We get asked this question all the time so we thought we would write a blog and give some tips on what to wear and what to bring on a shoot. We even added a link to our Pinterest Board we created with inspiration on how to dress for your next shoot!

Tip #1

BE YOURSELF!

I know it sounds cliche but it’s so important that you stay true to your style, but just be the best version of yourself! Do you have a Bohemian style and like to wear long flowy dresses? Rock it! Do you like to wear jeans and a shirt and be comfy? Bring it! Have fun with your outfit and be true to yourself! We just had a couple that loved comic books and going to comic-con, so they dressed up in super hero shirts, rocked their super hero converse and brought a comic book, and it was adorable! Your photos should tell YOUR love story or tell us about who YOU are as a family!

Tip #2

ACCESSORIZE!

 Nothing spices up an outfit like beautiful accessories. Necklaces, rings, hair accessories, scarves, fun hats, funky socks, fun t-shirts…they make an outfit and your style pop that much more and it gives us lots of details to take pictures of! You can even bring a bag of extra accessories that we can play with!!

Tip #3

BRING LAYERS!

Layers allow you to have variety in your outfits without having to hide somewhere or try to find a bathroom to change. Bring a cardigan, a jean jacket, two different colored shirts you can layer on top of each other, etc. You never know how an outfit will photograph, you might love it in the mirror but it looks weird in a photo. But, if you bring a cardigan or a layer you can play with, it might change the whole look and you might just love it!

Tip #4

BRING YOUR A GAME!

Remember, these photographs will be on your walls, in your albums, and on your social media for years to come so pay attention to details. Ladies, you should really try to get your hair and make-up done. Even if you like a natural look and you think, “Oh I don’t want to look like I have make-up caked on my face”, you can tell your make-up artist that and we can even recommend a few artists that will make you look your best! A make-up artist also knows how make-up will photograph! You might think you killed it with your bronzer and your eyeliner, but it can photograph completely different in natural light than it did in your mirror! It’s worth the money to make sure you look your best, and heck, get pampered and feel beautiful, you deserve it! Guys (and sometimes girls) make sure you iron your shirt and pants if they are wrinkly or avoid clothes that wrinkle easily! Treat yourself and buy new clothes to avoid holes or stains. Lint roll your clothes to make sure you don’t have a bunch of lint or animal hair littering your clothes. We have 3 dogs and 2 cats so we know better than most about the unwanted pet hair, so we get it. Lint rolling will take you 2 minutes and save your photos! We will do our best to fix certain things in Photoshop, but guys, there are some wrinkles that not even Photoshop can save!!

Tip 5#

BRING OUTFIT CHANGES!

We always suggest that our clients bring a few outfit changes! We suggest at least two…First of all bring something FANCY! Rock a dress and heels and guys rock a jacket or a button down with a tie! People dress up for a reason; you look damn good in Fancy clothes! The second outfit we suggest is a bit more casual but still remember to pick your best clothing or buy new clothes. I don’t know about you, but my comfy sweaters get worn a LOT more than my fancy dresses, so they tend to wear down more and have loose strings, holes, or just loose their shape. Nothing changes the look of a photo more than what you wear so having options will give your photos a well rounded variety!!

Tip #6

CO-ORDINATE INSTEAD OF MATCH

I don’t know about you, but one man in my life **Ahem DAD** hears, let’s wear co-ordinated outfits and runs for the hills screaming or throws a mantrum (man tantrum) because they think you want them all to wear the same color shirt and same color pants and look like some weird photo out of Awkward Family Photos. No! We mean co-ordinate as in pick a color scheme with several colors. Pick something like pastel colors, or Navy Blue-Canary Yellow-and Brown. Just remember to pick colors that compliment each other such as a bright coral top and neutral creams and brown colors. Purple and Green might be fun if it’s a Halloween theme shoot, otherwise it will look out of place! Girls, we love a pattern dress but make sure everything else is solid colors! Or if you pick something like plaid, try to co-ordinate the plaid so you don’t have clashing colors.  My family struggles with this every year so I feel for you on this one! But, have fun with it and please don’t say “matching outfits” anymore…just say “co-ordinated outfits”. There are a few really cute examples on the Piterest board I will link below and I will show you my family photo from this last Christmas to give you an idea. Just remember the key is not to clash but to mesh well! In the photo below you can see each little family within my family picked a color scheme and we made sure they all worked well together! =)

Tip #7

BE MINDFUL OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS!

Remember to take into consideration the time of year and location of your shoot! Are we shooting at a green park with beautiful trees? Um yeah, don’t wear a maroon shirt, pick something that will work well with the green foliage. Are we shooting in Spring in front of a Cherry Blossom tree? You might want to wear pops of pink that will compliment the color of the tree! Or you can wear a dress with pretty flowers on it if we are going to be in a field of flowers! Is it Fall and we want pictures with lovely Fall leaves? Wear warm earth tones that will compliment the background! Picture what you want the style of the shoot to be and try to dress for that. If you love the city and love going out on the town, lets shoot in the city and you can wear your beautiful dress and heels. Do you love hiking and being outdoors? Let’s put on your best outdoorsy style outfit and shoot in the woods!

Tip #8

BRING PROPS!

I know this isn’t technically something you will be wearing but I can’t stress enough how much props can make a shoot! Bring a cute handmade sign with your wedding date or bring some balloons, whatever represents you and your family or your love together, bring it! Do you love to play board games together? Bring your monopoly game! Let’s capture exactly who YOU are in your photos! Oh and always bring a blanket to sit on and some comfy shoes to walk in!!

Tip # 9

HAVE FUN!

We can’t tell you how much we love our job and love working with wonderful clients creating lasting memories, so let’s not forget why we do this….IT’S FUN!!! We just gave you a lot to think about, but really, don’t over think it! At the end of the day, the shoot will be fun and beautiful so just enjoy the whole process and LET’S HAVE SOME FUN!!

We can’t wait for your next shoot! Don’t wait too long to book if you haven’t already, especially popular seasons like Spring and Fall….we only have a few spots available! Always feel free to email or text us if you have questions about what to wear or what to bring or you just want to brainstorm ideas with us. This business stays fun for us because we are always doing something new and meeting new people so we love collaborating ideas and discussing your upcoming shoot. We are probably even be more excited than you and we definitely spend hours on Pinterest and Google researching and brainstorming ideas for your shoot. Here is the link to our Pinterest Page with inspiration on what to wear: https://www.pinterest.com/AweCaptures/what-to-wear/