One question I get asked a lot when it comes to family photo sessions is: What should we wear?
I get it, on photos we want to look our best. And I get that you’re looking at me as the professional to tell you what you should or shouldn’t wear for your family photos.
Some photographers will have a beautiful style guide for your family photo session, others provide a shopping list or let you choose clothes from a perfectly curated client closet.
I don’t do any of that. It might make me look like a bad service provider but there’s actually a good reason for this.
Ok, let me clarify this… If you really don’t know what to wear for your photo session, I’m happy to give you some suggestions – I won’t leave you hanging! But my guide will be very vague.
It’ll be something like:
- wear your favourite clothes that make you feel like yourself
- wear what’s comfortable
- wear clothes that you would wear if I wasn’t around
- don’t force your children into clothes you find cute but they hate
- let your kids wear whatever they feel good in
- dress like you’re all attending the same event
That’s literally all my advice.
While personally, I find that brand logos or big prints on clothes will distract from the person wearing those clothes, a documentary-style family photo session is supposed to capture who you all are. And if that means that your child is going to run around in their spiderman onesie all day or your shirt has food stains from trying to feed the baby, then I won’t suggest you change those clothes unless you feel uncomfortable in them.
It’s important that everything during your session feels like an extension of who you are just like on any other day when I’m not around, photographing your family life.
The idea is to create images that will represent your family life so that you and your children will have real visual reminders of what your life looks and feels like. We can’t create that familiarity and authentic version of you if I tell you to dress a certain way or even provide you with clothes just because they will look nice on camera.
The problem with a style guide is that first of all it means my photos are not about your personality but about how you look in a photo. While it’s obviously important to create images that you’ll enjoy looking at – especially if you’re planning to print them to decorate your house with… Telling you what to wear means telling you what I find aesthetically pleasing. You might have a very different taste.
Going further than this, providing you with a shopping list or letting you choose from a curated client closet, turns you into mannequins showing off pretty clothes. That’s exactly the opposite of what my sessions are about.
Confidence doesn’t come from putting on a mask and a costume to hide who you are. Of course, getting dressed up can make you feel more confident but relying on that alone distracts from who you actually are.
Documenting your family is about capturing honest moments and connections. The people in your life don’t value or love you more when you dress up so why should you do that for my camera?
All that to say, while style guides can be helpful, family photos aren’t about what you or your family looks like. (Side note: Obviously, some items, colours or patterns look better on camera than others. So if you are unsure whether your favourites cloths are suited for a photo shoot, you can of course ask me!) It’s so much more than that though – your outfits don’t really matter when you’re creating memories with and for your children. So why should that be any different when you have your daily adventures photographed?
So, whether you need my subtle guidance above or not, how do you feel about having your family life photographed? Ready to plan your session? Click below if you are and let’s start a conversation!
