Choose Your Location (and season!) before wardrobe!

If you are having an outdoor session, you will tell me what kind of location you’re looking for OR about a specific image of mine you love on my website or blog and so that I can suggest the same (or a similar) location. You can do this on your questionnaire you are sent after booking.

I select all of my locations, so that I know where the light sets and falls, what directions will work best at what time of day, etc. This helps our session run more efficiently and smoothly, AND makes it so we can get the results YOU want! So, trust me! I know what I am doing and finding the perfect location FOR YOU is part of my job.

Once we have a location chosen, please also keep in mind the season. For example, will things be very green at your mid-summer shoot or brown in early spring? Colorful in the fall, and cold so we need layers, or super humid so we need lighter clothing? We don't want to match our backdrop, but we do want to coordinate with our surroundings and look like we belong.

Choosing Colors and Coordinating

Colors and tones: My style of photography works best with Earth tones and colors and I generally tend to suggest going in that direction if it will work with your surroundings and location. Tans, browns, creams, greens, yellows, and burnt oranges. If you are having a studio session with me, we mainly stick to browns, creams, tans, Earthy neutrals and warm tones to match the setting. I also do a lot of skin to skin, nude or implied, and intimate photos in the studio, so if you’re going for that, I have recommendations on where to get great intimates for those photos or feel free to utilize some of my studio only client closet pieces that are too delicate for outdoors.

Start with one item and build around it: I suggest you simply start with one piece of clothing and build from there. Usually, I start with Mom or one of the girls (if you have daughters!) because whether it’s a maternity session, newborn, or family, most women will tell you that it’s hardest to find something that looks great, photographs well and they feel comfortable in. So, start with you and do children or kids first unless you have a special outfit already chosen for a member of your family! Men and boys are (TYPICALLY!) the easiest, so they usually come last when I work on building a wardrobe set for a session. Next, pull from the colors of that outfit. If the outfit you started with has a pattern, start finding complimentary clothing pieces for other family members in the detailed colors of that first selection.

Coordinating and finding color schemes: Feel free to use color palettes I show here (below!) or look on Google or Pinterest. Coordinate, but do not match. I repeat, MATCHING IS NOT YOUR FRIEND HERE. Take a look at the photo above, Mom used a client closet dress, a light pink, and the kids and Dad she dressed herself. They aren’t matching, but they coordinate perfectly! I know putting all the kids in the same outfit or dressing the entire family in white polo shirts and blue jeans was a thing at one point, but I encourage you to avoid that at all costs. Each family member should stand out as an individual in your photographs, and by matching, everyone kind of blends in as one person. It really doesn't photograph well, trust me. If you need help figuring out what colors go together well or figuring out a color scheme for your outfits, let me know and I would be happy to send you some color palettes and examples!

Again, as I said above, my style of photography tends to do well with very Earthy and muted tones, so I suggest staying away from very bright colors as it doesn't translate well with my editing style. Anything fluorescent or super bright, will also leave color casts on your skin, and can translate poorly in photographs. Finally, instead of stark white, go for off white or ivory. I suggest staying away from BRIGHT STARK WHITE when you can, because it often will have a blueish tone in photographs.

THE DETAILS

SHOES: In the studio, we will go barefoot! Heck, if we are outdoors in the right conditions or in a creek or water we will forget the shoes! But, most likely if we are outside shoes will be a factor. Please leave the running shoes or those old tennis shoes you use to mow the grass in at home. Trust me, it will stick out and it will be noticed, and not in a good way. You are investing in professional photography, so let’s make it count! Hunter rain boots are adorable or trendy booties with a dress or jeans in the fall. Target now has a line of great looking men's dress shoes that are affordable if you need something in a pinch or have Dad throw on a pair of slip-on canvas shoes. Each family member should have shoes that add to their outfit, not take away from it. Cute shoes matter!

LAYERS: If it’s the right time of year, spring or fall, and we can add layers, ADD LAYERS! Layers are awesome and they add depth and texture to any image. Scarves, sweaters, and cardigans, you name it. Don’t be afraid of different textures either or patterns!

ACCESSORIES: Don’t forget accessories either. Bloomers or tights for little girls to cover up that diaper (PLEASE if young girls are in dresses, add bloomers OR make sure they have white underwear, we don’t want Elsa undies to be the star of your family photos!), knee-high socks are adorable for little girls in skirts or dresses. Jewelry for Mom, heck even a watch on Dad can be awesome. Please, not the Garmin he runs with, but the nice one that goes with his suit. Don’t be afraid to play around with things! Accessories are another way that we can also mix in our color selection, add in color pops to more neutral clothing or wardrobe choices, and keep things looking fresh. My personal style tends to be VERY neutral. I love women in hats, but I don’t suggest overdoing the accessories or worrying too much about too many things. I want you to stay natural and your favorite people to be the main focus. Always, always take off your Apple Watch. It’s not the vibe.

A few Additional Tips

Please do not wear brightly colored undergarments (OR NEON ANYTHING!) - I said it above, but NO neon colors on clothing. Anything bright, neon, etc. will actually cause color casts. What does this mean? You have a bright neon green shirt, and guess who’s face is going to look neon green? Yep, YOU! Don’t forget to have seamless and nude undergarments for women.

Everyone in khakis, jeans, white polos - Or anything that is all the same. Seriously. This one needs to be repeated. You’ll all blend in as one body with multiple heads in your squishy, hugging photos, and who wants to look like one giant lumpy body with multiple heads? I mean…I don’t.

Clothing with Text & Graphics and Trends - I know that the ‘big brother’ and ‘little brother’ and ‘mama bear’ ‘baby bear’ shirts and all of that are a huge craze right now. BUT, we want your images to be TIMELESS and CLASSIC. I suggest staying away from any clothing with text, logos, or large graphics. It’s trendy and it will absolutely date your images and it typically doesn't photograph well as babies and children move quickly, and the shirts get crumpled and it can be hard to read them. I say save those fun shirts for days out with friends and iPhone snapshots, and take out the classic attire for your session!