How to dress for your family session
This is probably the biggest thing that my clients worry about: What to wear.
Let me preface this by saying that whatever you do wear, as long as it doesn’t have large prints or really close stripes, you’re all good! Seriously, just about anything looks pretty darn great when a professional is taking your photos.
Color Combos
Having said that, let’s get into some really great color combos that work together for portraits. The key is to combine colors that match and are in the same color scheme without really matching exactly.
Matching
Matching is another way to go and it does look great when you want the photos to have a cohesive look. It’s also more timeless in that patterns and styles will all look uniform and won’t clash with each other.
This looks great when you’re thinking about printing the photos large and the background isn’t distracting so you all stand out nicely!
Mix and Match
Mixing and matching colors, textures, styles is a great look too and although you wouldn’t think so, it can really bring out the personality of the family members.
This might mean mixing patterns as well and keeping things very individual. Trust me, it all works and through my lens, your expressions and emotions are more important than what you’re wearing. ;)
What NOT to wear
A lot of colors, textures, and combos work really well together so it’s actually really difficult to tell you what to wear. Instead, it’s much easier to tell you what not to wear or to stay clear of during your portrait sessions.
Really narrow striping, sometimes this can give a weird effect when looking at the images on a computer screen. In print, everything looks good! :)
Large writing on shirts. Especially if they have any kind of message. Unless the writing is part of the shoot, like a t-shirt with the family name or other meaningful clothing, avoid really large writing. Or any writing or brand names on clothing. It can distract the viewer from what is most important - you!
Anything that is uncomfortable. When you’re uncomfortable, it completely shows. It shows in facial expressions and body language. Wear something that you feel absolutely comfortable wearing because that will make you shine and you’ll be more confident rather than focusing on your discomfort.
Socks. It’s not that you can’t wear socks, I just want to highlight that socks can make or break certain poses and so just make sure that your socks are matching the pants. For example, white socks stick out like a sore thumb, it’s best to go beige or black or even patterned. We really don’t have much of a sock issue here on the beach, but it can still make or break photos.
I hope these tips will help you choose the best outfits for your next portrait session. Of course, when you’re on a beach in Puerto Vallarta, pretty much anything goes!