A frequent question I get asked by my clients is, "what should my family wear for our portrait session?" It's a great question because while
I want to capture the personality of the family I also hope that everyone's clothing works together, not against each
other. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to one's wardrobe.
But
here are some general tips and advice that can help make your portraits more visually appealing and cohesive.
The goal of any group shot is to direct
the viewer's attention to the
subjects' faces. No one family member should stand out or distract
from the other family members. To accomplish this, it's
important to put some thought into coordinating outfits. This doesn’t mean everyone has to wear identical outfits (which would be cheesy). Rather, the idea is to make
sure one family member doesn't show up wearing shorts and a tank top
when everyone else wears khakis and long-sleeved button
down shirts.
-
Coordinate outfits. Everybody in the portrait should wear
items that compliment each other in style and color. It is not necessary
for clothes to match, but they must make sense together. For
example, if one person wears a suit and tie and another wears shorts and
a t-shirt, the
portrait may look unbalanced and poorly planned.
-
Stick to solids and subtle patterns when possible. Bold stripes, large
designs, logos, and polka dots stand out and tend to draw attention from the
portrait's subjects. An eclectic mix of patterns can clash and reduce the
quality of a portrait.
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Dress in timeless clothing for your family portrait. Let your
age, not your clothes, date the portrait.
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Wear appropriate shoes and socks. Many family portraits are
full-body shots, so if Mom wears sneakers with her dress she'll
probably feel silly. If anyone plans to change clothes, bring shoes and
socks to go with each outfit.
-
Wear colors that translates well in photography. Color is
critical when taking group shots. Avoid wearing very intense, bright
colors. This means that cousin Beth shouldn't be wearing her
favorite neon pink blouse and fluorescent green mini skirt
.
Instead, have family members wear clothing with neutral
tones, such as blues and browns. Also, be careful not to mix light and dark
tones together. Doing so creates visual confusion, as one subject
appears to pop out of the photo while the other recedes. Dark colors
like navy blue, black and earth tones look especially nice outdoors.
White clothing can get lost against a white background. Bright shades of
yellow, red, orange and pink can alter skin
tones and aren't ideal for photographs.
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Clean and iron all clothing before the portrait. If your
clothes wrinkle easily, change just before the sitting. Bring wrinkle
release spray and a detergent pen to the portrait site for last-minute
emergencies.
Again, use this as a guideline not a hard and fast rule. In the end,
your family's personality, interaction and emotion will ultimately make
the portrait. The following photos are great examples of this.
