What NOT to wear to your Boston Family Session

What not to wear to your next Boston photo session with me

Before the time comes, I spend time  trying to communicate to my clients what they should wear during a family photo session. The truth is, however, that there are a lot of different choices out there that work great for family photos.  So instead of talking about the must do, which can vary from family to family, let’s chat about my top “what not to wear” suggestions for your Boston family session.

P.S. This blog may be about what NOT to wear, but this post will show you all the amazing clients who did nail their styling during their family session in Boston!

Double P.S. Above all, I want my clients to be themselves.  These are suggestions, and you can feel free to tell me to MYOB and wear what makes you, YOU (which is also my number 1 tip)!!

And Triple PS:  If you want something very funny to check out on what NOT to wear, check these out!  

Inappropriate shoes for a family session!

Skip the high heels, or anything you cannot move quickly in (or would sink into the ground wearing).  Flip flops can be hard for children to run and play in (which is the key to any of my sessions) so I avoid those!  And for an in-home or beach session, bare feet are king!

Bright colors, logos & bold pattern

No super bright colors (def no neon!!)  – they don’t photograph well and cast crazy colors onto your skin!

Visible logos and large patterns – these distract from the overall image – you want the focus to be on the person and the connection and not on the HUGE nike swoosh across your child’s chest!  The large patterns can also distract from the face and take the viewer’s eye directly to the huge flowers on your dress.  I mean, what do you see here??  I see FLOWERS!  Or this?!  I can’t!  

Ill-fitting clothing

This may seem like an obvious thing to mention, but I promise its important.  Let’s first focus on the men.  Dads often wear shirts that are simply too short for their torso.  Because we love to play, Dads can expect to be swinging, tossing children, giving piggy back and shoulder rides. At home, try lifting your arms to the sky. If your shirt comes way above your belly, it’s probably not a good choice! 

And for the ladies; don’t wear dresses that are too short – it makes all of the above things difficult and even just the sitting and cuddling shots are more awkward when you can’t sit comfortably snuggled up with your babies.  Also, another mistake that moms can make is to wear a dress that doesn’t cover their bra correctly. If needed and you’re comfortable with it, skip the bra and wear pasties so you don’t have to worry about it! Constantly adjusting bras isn’t going to lead to a carefree session.

The Blues…

Okay, this is a personal choice, but I’ve found over the years that any time clients wear tons of blue, something looks off to me.  I love the sunshine and blue being the opposite of yellow, often sucks the warmth and sunshine from the photos.   Yes, you can still incorporate blue of course, but I would recommend limiting it so not every person is in blue and the blue is a muted shade. In the photo below, there is blue, but it is cut with a lovely shade of pink on mom — muted blue for the win.

Big Collars on little kids during your Boston family session

Collared shirts or turtleneck sweaters on babies:  Babies have to be held alllll the time right?!?  From experience I can tell you that if you are holding your kiddo, when they have high neck shirts on, it bunches up and we are CONSTANTLY pulling down their shirts so we can see their adorable faces. For held babies, less is more. Also I always suggest a onesie on held kiddos or we will be puling the shirt down the entire session.

Head No, Nos

DON’T WEAR BASEBALL HATS OR FLOPPY HATS THAT COVER YOUR EYES! The shadows that can be caused by these over your eyes is tough. If you want to wear a hat, please know I will prob ask you to move it back to the crown of your head so I can see your beautiful eyes. I do LOVE a hat on a woman, as we can use it in so many ways, but just remember when you style your hair, the hat goes back on your head farther than usual.

Also, headbands on young girls – It does look cute for sure, but almost every session I’ve had with headbands, they are either falling into the little ladies’ face, and time is spent redoing the headband, again and again and again.if you can’t resist the adorable headband, I recommend using bobby pins. And babies headbands can be adorable but sometimes they are simply TOOOOOOO big and TOOOOO floppy.    But when a hat works, it’s MAGIC! Also, it may keep the hair out of your face during a windy Boston Family Session.

No Matchy, Matchy

Completely matching outfits: Matching outfits are out, coordinating is in.  I know I preach this, but it’s just your friendly reminder to not put your entire family in jeans & white shirts.  I know it was a big thing for a while to wear matching outfits/patterns but I really love when there is a variety of colors and patterns.  The main reason for this is that anyone wearing the same color is going to blend into each other. It looks much better to have a separation between people so you can see where one person ends and the next starts 😉

If you want to wear the same color as someone else in your family, just pick a different shade so there is a difference.  Last, avoid putting your entire family all in different shades of the same color, you want variety.

Cover the booty

 If you put little ladies in skirts don’t forget a very cute diaper cover!  

Don’t be someone you are not — during your Boston Family Photo Shoot!

Being YOU is the most important part of having your family photos taken. 

So, are you ready to follow what not to wear and get on my books? Let’s chat!!