You finally got the dates together, sat down and booked your photographer for your family session, only to remember that you have to actually wear clothes to this session you just booked, AND they have to all coordinate!
I can't tell you the amount of times I have put off booking my own session for my family because of the outfit planning. IT IS SO OVERWHELMING!
BUT
It doesn't have to be!
Step One: Choose Your Color Pallet.
In order to figure this out, you first have to answer this question: What are you going to do with the photos from your session?
If you hope to create wall art pieces with these photos, and you want to display them in your home, you should choose your pallet to fit your home decor.
FOR EXAMPLE:
Your home may be vibrant with bold colors like bright blue with yellow accent pillows. Use a color palette similar to this one.
Or you may have farmhouse chic with neutral colors with pops of dusty pink. This palette would work for you.
You may have an industrial style home, with darker tones and rust colored accents.
If none of these match your decor, you can use this FANTASTIC way of finding your best color palette. Canva has a really awesome way of finding the color pallet of just about anything! Got a favorite painting, pillow, or rug?! Go here and download your image, Canva will pick out the colors for you to give you a great palette to work from.
If you are not interested in hanging your photos, and just want to have an updated photo for social media, or Christmas cards, you should choose your palette by the season of your photos.
The best way to do this is:
Go to pinterest and search either spring, summer, winter or fall color palettes.
This will give you a lot of great options to work with. You don't necessarily have to use the seasonal color palettes that match the season you are in, you may fall in love with the summer palette when your session is in the fall. Just make sure you stick to one palette in your session.
NOTE: Using a color palette doesn't mean that you need to use ALL of the colors in the palette. Pick 3 colors, maybe 4 and work with those. Using one of those colors as your base color, such as grey or blue or brown, you will then use one of the brighter colors as your pop outfit and then the other colors will be your accents.
Step Two: Pick Your First Outfit.
Choosing your first outfit is vital in this process. You will decide on everyone's outfit based off of that one piece.
There are two ways to choose your first outfit.
1) Choose your pop color, and find an outfit with that color. Your pop color is the one that is a bit "louder", brighter, or bolder than the rest. It may be the red in the industrial palette, or yellow from the bright palette.
I love the farmhouse chic color palette shown above, and one of the colors that pop in that group is the tangy taffy pink. Using that color, I would find an outfit that I loved, either for myself or my children.
Here is an example:
This is a precious dress using the pink color in my palette. I will plan all of my outfits around this one keeping my color palette in mind. Because I have chosen my pink color as my pop color, I know that I need to use the other colors in the palette for the rest of my outfits.
2) Find an outfit that you absolutely love. It may not follow any palette you have seen, but you love it so much, it BECOMES your color palette. Here is an example:
I saw this dress in the shop Mini Macarons in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and was head over heels!
This has multiple colors in it that I know I can plan outfits with. I didn't have a color palette in mind when I saw this dress, so it became my palette.
Step Three: Plan the Rest of Your Outfits.
Now that you have found your first outfit, you can start finding the rest of your pieces.
I am going to show you how I styled my family session off of the color palette in my home and the dress I found to match with it.
Using my color palette, farmhouse chic, I found my pop color piece, the pink, and chose two outfits using that color. Then, looking at my color palette I selected pieces that fit within those colors.
The sage green dress pairs well with the sweater near the bottom, and the olive green pants that my older boys will wear pair well with the dark brown pants for my husband. I chose dark brown boots for myself, and a similar color shoe for my smallest boy. My husband will wear the same color pink as my daughter. Because I don't like for the clothes my children wear to look exactly the same, I chose an ivory color for my oldest and a grey for my middle boy. I probably will find other ways to incorporate the pink, like maybe a dusty pink scarf for my oldest, or a nice brown hat with a dusty pink ribbon around the edge.
To show a different example, I styled my family using my favorite outfit that I found.
First I looked at all of the colors on the dress. Yellow, beige, pink,navy are the main colors.
I know that the beige and navy can be really great base colors for me, and I can use the pink and yellow to tie the look together. I love the pink in the dress, and I want to highlight that a bit, so I am going to choose a pink that is similar for myself. I am not a huge fan of my boys wearing the same outfits, so I look for variety with them.
Here is what I came up with:
Using the dress, I picked out pieces that would stay within the color palette. I was careful not to choose too many pieces of the same color. I would be wearing the pink top with the navy pants, which would match well with my 2yr old's navy pant. I chose only two mustard pieces, and only two people would be wearing denham. I would probably put some blush colored or mustard colored stockings with the dress.
