Baby Emily

Isnt she absolutely gorgeous??? 

My Sister-in-law is Getting MARRIED!!!!!

I don't have a lot of time but had to share some of these photos from my beautiful sister-in-laws Engagements. This will be a 2 part post...more pictures later! and a little about their Engagement story!

Ivan's attempt at being "serious!" They were so funny!

What, Oh What Should I Wear?

I get this question on almost EVERY session I book.WHAT SHOULD I WEAR??/ The options are endless but I know it can be a bit overwhelming. So I will give you some key rules to follow when picking your outfits. (These rules will be applied to family portraits but can really be used for any session!)


1. Decide Your Color Scheme
Your clothes don't need to Match necessarily, they need to GO. What this means is that your colors dont have to all be the same. Instead they need to be in the same color palette.

So, basically what that means is you don't want to  mix bright colors with pastels, or summer colors with fall colors. Make sense?

2. Pick a Focal Piece
When decided the different pieces of your outfit(s), pick 1 piece that you absolutely love. Whether it be a cute floral print dress, plaid shorts, etc. You don't want to many "focal pieces" other way your eye wont know where to focus in the portrait. By pick this 1 focal piece you then plan the rest of the outfits around it. Now this doesn't mean that one outfit will stand out the most, after accessorizing (point number 4) it will all flow together.

3. Pick 3 Its a good idea to pick 3 colors to work with as your main colors. Then add in neutrals such as grays, whites, blacks or browns as freebies. Not necessarily al of them together, but pick one or two that work with your 3 main colors you chose.

4. Accessories, Accessories, Accessories
I cant stress enough about how much accessories and layers add to a portrait. They give depth, pizzazz, fun and visual interest to the photo. Examples are carves, cardigans, hats, jewelry, headbands, tights, ties, etc.Sometimes I will buy a bunch of different accessories within the  color scheme (keeping all receipts of course) and throwing them in until I like it. Some examples would be, if you have more than 1 girl don't do both yellow headbands. Do one yellow and one blue to spread out the colors. With boys, they are much harder to accessorize! But you could have them both do layers such as undershirts with either a polo or button-up shirt with sleeves rolled up to add visual interest, maybe a vest, etc. that way you can spread out the colors there too.

5. Mom, Don't give yourself the leftovers!

You know that there are those moms who go around at dinner making sure everyone else has their dinner and everything they need then by the time the sit down to eat, their dinner is cold??? DONT be that mom when it comes to your outfit. As moms we so often plan everyone elses' outfits then just grab something out of our closet that goes with the color scheme, but just looks "ok." You need to feel the BEST in your pictures. You are rarely in the picture because you are the one taking them, so when you do get in them, you need to look and feel AWESOME!!! If anything, you should find an outfit that you love on yourself first, then plan the rest of them around yours! 

6. Split Up The Color 

If I have 6 people in my family, and have chosen 3 main colors for my scheme, I don't want all the color concentrated on top, nor to the people that are close in age/size in the same colors. I would want to have some of the color on the bottom on a couple of them to balance it out. You can do this with shoes, skirts, pants, and tights. there are so many more options right now with those fun colorful jeans! You aren't just investing in a photographer, but in the clothing to show off your awesome family.

7. Lay it on the Floor

Once you have figured out what you want to wear, gather them all up and find a spot in your home to lay them out. It can even help to take a picture of them (because everything looks different once on camera) and see if there is a color or something you are lacking, or maybe even over-doing.

8.Split up the Pairs

If you have natural pairs in the family:mom and dad, brother sisters, mom and baby, try to split up the colors, as they will often be standing next to each other. When I have babies, I know I will usually be holding the (helps me look thinner) so I see my baby as my "pair and try not to dress us alike. Same for my husband and I, etc. This part can get a bit tricky, so do your best, then let it go! Hopefully the photographer :) will notice this and space out the color throughout the portrait. But ultimately the natural/candid shots that I like the best aren't so planned out!

                                     

9. Plan Ahead

Make sure you start planning as soon as you book your session! Hopefully at least a coupe of weeks before the session. This will insure that you have plenty of time to get what you need and you aren't stressing at the last minute.

10. Make Sure You Feel Comfortable

Ultimately, if you aren't comfortable with how you look are the way everything flows, It will show in your photo. So make sure you are comfortable with your choices...just as in #9, give yourself plenty of time to figure out your attire, just incase you need to make changes :)

So there you have it! My top 10 tips for 'What Should I Wear?'

I know its WAY over-do for a BLOG

okay....okay! I know I should have started a blog a LONG time ago, but better late than never, right!? HA! For all of my clients, I will post photos from your shoot so you can share them all with your screaming fans!!!
And for everyone else(like those of you who want to become clients!!! hint...hint...) I will also be posting tips and tricks about getting the most out of your shoot/session. I also will take suggestions on things that you'd like to learn, maybe about YOUR camera, taking MOM photos or anything else! Thanks for your support!
~Yours Truly