what in the world do we WEAR?!!??!

If I have been asked this question once, I’ve been asked it a hundred times!  Clients are so excited to finally get a session booked on my calendar, but then the seemingly daunting task of WHAT TO WEAR inevitably creeps up.  And I must confess, I too have had the urge to freak out when trying to coordinate outfits for my own family pictures!!  I figured it was time to make an official post with all the info. that I tell clients each time I am asked this question!  I have also included links to several other photographers that have actually put some visuals on their blog with examples of color palettes, outfits from popular stores, and tips, so be sure to jump over to their blogs to check out these posts as well.

The first thing I beg my clients to NOT do is dress alike.  I know there was a time (a long TIME ago!) when it was super cute to all wear khakis and white shirts, and then people thought they were going against the grain by switching it up with khakis and black shirts!  I am here to tell you that this is no longer cool  There, I said it.  When you look at your photographs hanging on your walls, you are going to be so much more pleased if you images are actually interesting to look at!  And trust me when I say, what you wear has a lot to do with how interesting they actually are.

The best advice I can give is to pick a color palette that you like.  For example, what colors look good on you?  Is there a specific color that makes your husband’s or your daughter’s eyes pop?  Choose a color scheme that  includes a few different colors that you can use to pull from for each person’s outfit.  Think of all of you as having just one outfit on…you all need to coordinate.

The other big thing that I try to stress is to really make yourselves pop, try to add some interest through textures, layers, accessories, hats, etc.  All of these can add such fun pops of color or texture that really can make your outfits awesome.

I know that most of you are visual people, so to help you actually see some examples, here are some awesome posts you should check out:

Sprouts Photography (Birmingham, AL)    http://sproutsbyheatherblog.com/category/what-to-wear/

Kristin Rachelle Photography    http://kristinrachellephotography.com/blog/index.php/category/what-to-wear-for-pictures/

Lisa Russo Photography    http://lisarussophotography.com/blog/category/what-to-wear/

I hope this helps get your brain moving in the right direction!!  Also, the one thing I LOVE to do is help style my clients!  If you are still stuck, or just plain don’t want to decide, I have NO problem showing up to take your pictures and selecting your outfits first!  I have had several sessions where I got to go through closets or sort through boxes/bins/suitcases of clothes actually on site to help style the outfits.   and I LOVE doing it.  So, please, don’t make this harder than it really is!!

Can’t wait to see how amazing you all look for all the fall sessions I have coming up!!  Yeah for FALL OUTFITS!!