So, how in the world did I find all of these outfits? I have a little secret.
I use a website called Style&Select. YA'LL! This website is amazing. You enter in how many people, what their ages are and genders, you pick your colors, and BOOM! It gives you a variety of outfits to choose from for each age in your color palette. BRILLIANT!
There is a small catch, but one that I can help with. You have to have a subscription to use it. BUT, guess who has a subscription?! THIS GIRL RIGHT HERE! AND!!! I get to share it with you for only $3! JUST GO HERE! If you are a client of mine already, just reach out and I will get that to you for no extra cost.
Using Style & Select is amazing because it not only gives you the ability to look at a group of outfits and find a great combination of things, BUT it also gives you the price and links to where to buy the clothes.
You may not want to buy the specific dress that is shown, but the site does give you the ability to see what type of dress, or color, or pattern looks good with the rest of the clothes, so you can then go to other sites to find something that works for your price range, or size.
Looking for clothes isn't too difficult these days, online shopping is the thing now. I often will type in what I am looking for in google, like: "teal dress". I search through image results and then look at the websites. If it's a name I recognize, I feel pretty good about it. Old Navy, Gap, Nordstrom, Forever21, Limited etc. You can find the piece you like on Amazon Prime Wardrobe and then return it if it doesn't work for you. You just need to know your size when shopping online.
SPEAKING OF SIZE:
The struggle is real ya'll. Being a 37 year old woman, with four kids, and an unhealthy addiction to all things brownie, forcing yourself to do a family session can be difficult. I really was not very good at styling myself, because I didn't know what kind of clothes looked good on my body, until I found this site, Joy of Clothes. This is a great tool to be able to find what looks good on YOU.
I know it's hard to feel good in your skin. I am a strong advocate for doing a session anyway. You will never be able to go backwards in time. Making sure you document your family, where they are now, is vital. Don't allow self consciousness to keep you from being able to cherish these days 10 years from now. You will regret it, and I hate that. I regret not having pictures of me with my boys when they were smaller, BUT I know I can change that this year. If you are in the same boat as me, let's commit to one another that our size won't get in the way of documenting these precious moments. You can hold me to it.
Last thing before I finish this piece: SHOPPING LOCAL!
If you are living in the Baton Rouge area, or nearby, here are some brilliant places to shop!
Mini Macarons is an excellent shop for boutique children's clothing. It's located in Baton Rouge, and should definitely be checked out! Here are my precious babies in their gorgeous clothing! I love this shop because they will bend over backwards to help style your children for you. Their clothes are super great quality, AND they have a little play area for kids to entertain themselves while you shop.
For women's clothing please check out Fig and Sparrow! First of all, Kristin is the owner and she is FABULOUS! I love her sweet soul, and she will help you with whatever you need. Currently her shop is located only online, but that's my favorite anyway, because I can shop from home! Here are a few of her current pieces.
When it comes to shopping for outfits, it can be complicated for sure. But using the tools I've shown here can certainly help.
The last tip I can give to you is that stealing outfit ideas isn't illegal. Here are a few of my favorite from previous sessions! I'm sure they wouldn't mind you borrowing some ideas! If you need to look at more examples you can go here!
Of course, if you are in need of a Family Session, reach out and we will make it happen! FALL FAMILY SESSIONS are booking up now, so run over and schedule one!
There are a lot of photographers out there. A LOT! The days of JcPenny Portraits, and Olan Mills have been eclipsed by the digital age, and the availability of "nice" cameras at an affordable price.
On any given day you can ask your facebook friends for a photographer and easily get 30 business names.
So how do you choose? Take a look at these 5 steps that can help you find YOUR perfect photographer.
This may seem obvious, but I assure you it's important to check where the photographer you are looking at is located. You may find yourself paying a travel fee if you are far outside of their area.
Also, having a photographer that is familiar with your area is a huge bonus. They will know some great locations that someone who isn't local won't be aware of, and they will rely on you to know the spot. As a photographer I know this can be difficult because I need to know where the sun dips in a location to tell you if it's a good spot, and that isn't information most clients will know.
EXTRA TIP: If your photographer doesn't seem interested in the time of day that the session is planned, or the location, you may be either looking at a novice photographer, or one that isn't well versed in outdoor shooting.
