How to Dress for Indoor Family Photos
“Do you have any questions or hesitations before our session?” We were wrapping up our call, and I always let my clients have the last word. Nothing hanging in the air. “Well,” she paused. “I’m not sure how we should dress.”
It was a good question, even without the question mark. We’re doing an indoor family session, at home, where we all tend to be the most casual. But you don’t necessarily want to be braless, in leggings and a t-shirt. And at the other end of the spectrum, we aren’t going to be doing much posing, and could be crawling around on the floor, depending on your family. So maybe nix the fancy strapless dress.
I’m not going to tell you exactly what to wear, because each family is different, and each mom I work with has her own unique style. I have some guidelines for you, though, to make the most of your at-home family session.
It must be comfortable.
As much as you don’t want photos of you in pajamas, you don’t want photos of you pulling at nice clothes because they’re too tight, itchy, scratchy, or ill-fitting. Comfortable doesn’t have to equal schlubby, it just means your clothes fit, and are made of fibers that generally feel nice on your skin. Whatever that means to you.
Let’s talk color.
Pay attention to your decor when you pick outfits. We’re not trying to camouflage you in your house, nor are we trying to match you with your furniture. If you have a dark blue couch, maybe don’t choose dark blue as your main outfit color. If you have a dark couch, consider lighter colors for your outfits, or vice versa. Also as a general rule of thumb, I like to avoid black altogether. The tiniest specks of dust, hair, and skin tend to shine brightest on black clothing. Plus, you tend to lose dimension in black, leaving you as just a blob of torso. Nobody wants to be a torso blob.
You can totally dress for the season.
Just because we’re indoors doesn’t mean you can’t dress for the season we’re in… or even for the season you want it to be. The holidays are right around the corner, and who would know if you dressed for winter and knocked those holiday cards off your task list early? Pro tip: holiday cards don’t have to be posed photos in a park at the height of fall. You know what your family and friends would really love seeing on a card? Your real life. Your family enjoying time together. Maybe even with an update about that life and how things are going. We started doing that a few years ago and people actually started messaging me after receiving our card, remarking on how good it was to see us being us.
Along those same lines… wardrobe changes are allowed.
Because we’re at home, we can spend your hour however you like. You can keep the kids in pjs and we can spend part of our time documenting the fun (or “fun”) of dressing the kids in the morning. Or we can start casual and then change into fancier garb for a “grandma photo” at the end (that’s a photo that Grandma would like). Or start in nicer stuff and then change for a messy snack at the end as a reward for cooperating (whatever works).
Bottom line: it’s your session and we can and will mold it around you and your family, instead of the other way around. If you need ideas for how to dress for your session, I’ll help you.
As for this particular client? I told her to dress for “brunch with friends.” Jeans and a nice top, or however she’d do brunch with friends. She understood immediately. Do you need more inspiration? Check out my what to wear Pinterest board for ideas.
