I have a photography session scheduled for my two daughters, nearly 2 and nearly 5 years old, to be taken in a local park. I can't decide how to dress them! I get overwhelmed at the idea of pulling together two entire outfits, complete with hairbows, clothing, socks/tights, and shoes.
Who out there can give me advice on where to go/how to pull it all together? And any suggestions for what kind of look to go for? We haven't had any professional photos made of our girls (I'm ashamed to say!). Thanks for any advice!
I have been overwhelmed by the kind responses I've gotten from so many people! I felt so silly asking that question...everyone brought it back down to earth for me, and their suggestions clicked with what I was leaning towards anyway.
Pictures will be taken this Wednesday...I'm going to dress my 1 year old in a little blue jean skirt and white blouse, and the 4 year old in blue jeans and white blouse, both barefoot....then another photo in little dress-up ballerina type outfits with a white wicker table and chairs and tea set. We have a free sitting from James French Photography, and on his website he shows a similar set-up (tea party). Just happened to have the little wicker set on hand from a garage sale (!) and think it will be a great prop. I'll be happy to share photos with all who wrote me! Thanks again to everyone. You really helped me calm down and get real! And I loved all the advice about just relaxing and enjoying it - especially (forget who said it) the one who said (words to this effect), "This is how we are at this particular moment. Maybe not perfect, but it's us and we love us!"
Denim and khaki are wonderful for outdoor shots. Jeans and coordinating tops would be cute. Or denim jumper/skirt with cable-knit tights and brown or navy mary-janes. I was just at Ross today and they have gobs of 2-piece and 3-piece outfits for great prices.
Fall colors almost always look great in photos.. try to match the location. If there is a lot of pink and yellow flowers in the background, dress them in denim or khaki with white pink or yellow. Barefoot pics are cute outdoors too (unless you are doing fall shots). If there is a lot of greenery and say a pond or lake, you can choose any color theme. You can take pics at botanical gardens (the free part) I know for sure. One thing I do is dress them in one outfit and bring another thing or two you can change to match your background. For instance, keep the same pants and shoes on, just change the shirt and bow out! Also, don't dress your two girls to match exactly... that looks goofy in pics. Have their outfits coordinate with colors. go to our website www.bumblebeebabyboutique.com and click on the about us page. This is how we matched our 3 boys for pics without dressing them exactly the same. Hope they turn out cute!! Just had a super cute thought, put them in jeans and a plain colored shirt and barefoot, then put them in a cute tutu with fairy wings! Take a pic of them running through flowers!
As a photographer myself what advice I have to give, exp when it comes to outdoor pics, is the more simple the better. Stay away from a lot of prints as it will be distracting since you will already have enough "prints" with the outdoor scenery. Light colors,exp white, with denim always come out nice and coordinate well with any outdoor background giving you and the photographer more variety when shooting pics. It also works well if you are planning on changing any of the pictures to black and white or what I like to do a lot, black and white with color tinting in certian areas. Good luck with it and hope you get some great pictures!
Since you are taking them this time of year, would you considering giving them as Christmas gifts? If so, a thought might be to dress them in clothing that suits that season vs. tanks or sundresses. Just a thought...
Also, I think solids are better for photos. I've seen a lot of cute black, khaki and white type of pictures w/ a splash of red. I know, not the cutest for little girls, though. I have a boy, so can't really help with the bows and overall look of girls outfits. Also, our professional pics were black and white. Good luck.
Hi S.,
My daughter has had MANY photo sessions (she's almost 4) and
I find that simple outfits work the best. Avoid busy prints and red, as it tends to wash out in pics. Gymboree has a ton of coordinating outfits that are great. One could wear a pant set while the other wore the same tones in a skirt set. Bows are cute and a way to tame unruly hair...but you don't want anything that is going to 'date' the pictures. My advice would be to Google 'Photography' and look at outdoor examples. Pick what look you like and imitate it. Coordinate you colors and they should turn out great. A good photographer should be able to make anything look great!
Hi S.,
I just had photos taken of my two daughters(2 and 7mos). Gymboree is a little too expensive for our family budget so I went to The Children's Place. The have coordinating and matching outfits for boys and girls. I chose to buy my oldest daughter a skirt and shirt and purchased a dress for my 7 month old that was coordinating colors. I actually left them barefooted becuase it was more of a summer photo, but you may choose to keep your kids in tights and shoes. The Children's Place had coordinating tights, shoes, hats, hairbows, etc.
God Bless You and Your Family!!
I know you've already gotten lots of great advice, but I just couldn't pass up giving my 2 cents. I am a photographer specializing in children's portraiture, so I get this question from my clients a lot. Here's what I tell them: simple solids are best. Everyone does not have to wear the same color, just be sure everyone is wearing the same tone (light, medium, or dark), and avoid colors that will clash with colors others are wearing. Usually, I suggest keeping clothing casual; they are children, after all, and should be in their everyday clothes so they can be comfortable fully express themselves. But since you are doing a little more formal "tea party" style session, "dressy" dresses will be perfect. Just avoid plaids or checks and flower patterns; these distract from what should be the focus, your children's faces.
A few important things for you as a parent to remember during your child's session: Relax, and don't try to take control of the session! Don't ever tell your child to "say cheese" because this will produce the most unnatural smile ever. In fact, keep some distance between yourself and the session and just sit back and watch. If your photographer's style is anything like mine, they will talk with the children and and will have their own "tricks" to get natural smiles. The photographer will let you know if they need your assistance.
Most important: just enjoy the experience of watching your children as they are photographed. The experience is so important to the final product, and someday you'll look back on the day itself with fond memories.
Good luck, and let us know how it all goes!
We just recently did the same thing...and we all wore various shades of blue...it turned out really cute...similar solid colors are really cute in photos...not that you'd want to see how they turned out - but if you do respond back with your email address and I'll send them on. Good Luck - and don't stress - that's the other key advice I can give - it'll turn out great!
I would suggest 2 looks. One is barfoot in jeans and a clean and pressed white T-shirt with simple hair.
The other is again barefoot with a simple cotton dress and simple hair. If the photos are digital, have them changes them for you to view in black *white or sepia tones - very nice.
Good luck!
Hi S.,
Being a mom of two girls I would say the best thing is comfort,comfort, comfort. If your kids are comfortable they will behave much better. If at all possible, dress them right before the pictures are taken and have backup outfits just in case. Take your brush and anything else to redo their hair because they probably will mess it up on the carride. My favorite photos have always been with them barefoot; in really fancy dresses all the way to jeans and t-shirts. Good Luck and remember to have fun, they grow up sooo fast!
Solid colors are best you could . Try matching outfit. Strawsberg has really formal pretty clothes. and you could go to geemboree.
We did one w/ the whole family in jeans and white shirts. They weren't all the same style, just white and basic. My best advice wouldn't be about the clothes but to just have fun with it. I have a large family and would often get caught up in trying to make everyone look perfect, smiling, not 'picking' at each other while they were setting up the shot, etc. etc. It invariably ended up in a crying fit (sometimes mine! haha ) But I realized that this IS our family. Not all of us smile all the time or look perfect. The pictures that we have represent our individual personalities. Alot of people don't buy holiday or professional prints if they aren't just right. I buy em all! It's Life, have fun with it! And it's okay if everyone doesn't match or look right at the camera. Good Luck! You'll love looking at them when the girls are older, just like I treasure mine.
