FIVE QUICK STYLING TIPS FOR A SPRING FAMIY PHOTO SHOOT
You’ve taken the plunge and booked a spring family photo shoot with a professional photographer. Only now you’re stressing about what you should all wear! Let’s face it, it’s hard enough to get everybody ready, dressed, and out of the house on time let alone in co-ordinating outfits without breakfast all down them or grass stains on their knees.
I have lots of family photo shoots coming up over the next few months, including my Spring family mini shoots at Wandlebury Country Park, so I thought I’d share quick tips for taking the stress out of choosing outfits for your family photo shoot.
FIVE FAMILY STYLING TIPS
spring family photo shoot
1 – Start with one person
Rather than trying to co-ordinate everybody at the same time, start with just one member of your family. I would recommend choosing one of your children’s outfits first and make sure you’re totally happy with those items and the colours. Next you can start to select items for everybody else that sit well with this first outfit.
H&M Kids have some great affordable items available this season that would look great for any Spring family photo shoot.
GIRLS CLOTHING CHOICES
BOYS CLOTHING CHOICES
2 – Choose your colours according to your backdrop
During the Spring and summer seasons, colours are fresh and vibrant. There are lots of greens, pinks, blues and purples in the beautiful Cambridge countryside. As Spring heads towards Summer, we see more warm and neutral yellows and beige tones appearing, as the wheat ripens and the grasses dry out. For your photographs to look good, you should dress your family to compliment these colours rather than clash with them. Here are some examples of families that did a great job choosing their colours and tones.
3 – Dress for the weather
Early spring weather is notoriously unpredictable! Some days will be bright glorious warm sunshine and others blustery and chilly. It’s a good idea to make sure everybody has lots of layers. If your children are cold and miserable it will basically put an end to your photo shoot. Thin pastel knits work well over shirts or t-shits and can always be removed if children get hot whilst running around.
4 – Are you comfortable?
Make sure your children are comfortable in what they’re wearing. If they are dressed too formally and can’t run around and have fun, it will show in their mood and therefore in your photos too!
Their clothes need to be appropriate for playing outdoors as well as look good for your photos! For example, your daughter may love her pink sparkly party shoes, but 5 minutes into a walk through the woods and the likelihood is they’ll be wet and muddy and looking grotty.
The same goes for the parents. You’ll feel far more relaxed and able to enjoy spending time playing with your children during a photo shoot if you’re comfortable in your clothes.
5 – The Do’s and Don’ts of choosing your photo shoot outfits
If all else fails, there are some basic do’s and don’ts to help you choose what to wear for your Spring family photoshoot:
DO:
- Layer up! You can always remove them if you get too warm.
- Wear sensible shoes for walking through wet grass and muddy woodland
- Bring a spare set of clothes for each of your children in case of wet or muddy accidents.
- choose one of two basic colours that you can all stick too in various tones
- use neutral colours such as white, cream and beige alongside your brighter colour choices.
DON’T
- Avoid children’s character clothing such as peppa pig jumpers or spider-man coats.
- Leave the sports kit at home. I know its hard to persuade boys they can’t wear a football kit!
- Try not to bring children’s comforters or dummies. They often get upset if you want to take them away for photos and won’t carry on without them.
- Anything stuffed into pockets, such as keys, wallets or phones etc will be visible in your shots!
MORE INFORMATION
Louisa Williams is a family photographer based near Cambridge. If you’re interested in a family photo shoot, you can find more details about her sessions here or email louisafrenchphotography@gmail.com
Louisa also offers beginner’s photography tuition for parents. More information on teaching sessions can be found here.
FIND ME
Louisa French Photography
Cambridge Photographer
louisafrenchphotography@gmail.com