what to wear: family session
Sunday, October 9th, 2022
It is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, and families are gathering together to baste the turkey, get the pie in the oven and enjoy some flannel-wrapped merriment. Autumn is always a busy season for family shoots and what better time to get around to this blog post of what to wear- the family session edition.
If you read my earlier post about maternity shoots, many of my general rules overlap. I still favour natural fabrics (cotton, linen, wool) in neutral colours (earth tones, pastels, grey, cream, navy). And I still advocate for comfort… always…ESPECIALLY when there are toddlers involved.
But with family shoots, there are just more bodies to dress. Often, families want to look like a cohesive bunch, while avoiding the 1990’s Gap-ad pitfall of clones in white t-shirts and blue jeans. And I agree- the goal should be to coordinate, but not to match exactly. I think this is most easily done by sticking to the same colour palette, while finding different clothing pieces for each person- maybe your family looks best in earth tones, but Dad is rocking the dark brown chunky knit, Mom is in a cream sweater dress, and little Timmy is in a striped beige onesie. Or maybe, it is the summertime, and you and your daughters all want to wear white linen dresses (…my absolute dream), but you decide to add some variety and choose a different style for each dress. Allowing the pieces to be similar in one way (tone, texture, fabric) and different in another way will help you look coordinated enough. But also, if it is the morning of the shoot and your toddler insists on wearing their bright pink princess dress, that is cool too.
If we are shooting in the fall and winter, layering knits will be your best friend- texture photographs so well! I love adding wool coats, chunky scarves or an extra cardigan- it gives you some variety in your photographs without even changing your outfit. If we are shooting in the summer, less is more and remember that sweat often just looks like a *glow*on camera. No matter the season, bring a cozy blanket (or two) with you because the shots of you sitting all cuddled up together are often the favourites.
And since pictures are worth a thousand words, here are some of my favourite family looks…
