Journal
What to wear for a family session
Three rules that almost always work.
In short
Pick two or three soft colours and dress the whole family within them, rather than matching everyone in the same outfit. Avoid large prints and logos. Bring one extra layer each — a jumper or a jacket — which changes the picture without changing the set.
Why it matters at all
Clothing is the one thing in a family session entirely within your control. I manage the light, the backdrop and a child’s mood; what you wear was decided a week earlier, and it is what determines whether the eye settles on a face or snags on a shirt.
Three rules
A palette, not a match. A family all in white looks like a uniform. Two or three soft colours that talk to each other — sand, grey, muted blue — let everyone look like themselves and still belong in the frame.
No large prints, no logos. A big print pulls the eye before the face does, and a logo dates the picture: in ten years it will say what year it was taken rather than who was in it.
One extra layer each. A jumper, a jacket, a hat. Five minutes of changing gives you a second set of pictures that looks completely different, without dismantling the set or breaking the children’s rhythm.
And the children
Comfortable, above all. A child scratching at a collar or pulling at a sock will do it in every frame, and it cannot be edited out. Something they already like will always photograph better than something new bought for the occasion.
01Are new clothes better?
No. New clothing has not learned to fall properly yet, and it sometimes itches. Something a child has already worn a few times always photographs better.
02What about jeans?
They work very well, especially in a deep, even blue. Avoid large rips and very pale washes, which pull the light.
03Can we check with you beforehand?
Yes, and please do. Send me a photograph of what you had in mind a few days before the session and we will settle it together.
A huge choice of backdrops and props, so many it is hard to pick. She puts real work into the sets and the photographs come out whole.