FALL FAMILY SESSIONS / WHAT TO WEAR

Hello everyone! 

As we prepare for fall and our amazing fall sessions I thought I'd put together a little blog post to help y'all out with planning what to wear. As if there are not enough things on your plate already, right? My goal is to show you several options so that you can pull together something fairly easily, that will look great on camera, and most importantly, something you can feel confident in! 

1. Start with mom's outfit, then follow suit with the rest. There's nothing worse than getting everyone situated and then realizing you have nothing to wear! Since us girls are typically a little more complicated, but also have lots of accessory options, get yourself set up first and then follow suit with everyone else. 

2. When prepping, lay everyone's clothes out on the bed at the same time. If anything sticks out while it's all laying out, it'll stick out in the photos, too. This can happen with pops of color, but instead of ditching that one colorful piece, try to find another accessory in the same color that you can add to someone else's outfit. If you have a child in a yellow shirt, try to find a scarf or bracelet with some yellow to tie it all in. Two yellow items are better than one and can bring balance to the overall look.

3. Coordinating but not matching. The days of everyone wearing a white shirt and blue jeans are gone, in favor of coordinating colors and patterns that allow everyone's individual personalities to shine through. 

4. Details matter. This comes into play with textures of the clothes and accessories. Tweed, ruffles, lace, denim, corduroy, chambray, and silk all play off of each other to help the big picture come together. I love seeing layering of shirts, vests, cardigans, scarves, necklaces, etc., but proceed with caution. Flashy or large accessories can overwhelm your beautiful faces, especially the little ones. While some trendy pieces can be so fun to wear for a shoot, they will also date the photos as time goes by, so beware! P.S. Don't let the guys wear white socks- they will inevitably show! 

5. Dressy vs. casual: it's up to you. The images of your family will turn out beautifully as long as everyone is in agreement. If you had a baseball themed shoot where three members were wearing baseball tees, denim shorts, ball caps and sneakers but one showed up in a suit wouldn't that look a little off? In the same way, three dressed for a holiday party, complete with accessories and one oddball in a sweatshirt or baseball cap would be a little disappointing. You pick what style of shoot you want, but please have everyone's outfits in agreement. 

6. Holiday cards. If you're going to put your image into a holiday card, remember that the card itself will probably be pretty "Christmas-y" so I advise going more neutral with your clothing so you can have a canvas or framed print of your beautiful family displayed in your home year round without it looking like a "Christmas photo". My favorite 3 fall themes to use that are still great all year round are neutrals, denim, and plaid. 

7. Look to your home decor. If you plan to hang one of your image in your living room, and that room has mostly neutral colors, dress yourselves to match so that your photo doesn't stick out. On the contrary, if the room is bold with lots of color, feel free to embrace that approach in your wardrobe choices. 

8. Props. If you have something cute, coordinating, and especially if it has family significance (a chair, wagon, blanket, bench, coffee cups, etc.) please talk to your photographer about including it in your shoot. These little things can make a shoot very special and personalized to your unique family. 

Practical tips for shoot prep:

• Pick clothes that you feel great in. Don't spend the entire shoot feeling self-conscious or uncomfortable because of a bulge or too-tight clothing.
• The week before the shoot is a great time to make sure everyone's hair is fresh and get mom's nails done
• Non-messy snacks for kids (and maybe parents, too) when the shoot is right before dinner time will help keep hunger at bay and smiles present. 
• Depending on children's ages, consider bringing a family member, friend or sitter to your shoot to carry mom's purse, give children a familiar face to focus on during the shoot and supervise the children while I shoot mom and dad, alone.  

Here are some examples of color themes you can use:

Very neutral, versitale for all seasons and holidays.

This has FALL written all over it!

I personally love the denim, red, and tan color scheme and this has a pop of yellow, too!

A classic look that can go dressier (dad's clothes) or casual (children's clothes)- love the toddler sneakers! 

A timeless red and brown/tan/ivory look. 

My absolute favorite! For fall, this is warm, and while the tones are very close, it's not too matchy-matchy. 

I hope this little guide helps you. All of these photos were taken from Pinterest, and I hope they inspired you and showed you a few different ideas to try as your prep for your family session!