But What Should I Wear?

I get asked "What should I wear" at least once a week.  This time it's me asking.  The task of shooting my family is among one of the worst things I do.  It's hard being mommy and photographer.  There is a fine line between threatening them with bodily harm and still getting them to smile.  Every year I think it's going to be different, but every year we end in tears.  Well, I say "we" but it's normally just me in tears.  Why can't these little devils make things easy for me?


Tomorrow, I will attempt to get four happy faces in one frame.  Today, the "what to wear" question is going through my mine.  I always tell my clients to stay classic and timeless.  As I think about my first family photos, I think Olan Mills, roll down libraries and fuzzy carpets to sit on.  We would normally wear our most colorful plaid shirt, and if we felt really fancy we'd throw on a hat.  As the 80's rolled around we would tease our hair and put on the biggest pattern dress in our closet, huge and heavy earrings along with a pair of nude pantyhose.  By the time the 90's rolled around, we decided to stay neutral and all wear a button up white shirt with khaki's.  If we really wanted to shake things up, we'd do denim.  For the new millennium, we stuck with the minimal theme, but for the most part we did all black shirts.  Some "extended" family shots included different colors for each separate family unit.  Brilliant.  Very creative.

Today, I try to keep all of that in mind.  I don't want to date the photos too much by doing anything predictable.  I always recommend solid complimentary colors.  I recommend that you use tones that compliment each other as well as the surroundings.  If a pattern is used, I would just have one small element break up the solids.  I also think it's important for your clothing reflect you and your style.  If money were not an issue, I'd make the following groupings for my family.

However, since time and money are both issues, we will have to make things work from the closet.  Stay tuned to see what we came up with.