What to wear for your portrait session?

One of the most frequently asked questions from my clients is what to wear on the day of the photoshoot! I’ve put together pointers based on current trends as well as my own experience with what looks great on camera. If you have any questions or ideas of your own, I’d love to hear them! The process of planning and shopping for outfits can be fun, and I am more than happy to help you out!

Dress Mom FIRST!
This is my most important tip ever!  It is always easy to find cute outfits for your children, but finding something that you feel beautiful in is much more difficult. I recommend that Mom finds something she LOVES and then plans everyone else’s outfits around her.  If you don’t love how you look in your family portraits, you won’t love the photos… period.  I’ve learned this lesson the hard way, and when my kids were little I spent all my energy finding cute things for them and then had nothing to wear myself.  Never again…

what to wear

No Matchy Matchy!
The days of everyone wearing khaki pants and white shirts are gone! Now the trend is to take a color palette and dress your family from those colors. Is it spring… what about dressing everyone in some combination of pink, blue and khaki? Winter… how about white, red and navy blue?  Are you shooting at a fun, quirky urban setting… how about bright orange and turquoise.  The possibilities are endless!

Don’t forget to accessorize!
Accessories have the power to complete an outfit. There’s nothing cuter than little boys in hats, and little girls with beaded necklaces. What about moms wearing scarves and tall boots, or dads in a vest and bowtie.  Even if you are not someone that regularly wears much jewelry, this is the time to dig through that accessory drawer!

winter photo session

Search for Ideas!
Pinterest is a great place to surf for trends in style. I have put together some idea boards for you under my Images from Amy Pinterest account here: “What to Wear – Families” and “What to Wear – Kids”.

Watch out of visual overloads.
When figuring out what to wear, be careful about things that might be visually distracting.  For example, stay away from dressing more than one person in a busy pattern.  Stay consistent with color patterns… for example, don’t have everyone clothed in soft colors and one person in super bright colors because they will overpower everyone else.  And lastly, try to avoid writing and pictures on clothing because they will draw your eye away from people’s faces.

Be YOU!
Your outfits should still be YOU!  They might be a slightly cleaned up, better accessorized version of yourself, but they should still be you.  If you aren’t the kind of folks to get all dressed up… don’t do it!  There’s nothing wrong with casual.  If you’re a jeans and boots kind of person… go for it!  I want your final images to be a reflection of who you are as a family!

 

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Images from Amy

Phone: 916.616.5420 Email: imagesfromamy@gmail.com

Studio Address: 17000 SW Whitley Way #100, Beaverton, OR 97006