You’ve booked the session, now tackle that wardrobe!


Congratulations, you’ve booked your family session! You managed to coordinate everyone’s schedules, have gotten all of your anti-photo family members on board, or at least willing to arrive, and maybe you’ve even booked a hair appointment. You told your photographer (hey, that’s me) what kind of location you’d like to use and maybe you are even a little bit giddy because you have been wanting to do this “since the kids were little”.


But then it happens, panic sets in, much like Kevin’s mom in Home Alone, the moment she realizes she left him at home!…. Your freak-out sounds something like this: “WHAT ARE WE GONNA WEAR?!!!!!!!!”, “DOES JACK HAVE SHOES THAT EVEN FIT HIM?”, “HOW THE HECK AM I GONNA GET AVA TO WEAR SOMETHING BESIDES GYM SHORTS?!!” And “WILL LILA WEAR ANYTHING ELSE BESIDES HER CLASHIEST ‘FANCY DRESS’ “??!!! You start to rummage through everyone’s closets, trying to figure out what to put everyone in. And pretty soon, the only progress you seem to have made is to turn everyone’s room upside down like a teenage girl does trying to find the best Friday night outfit to wear.


Just as you're overwhelmed head begins to question whether you should even be following through with this shoot, your phone dings with a text message. It’s your photographer (that’s me again), with a message that says, “Hey, if you have any questions or need any help planning your session let me know!” It’s like your fairy godmother just appeared with the advice you needed, so that you don’t abort this mission completely. "YES!", you reply "What the heck should we wear? I'm so stuck!"


Here is your Photo-Fairy-Godmother’s tips and advice on how to decide on your family’s wardrobe:


  1. Pick a color palate of three coordinating colors: For example, Navy blue, white and khaki or gray. That’s a classic trio that many families use. By doing so, you can often find all of your family at least a portion of their outfit sitting in their closets already. That will keep you on budget too by not having to start from scratch.
  2. Consider the weather: Mother Nature is super duper wonky in RI, am I right? Outfits that can be layered with a sweater, or jean jacket are great for spring and fall sessions to help offset the chillier temps. Not to mention, layers and texture give everyone’s outfits a little more depth in the images. Outdoor cold weather tip: if you scheduled a tree farm session when it is typically expected to be red-nose-cold, I highly suggest purchasing your children's outfits a size up for the tops at least, so that you can layer underneath it with a thermal layer. and always fun to make their outfits include a fun winter peacoat and hat to keep the cherubs happy instead of frozen popsicles.
  3. Consider your location: No one wants to wear a fancy suit on a farm, or black leather on a beach. If you will be walking, sitting, standing, during your posed sessions, make sure you can sit and stand easily and pose easily in your outfits without popping buttons, split pants, or constantly having to fiddle with undergarments... (doesn't that sound so stressful?!). Nothing worse than trying to wear a pencil skirt to your beach session and being asked to sit in the sand. To my knowledge, pencil skirts are like pencils…. They aren’t made to bend!!
  4. Prescription glasses/eyewear: Transitions lenses are SO GREAT and important to protect your eyes, but tricky to work with during sessions, because the camera doesn't want your eyes to hide behind their shades. When possible, bring an alternate pair of non-transition lenses for your glasses-wearing family members If that's not feasible, the lenses can often be popped out for the session, at your discretion, or we can work on reducing the transition of the glasses. Or, a fun option is to purchase a pair of cheater glasses and knock the lenses out and use those just for the photos.
  5. A word on plaids/prints: Decide on outfits that will be classic and stand the test of time. There are trendy prints that shouldn’t really be memorialized in family photos (like the 90’s color block that seems to have oozed itself back into this millennium). Instead, pick one or two family members to don a subtle print. If using plaids, make sure its a subtle one, incorporating the color scheme and don't use multiple plaids. It'll get too "busy". In the image on this page, you see how the two littles are wearing subtle coordinating prints using the color scheme their family (probably their mom) picked for them to wear. It breaks up the solid tones in the group without overpowering people’s attention.
  6. A word on opinionated children: If you have a strong willed child that insists his favorite Monster Truck screen print tshirt is perfect for the session, the best thing to do is let him wear it…. UNDER his sweater or button down shirt…. And then you can use it as leverage and bribery for him to cooperate during the session. Make the deal: “Ok, Mason, you can wear that shirt, under your sweater and if you do a great job listening and having fun during our pictures, I’ll let you take your sweater off for some pictures all by yourself!”
  7. Shoes matter: Shoes are sometimes optional… Beach sessions and sometimes even open field spaces are great locations for kids and littles to ditch their shoes and sport their (clean) piggy toes. Steel-toed clunky mud-soaked work boots don't elicit that "beach photo" vibe everyone thinks of and while high heels are great for so many reasons, they aerate the soil really well on grassy fields, making it tricky to walk sometimes. So, see... shoes DO matter! Pick flats for style and comfort or wedge shoes if you'd like to elongate your legs. Children's sandals and boat shoes are great for many locations. if your baby isn't walking yet, don't worry about shoes.. bare piggy toes are perfectly preferred for indoor and outdoor locations, when the weather is appropriate.
  8. Small (but BIG) details to consider: Chipped nail polish, hair ties on your wrist, diaper or underpants visible with little girl dresses, booger noses, dirty finger nails and feet are all details that you can't unsee once you see them in your gallery. So, do your best to remove or refresh your nails, check the littles for grimy nails and "bats in the cave" as my Lila refers to as boogers in the nose, and wash those feet! Also, with little ones in dresses, best to have them also wear a diaper cover or the little lollipop shorts under their dresses to help maintain modesty. Tattoos are amazing pieces of art. Children's tattoos are also very cool too, but if you prefer your child not have them, best to avoid a few days prior to session so you don't have to fight them on it... or perhaps... encourage them on their belly instead of their foreheads, as some kids like to do.
  9. Car Ride prevention from drool and wrinkles: For the safety and security of all the precious time and effort you've put into styling your family for this great adventure, its always recommended to place wrinkle-able clothing on hangers, especially linen and other fabrics that crease easily. Same goes for the drooling-faucets that your teething infants and toddlers may be, or those spouses and offspring that may have to snack while riding. Best to plan to arrive 10 minutes early, with clothing on hangers to dress the children and/or finish dressing the adults in your car. And also highly recommended to leave the orange-dusty-cheetos at home for a post-photo snack... because we all know how hard it is to get cheeto dust off a kiddo's face... and we all ALSO know that moms wiping faces always results in a grumpy look, even if its now a clean toddler face.


There you have it! All you need to know to get ready and dressed for your photos. Take a deep breath, raise your shoulders to your ears, and exhale very slowly as you let your shoulders and wardrobe-xiety release their tension. You've got this! Thanks for coming to my TED Talk! ;-)