The best thing to do is to pick a color palette and go with that. You could tell everyone in your family to wear "shades of blue" and you would have colors that all compliment each other, yet that don't match so perfectly that your family photo looks like the Partridge Family. Baby blue, navy blue, and various shades in between can all be worn together and look fantastic! You should also think about your surroundings when choosing your colors. Beach photos won't look as good if everyone in front of the blue water is also wearing blue shirts.
Styles - Keep your clothing choices to things that always look good, even in 10 - 20 years. Fashion fads go out of style very quickly, and a beautiful portrait can be outdated within just a few years if your clothing is something that follows the current trend. Jeans, khakis, and black pants are always in style, as well as solid color, long sleeve and 3/4 sleeve shirts. Tank tops and cap sleeves should be avoided because the upper arm is just not flattering in photographs.
Fit - Wear clothing that you know fits you. Clothing that is too tight or too loose will be unflattering in photographs. Comfort is most important, you're not going to give your best smile if your shirt is cutting off your air supply when you're posing, so wear something you know you look good, and feel good in.
Choices - If you really can't decide what you want to wear, bring in a few choices, and we can help you choose, and even photograph you in a few different outfits so you make sure you love what you have!
Dressy vs. Casual - Outdoor portraits tend to be more casual. Jeans and a nice long sleeve shirt are simple and classic, and perfect for outdoor photos. Suits and ties contrast the surrounding too much, and doesn't make sense. For something more formal, indoor portraits on dark backgrounds work much better.
Colors - The hardest part of coordinating family portraits is often deciding (and agreeing) on the clothing choices for the session. The best thing to do is to pick a color palette and go with that. You could tell everyone in your family to wear "shades of blue" and you would have colors that all compliment each other, yet that don't match so perfectly that your family photo looks like the Partridge Family. Baby blue, navy blue, and various shades in between can all be worn together and look fantastic! You should also think about your surroundings when choosing your colors. Beach photos won't look as good if everyone in front of the blue water is also wearing blue shirts.
Styles - Keep your clothing choices to things that always look good, even in 10 - 20 years. Fashion fads go out of style very quickly, and a beautiful portrait can be outdated within just a few years if your clothing is something that follows the current trend. Jeans, khakis, and black pants are always in style, as well as solid color, long sleeve and 3/4 sleeve shirts. Tank tops and cap sleeves should be avoided because the upper arm is just not flattering in photographs.
Fit - Wear clothing that you know fits you. Clothing that is too tight or too loose will be unflattering in photographs. Comfort is most important, you're not going to give your best smile if your shirt is cutting off your air supply when you're posing, so wear something you know you look good, and feel good in.
Choices - If you really can't decide what you want to wear, bring in a few choices, and we can help you choose, and even photograph you in a few different outfits so you make sure you love what you have!