Session Planning & Prep

1. Coordinate, don't match. The days of everyone matching are over. You want to complement each other’s outfits by choosing colors that work well together. I find that if everyone is wearing the same color, people will all tend to blend in together and there won’t be too much pop and life to the images. 

2. Limit patterns but embrace texture! When picking patterns, choose smaller ones that won’t pull attention away from the main subjects, and limit patterns to 1 person.  Busy plaids can be distracting, but vertical stripes can look great. When thinking about texture, choose a few different fabrics that will give photos some visual interest such as lace, corduroy, denim, swiss dot, and knits.

3. Be comfortable, but don't dress like it's any other day. Family photos are an investment and probably something you only do once a year. For mom, consider maxi dresses or maxi skirts. This helps me create movement in your images. Mini dresses and jeans can limit my posing options.

4. Stay away from solid whites. I know a go to option can be a solid white button up for men. Instead, choose a cream or oatmeal color. This helps slightly warm up the overall tone of the images instead of the cool tones that white can cause. This is VERY important with my editing style. Bright white will either look blown out or pull the colors of everything else around it. Honestly, this might be my most important styling tip. Avoid solid bright white entirely!

5. Don't forgot about shoes! Avoid any sneakers or shoes with bright colors. Casual brown or neutral colored shoes work for every color scheme. Don't want to spend the money on shoes for your littles that they wil only wear once? Have them go barefoot! 

6. Dress appropriately for the weather. This is a big one in the fall. October can still be pretty warm and I know if you are booking in the fall, you are probably wanting fall vibes all around. If you have a September - October session booked and are planning for sweaters and long sleeves, I also suggest having a back up option incase the session falls on a 90 degree fall day. Trust me here. I am guilty of dressing my family up in very fall attire on a very hot October day. 

7. Professional hair and make up can go a long way. Need make up artist suggests? Let me know! Although this isn't totally necessary - just keep make up light! Avoid thick black eyeliner and opt for a more natural look. 

8. Take advantage of my client closet! Don't see exactly what you are envisioning? Check out Baltic Born and Joyfolie for dresses & Old Navy for the guys and little boys. Some other favorites are Target, Carter's Little Planet brand, and H&M. I have also had a ton of luck with Poshmark. 

BIGGEST TAKE AWAYS - Color and warm tones are needed to achieve my editing style. If you dress your family in all white+jeans or pastels, I will really struggle with editing the images to look like my normal editing style. Don't want to incorporate bright colors? That's fine! We can keep things neutral but can add some depth by adding dark browns and neutral earth tones. Remember this formula when planning outfits - No more than 1 person in a cool color + everyone else in warm tones and neutrals - no white. 

LAST BUT NOT LEAST! Let ME style your family! I'll put together pieces from my client closet or find options for everyone (within your budget) so you don't have to worry about figuring this part out!