Fall Clothing Guide: What to wear to your session.

Fall sessions are booking up for the next few months and I am ready to get started on capturing your beautiful families! Now let’s talk clothes! More than any other question, clients always ask what they should wear to their family session.

Coordinating outfits can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. I know you want everything to go smoothly with your session and you want to look fabulous and you want your annoying cousin who you send a Christmas card to every year to notice that yes, in fact you have lost 10 pounds, thanks for noticing, and yes, your kids ARE the actual cutest!

And man, your family has great taste in fashion.

It’s a lot of pressure!

So I’ve created some tips that hopefully will take some of the stress off when starting to plan for your upcoming session. And let’s be real here… professional photos? They’re an investment! You don’t want to leave your outfit to chance.

The goal is to find a style that’s authentic to your family but feels special too.

Your outfits should be cohesive not “matchy-matchy.” Try to compliment.

If your head is spinning, don’t worry. Lets break the process down a bit.

Choose a location.

Before you even consider what outfits you want to wear, talk to your photographer about location options and what you most prefer. Photos downtown Dallas or downtown McKinney will have a different feel. Are you wanting big open spaces or lots of trees and tucked in spots. This will help you determine the vibe you are looking for which will help to determine what to wear.

Start with Mom’s outfit first.

It can be hard to know where to begin, but starting with one outfit to build upon is best. Without sounding rude, Mom is generally the most difficult because we almost always have the most hangups about our bodies. If it’s not our legs, it’s our arms, and if it’s not one of those two things it’s our probably non-existent double chins. So I find it just best to start with mom, then find outfits for the rest of the family that compliment mom’s outfit.

Coordinate-don’t match.

It can be easy to default to everyone just wearing the same color, but I don’t recommend that. Plus I’ve been part of family photos where we’re all required to wear a certain color, and it never ends well. Your brother doesn’t own that color, your sister only looks good in blue, your dad’s only shirt that works is dirty…its just never ideal. Choose mom’s outfit then a handful of colors that look good together and go with that. I will post below some ideas.

Add variety with subtle patterns.

To add depth and create dimension have a few coordinating subtle patterns and textures. Patterns are great in small doses and add a lot to your photos. When in doubt select one patterned outfit for a single person and then pull colors from that pattern to dress everyone else in solid colors that coordinate.

Fitted clothing can be your friend.

Flowy shirts and dresses are very popular and are very pretty but sometimes they can hide your shape and be less flattering. So try to find clothes that are not overly baggy, nor too tight. Remember we are often moving around a bit during the shoot, so opt for pieces that are comfortable. And layers are your friend.

Just be yourself.

Don’t try to dress like someone you saw on Instagram, if that isn’t you. I know it can be daunting, but it’s really pretty simple; wear outfits you feel great in.

Here’s what you need to know, when you book with me your are paying for far more than just my time for the session + editing. You also get my expertise when it comes to styling your family for your session. If you want to reach out to me before you check out of Old Navy or Nordstrom, I will totally be your sounding board. Ultimately what you and your family wear to your photo session is a personal decision, however, sometimes you just need suggestions and I am here to help in anyway I can.