Every photographer has a different style of posing and editing. It's good to know the difference between them so you can decide which best suites you.
Portrait Posed
This style is used by most photographers. They will place their clients in the pose, and ask them to smile on cue.
+ You get a great view of everyone's face.
- You may end up with stiff and awkward smiles
Lifestyle
This style is focused on allowing the clients to move freely and the photographer captures the portraits organically.
+ Real smiles and connection
- No direction can make some clients feel nervous and uncomfortable.
Prompting
This style combines the first two. The photographer will pose their clients but then give them prompts to create that genuine interaction.
+ Best of both worlds
- The prompts could make shy people feel a little awkward.
If you aren't sure which your photographer focuses on you can ask them!
Editing
Moody
This style will keep your photos looking a little darker and less saturated. I like the old film look that it creates.
This photo was taken by Michelle Elyse Photography . I love her style and the connection in this photo.
Light and Airy
This style will keep your photos looking bright and clean! It reminds me of a pile of clean towels waving in the breeze outside.
This photo was taken by Suzi Bird.
Editorial Style
This style will keep your photos looking true to color. The colors are saturated, the photo isn't dark, or bright, it's just a good representation of what you saw the day you took your photos.
This photo was taken by Me! Here is more of my work to get a better idea of this style!
This really is a just a matter of visual preference, but also your interior design style. If you plan on hanging a wall gallery it would be great to match your photography style with that of your home.
There are many different types of photography sessions, and it's important to find someone who specializes in that type if at all possible.
I personally specialize in Connective Portraits. That means that sessions that involve family, couples or siblings are what I'm the best at. If you desire to capture the true connection you share with your loved ones, I'm your gal!
I do not however even try Newborn photography, because that takes some super magic skills that I do not have. Photographer Melissa Thornton at Quibby-Made Photography, for example, is amazing at her specialty of Newborn photography.
Branding photography is another one that is important to make sure the photographer specializes in that type. Personal branding is the modern way of marketing. It gives your client the ability to know you, without ever saying a word. Hands down I think Meagan Stone is the best there is in the Baton Rouge area.
Boudoir Photography has become very popular. This photographer has really outdone herself when it comes to quality and service! The Beauty of Boudoir, in my opinion, is the best to go to in our local area.
Wedding is another specialty and I am hoping to break into this myself soon, because there is no better connection than at a wedding - am I right?!
So take a look at your photographer's website, look at the portraits that you see, and read what the photographer says. It should be easy to spot which kind of photography you are looking at, if that's their specialty.
Along with the digital age of photography came the rise of shoot and burn. Shoot and burn is photography lingo for taking photos and placing the images on cds, usbs, or digital galleries for the clients to then print the images themselves, or just use on social media. It became THE thing to do as a photographer. It was no longer popular for photographers to use their professional labs to get prints to their clients.
Over time however, that trend is starting to shift. It became apparent that many people loved having their digital files, because it's nice to be able to use them on social media, but when it came time to print them it was overwhelming. The best intentions brought a lot of empty walls, lost usb drives, broken discs and expired galleries.
So there are photographers out there who put print first, and digitals second. Some don't sell digital images at all, some sell them separate from the session fee as stand alone items, and some sell them with the prints that are made from their studio. I know that just getting your digital images sounds like the easiest solution, but for many people, it really leads to more stress.
So check your photographer's services or ask them. Don't just expect that they give their digital images, or that they will print your photos, go in knowing exactly what you will receive.
Once you have done all of your research into your photographer, and have found out they are the right pick for you, it's time to see if their price is where you need it to be.
As much as I want to say, "if you love them, don't worry about price!", but I know the reality of my own situation. Many of you may have said to yourself, "that's the first thing I check for!" In which case I understand. But once you fall in love with "your" photographer, you may decide that they are worth saving for.
Keep in mind that you do get what you pay for. There is nothing wrong with going to a "cheap photographer" if you really just "need a couple good pictures." But you will be at their service, not the other way around. I can't remember a time that I went to burger king and got my 10 nuggets for a dollar, and they asked me if I was happy with them. But when I go to Juban's, they make sure I am satisfied with my meal. Same with photography. If you want magic to happen on a canvas, choose a photographer who charges for their years of experience, and their customer service.
So there you have it!! 5 steps to finding YOUR photographer!
If you have any questions feel free to reach out!
