Dressing my family for photos
You've booked your photographer...now what?
If you're like me, the moment you book with your photographer you start considering what you are going to dress your family in. And if you're like me, you might change your mind several times and you might end up buying something just to return it. I'm fairly certain that this is a normal process, and if it's not then count me weird! Outfit planning can be overwhelming and stressful, even for those that are "fashion forward."
Where should you start?
I always start with either picking and outfit for myself or my daughter. I usually start here because female clothing tends to have more options for patterns and will have multiple colors that can then be used to pick colors for the rest of the family. I try to only have 3 different colors in my shirts/dresses to stop us from looking "busy." That being said, you can start with any family member and their patterned clothing. Male clothing isn't without pattern (and I personally love a good floral print men's button up).
If you don't want anyone wearing overtly patterned clothing, pick a color scheme and pick a variety of textures for each person. Think "coordinated" not "matching." You can use tight checkered patterns or even tight stripes to create "texture" even though they are technically a pattern.
Each calendar season,tends to have a complementary color season that goes with it. This is determined by looking at the color wheel and choosing the color opposite of the "main" color of the season. So if you are having photos done in the Fall - some of the best colors to put your family in are purples, blues, and greens. In the Summer, purple, pink, and red are the best colors to wear.
The purple in the dresses is a complimentary color to the oranges and yellows of Fall.
Mom is patterned and everyone else pulled from her dress. The pinks pop nicely against the green of Summer
The bright colors pair well with the ocean/beach. Pink is a complimentary color to the golden sand and green grasses. Yellow is complimentary to blue.
What about our pants?
My advice here, is to mix up the colors of pants that are being worn. When every one is wearing the exact same color or shade (whether it's jeans, khakis, slacks), we tend to lose legs in posing. You don't want to look at a photo and wonder why it looks like "little Johnny" appears to have three legs. I suggest that you use a variety of shades and textures when choosing your bottoms.
Dad and son are both in khakis, but in different shades
The boys are in different shades of khaki and the blues pop nicely against the yellows of Fall.
Texture is created here with ruffles and a tight check pattern. The blues and greens pop nicely against the pinks of Spring.
Shoes?
I think that neutral colored shoes are best, but I accept that your kid might really like their light up spiderman shoes and I think that is okay! It's not worth fighting with your kids over shoes.
They are all in neutrals, but we used varying textures to create dimension.
The blues are complimentary to the oranges and yellows of Fall.
