What to wear on your outdoor family photoshoot?

As an outdoor family photographer one question I am always asked is ‘what should we wear for our family photoshoot? It is vital that you feel comfortable and natural in your choice of clothes, but the choice of colour can also impact and enhance the final outcome of your photographs.

Advising you on what colours to wear for your outdoor photoshoot is not based upon current fashion or the latest colour trends. For the right colour clothing - whatever the season, I look to the colour wheel to provide all the answers, and here it is!

How does it work? In preparation, I ask these questions:

1.     What will be the dominant colour of the day?

I am referring to the background of your shoot, so in the spring and summer months we are talking about lots of green foliage or in heat wave conditions it might be dried out yellow grasses. In autumn months, the backdrop colours to our shoot will be predominantly brown, red and orange as the foliage begins to change and the leaves fall.

2.     Next I look up the secondary colours.

Once I’ve identified the dominant background colour, let’s say green, then the blues and yellows that sit either side of the green will be our secondary colours. The secondary colours are the ones that form your clothing colour palate for the shoot.

3.     What about a splash of colour?

If you want to add a pop of colour then take a look at the complimentary colours that sit opposite the green on the colour wheel. In this case it will be pink and red.

4.     What are the support colours?

In addition to these colours we also have our safe neutral colours like greys, beige and whites and charcoal black. These colours work well alongside all the colours on the wheel.

What about a photoshoot in the lavender fields? 

OK, so the predominant background colour will be purple, using the wheel we see that our secondary colours either side of the purple are blues and pinks/ reds. Blues and/ or pinks and reds should form the basis of your colours when deciding which outfit to wear. If you’re looking for a splash of colour then it would be complimented by yellow as that sits directly opposite purple in the colour wheel!

Once you have your colours, be aware of 'What not to Wear'!! 

1.     Always avoid large logos and bold graphics on your clothing. You want your child to be the hero of the image not the dinosaur on his top or the very large GAP logo emblazoned across his chest.

2.     Plan ahead the night before – make sure that blue top is not at the bottom of the washing basket with large white toothpaste stain down the front!

3.     Check that the perfect summer dress from last year still fits! We all know how those sudden growth spurts can make your kids look like Tom Kitten overnight!

4.     There’s no need to dress in identical items. A family all dressed in blue jeans and a white t-shirts will look really unnatural and less like the real family that you are!! 

Of course this is just a ‘what to wear’ guide! If your child is determined to wear their favourite outfit that breaks all the rules then I would say let them wear it! It is important to me that everyone is happy and enjoys the shoot. Only then will we get to see their personality shine through and we have some fantastic candid shots of them enjoying themselves!

If you’re interested in having a summer family shoot then please get in touch so we can discuss availability!