WARDROBE
balancing being timeless & truthful
How to dress for your family photoshoot
Over the years photographing women and families, I’ve noticed a few things when it comes to wardrobe. Women, I found, would tend to focus on the kids and leave themselves until last, which is why I started offering a client wardrobe to help them feel beautiful and enjoy the time invested. And gotta love them, but men often turning up for family photoshoots would often miss the style mark – turning up in outfits that are great for the beach or a rock concert, or Sunday beers with the boys at a BBQ or pub.
Yes, these little things matter to enjoying the photography experience, and making sure that you get the most out of your family photos when they end up displayed in your home.
So I thought it was time to share my experience on how to dress without stress for your lifestyle family photoshoot. I’m going to break down wardrobe suggestions in this blog for men, women, and children, and touch on fabrics, locations and how to keep things balanced between timeless and truthfully you.
MEN’S WARDROBE
As I am a lifestyle photographer in Perth, and not a studio photographer, we are out in our natural surroundings. My photoshoots mix movement and some more gentle stills where I often help men to position their arms to show affection instead of having what I would call “dead arm” – an arm just hanging not doing anything.
Because of movement, and using your arms – whether it is to pop your kids on your shoulders, hug your significant other, or swing your kids, I’m going to break this down by colour, cut and fit, fabric choices, and include ideas for both tops and bottoms.
Colour choices for men
Keep things neutral – beige, khakis, denims, whites, browns, navy. Avoid death metal shirts, or t-shirts with cartoon characters and slogans. This will ensure family photos look timeless. You may wish to look through my gallery to get some ideas
Cut and fit of your clothing.
For men, you want to ensure that your T-shirts are still covering your mid-section when you lift your arms up in the air. Check that shirts are not pulling too much across your chest or under your armpits and buttons are not under strain if you are choosing to wear a button-up shirt.
With pants or shorts, ensure they fit well, zippers are not broken, and when you sit, your shirt covers any skin – eg plumbers crack or exposed jocks.
If you need the technical reason, the cut and fit of your clothing helps to focus on you or your family as a whole image. Some things can be fixed in photoshop, but it is really hard to make shirts longer in an image. The goal is to have images that bring focus, not distraction.
Suit jackets are not really required, however if you are ever in doubt, be sure to check in with the photographer.
Fabric choices
A linen blend can look really nice in a shirt or pant, however straight up linen tends to create a lot of creases, so best to avoid it. For shirts, cotton is always a good choice as its breathable and comfortable. You don’t want to be fidgeting with clothes during the shoot, so avoid anything too stiff or constricting. Keep it comfortable.
Plain cotton t-shirts from K-mart or Target are a great choice. If you are choosing a shirt with buttons, chambray shirts always look great left tucked out.
If it is winter, a knit that hangs well will have you looking like a million dollars out in the natural elements. Avoid knits that have started to pill (get bobbles on it) – especially under the arms.
For bottoms, go for a chino or denim in either shorts or pants.
Shoes and accessories for men
Sometimes I photograph families in bare feet, and sometimes they have shoes on. If shoes are happening, avoid thongs, and opt for either boat shoes, plain sneakers, or a boot without laces (like Blundstones).
Hat-wise, beanies can work in winter, however in the summertime, more of a cuban/havana style hat works better. Baseball caps tend to throw shade on faces, and don’t always work.
Aside from that, if you have a watch, a leather band will work better, as sometimes metallic ones can throw light depending on the sun.
Now we have the men sorted, lets’ move on to my greatest photographic loves – women…
ALLOWING HER TO SHINE
I love bringing women, motherhood, and maternity into focus in photoshoots, and wardrobe is a chance to display certain sides of our hearts visually – our nature and our nuture in photos.
I’ll break down the basics for women to consider for their wardrobe, and as I mentioned earlier, I have a client wardrobe that includes a choice of dresses for women.
Colour Choices for Women
You want colour to both work with your skintone, any other members of your photoshoot, and with nature. I tend to love women in either striking colors (like Bec in this image) where motherhood and femininity can shine boldly, or shine subtle vulnerability with whites and neutral tones.
For family photoshoots, neutrals still work well, so look for shades in that neutral palette that work well with your hair and skin tone, amd remember that I have a client wardrobe to help yo with this.
Cut and fit
Loose flowing highlights your feminine softness, structure highlights your feminine strength, and you can definitely find a way to mix the two together.
You want to be comfortable, and not swamped by your clothes. They should highlight who you are.’t end up with hat hair and flatten out all that effort you have gone to in stylising your self.
Fabric choices for women
To get the right cut, fabrics with weight or that allow movement are a great choice. Fabrics more on the natural side work well. In winter, fine knits or beautiful jackets work well. Dresses that have some detailing at the bottom provide a little weight and hold the dress down a little so it doesn’t get totally out of control with the wind.
For maternity photoshoots, I love a fabric that is sheer to allow light to play around the beautiful pregnancy form, like in this one here. There is enough detailing on the dress to not let the wind take control, while still allowing the light to highlight how beautiful she looks.
Shoes and accessories
I love the use of a hat, and a quirky pair of sunglasses as they can just give images that little bit extra.
If this is on your list, leave the hat until the end, so you don’t end up with hat hair and flatten out all that effort you have gone to in stylizing yourself.
CAPTURING THE KIDS
Ah our little people! Comfort and connection matter most here. Keep them neutral as much as possible for the family photoshoot.
If like some of my clients, you have kids who are more likely to get into some kind of mischief (even if they traveled to the location in a bubble), dress them right before the photo shoot is about to start, or bring spare clothes with you.
If you have little girls (think ten and under) and they don’t normally wear headbands, the day of the shoot is not the right day to test it out, as if they aren’t used to it, I can guarantee they will be fidgeting non stop to the point you will be wondering if they have turned up with nits, and then stressing yourself out.
Keep it as simple as possible for the kiddos, and like the other suggestions, avoid characters on T-shirts, keep it to jeans or chinos, or loose dresses or shirts.
If you are choosing a button-up style shirt for the boys and if they have sensory issues, get them to wear a plain white shirt underneath and leave the formal shirt unbuttoned so they aren’t complaining about being itchy, and they can enjoy camera time, too!
Make Your Moments Memorable
There is a lot of time and effort that goes into choosing a photographer, organising the family, waiting to see your photos, and then displaying these moments that have been captured to be cherished.
Considering your wardrobe will ensure the experience is valued and appreciated by all and is a great way to show love and understanding to whoever has taken the time to book the shoot in the first place.
I’m always happy to help my clients out, so if you have any other questions, feel free to either leave a comment below or send me a message for a follow-up answer.
With love,