Or simply, what looks best in a photo. Here is a little guide on what to wear/not wear during your shoot.
You can never underestimate the importance of styling when it comes to creating a great photoshoot. It’s amazing how making a little bit of effort to what you are wearing can be the difference between a mediocre shoot and a brilliant shoot. It’s all in the detail.
What you are hoping to achieve is a look which looks effortless and natural. Although it’s very cute when clients do occasionally turn up in matching outfits, the perfect styling for me is when everyone has their own look. So even if cousins are in the same dress (as in the example below), it’s the unique accessories or different coloured cardigans which will set them apart. This was a great example of a really well styled shoot from last Spring.
In this shoot, they worked with blue and yellow, but because they weren’t identically matching and wore different shades of blue and yellow, it worked really well. It was also a great choice when working with the daffodils and Spring colours.
The rule I give to clients is simple.
Please avoid too much black or dark colours. But if you are going to have a lot of dark colours on, try to break it up with pops of colour here and there. Without the pops of red and blues, this family shot wouldn’t have worked as well in the dark cow shed.
Try to include some colour in your outfits. You can either go for pastels and lights, or brighter colours, but pay attention to the following tips.
The best approach is to select three to four colours from which you can then pull your outfits.
The next example chose from a palette of pinks, blues and browns. I loved how they had a pop of bright pink with the little girl’s gilet and mum’s jumper, but it wasn’t overpowering and was complemented really well with the son and dad’s darker outfits. You know I said about matching outfits being cute 🙂 I also love that they introduced some pattern in their shirts, so it wasn’t just plain blocks of colour.
Be careful with bright colours though – they can dominate a group shot if there is too much of it! But little pops here and there can be really effective.
When photographing larger groups, some sort of cohesion between everyone’s outfits really pulls the group together, as you can see in this large family shoot. A simple colour palette, but the introduction of a few patterns has really added interest to the group.
Get creative with your outfits. Don’t be afraid to mix things up if you want to.
In the next example, they decided to pull from a really lovely pastel palette including a rainbow of colours. It included patterns, stripes, blocks of colours and did go against the three colour rule, but that was okay because they worked together beautifully. Effortlessly, as if they had just thrown their outfits on. I love this as it still gives the kids an individual identity.
As we’re into Autumn, here is a lovely example of a family pulling their ideas from a seasonal palette. Again, it’s combining stripes, checks, and simple blocks of colour but by sticking with similar colours it ties them together.
Don’t be afraid of wearing coats for a winter shoot. To be honest, I would be worried if you didn’t! But you can add pops of colour and layers of interest to a simple coat by layering on the scarves, hats, and colourful boots.
You might want to do something more ‘stylised’ which is perfectly fine, and can work really well for the right shoot. For example, the styling of this family for a recent maternity shoot made it so much more beautiful, in my opinion. And the other example below was from a wedding anniversary beach shoot, which worked so well.
For younger kids, why not let them get dressed up? This little love turned up to two separate shoots years apart as a fairy – she looked adorable every time.
I really hope this has helped you in some way to understand how important it is to make an effort with styling, if you can. However, ultimately if your child is not happy with their outfit and it is becoming a battle of the wills to make them wear it, I’d rather have a happy child than a grumpy one. So don’t lose sleep over it! 🙂
