Advice on what to wear for your family portrait session

Advice on what to wear for your family portrait session

There are many different approaches to family portraiture and there is no right or wrong way! You could go with a totally real documentary style session where you dress in whatever it is that you usually dress in and the photographer captures a day in the life of  your family with all the RAW nitty gritty, beautiful, ugly, realness that comes with parent and childhood. Or you could go the complete opposite way and have a full styled shoot and dress up in crazy outfits and really get creative.

I personally like to work with each client individually and would make you something that suits you and your family. I don’t have a cookie cutter approach.

Here is some advice on what to wear for a typical family portrait session. What you wear will determine the feel and style of the session but certain outfits just work together so I have chosen some photos that I have taken that are good examples of styling that has worked from a visual and conceptual perspective.

Wearing outfits that match but don’t clash is a good idea and make sure they will work with the location that you choose.

In the image below you can see that their clothes suit that location. In fact the outfits were chosen with location in mind. The outfits all have a similar tone of colour and work well together as a palette. Whilst most of the girls are wearing a dusty pic this is offset with a splash of army green and mustard. That gorgeous Mom in the middle gave birth to all five girls!!! What a beautiful family they are.

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In the image below they cleverly chose a colour palette that works well together but the choice of outfits also suits the more relaxed and casual vibe of their teens.

Top-South-African-Creative-Family-Portrait-Photographer-Jacki-Bruniquel

This particular family was never going to wear jeans and a white T for their family portrait session and line up on a the beach! They are creative and do things in their own way. The pop of red works so well against the neutral background of the building site and raw concrete.

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If you are a very casual family then keep it casual but if you love to dress up then a family portrait session might be the perfect occasion to glam up. As I have already said there is no right or wrong way. You want to do what works for you.

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Top-South-African-Creative-Family-Portrait-Photographer-Jacki-Bruniquel

Top-South-African-Creative-Family-Portrait-Photographer-Jacki-Bruniquel

Navy’s, whites and neutrals always look good on the beach or in a neutral location (ie by neutral I mean colour)  but that jeans and white T-shirt trend is a bit dated now so throw in a splash of something!

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Top-South-African-Creative-Family-Portrait-Photographer-Jacki-Bruniquel

Top-South-African-Creative-Family-Portrait-Photographer-Jacki-Bruniquel

A smart outfit can look amazing in a gritty environment . The contrast can be very striking.

Top-South-African-Creative-Family-Portrait-Photographer-Jacki-Bruniquel

A nautical look can suit the seaside if that is your vibe. This is a family of sailors so the outfits work for them.

Top-South-African-Creative-Family-Portrait-Photographer-Jacki-Bruniquel

Wear something that suits your personality. This particular couple are funky and alternative so we even had the baby in leopard print and played with a bright red colour against a contrasting jungle green wall.

Top-South-African-Creative-Family-Portrait-Photographer-Jacki-Bruniquel

THINGS TO AVOID

  • Crazy branding and big logos are a no no
  • Sideways stripes can make one look bigger so if this is something you want to avoid – avoid them!
  • Be wary of wearing items of clothing that will date terribly – you want to be able to look back at your pics in a decade and not think “what was I thinking” – Unless of course you do your family portrait session annually and have fun with the idea of fashion through the ages!
  • Be careful of too many loud, busy patterns which can distort and become distracting
  • Watch out for pantie or bra lines
  • Dark colours generally make people look slimmer if that is what you are going for
  • If you wear glasses, those photochromic lenses aren’t great for photoshoots as they darken in the sun and will hide your eyes and look like sunglasses
  • Unless you are making a thing out of your sunglasses and they become a fun fashion accessory for one or two pics – leave them at home for your session

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Best of Family Portraits

Best of Family Portraits

Lockdown has made everyone realise the value of family, and what’s the first thing people do when they miss their loved ones or someone passes away? We start to look at all of our photographs.

Over the past few weeks I have received so many beautiful letters from my clients to tell me how they have been going through their wedding albums or are so appreciative of the family portraits that I have taken of them, as they are now all split up and unable to see each other.

This has really lifted my spirits because here in South Africa a wedding or portrait photographer is not allowed to work until level one which is basically when the virus is “over” and this can make one feel rather “non essential” to say the least. Hearing how people are valuing the family portraits that I have made them has touched my heart in such a profound way.

As a celebration of this I put this post together because whilst I may not be allowed to work right now, I will be back and I look forward to making you something very special that you can treasure and hang on your walls as art.

I don’t often advertise my family portraiture work as I’ve concentrated on weddings over the last decade but I have in fact photographed so many different families in between all of the I do’s. I particularly love catching up with past wedding clients and seeing how they have grown in their lives. Being able to record all their milestones and the way that we change and evolve as humans is a driving force behind me picking up my camera. I’m also kind of obsessed with capturing human connection and being creative. I always approach these family portrait sessions in the same way that I approach weddings. I ask you to tell me a bit about yourselves and then I tell your story, I capture emotion, I make something unique for each assignment and I aim to make something creative and beautiful that is not that typical sausage factory style of photography that you can get from any ol photographer.

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Recent Family Portraits

Recent Family Portraits

In the space of a year our dog dropped dead unexpectedly from a freak disease and then one of my very close friends from university passed away after a 11 month battle with cancer. Both of these losses affected me deeply but also reminded me that death is a part of life and that we will all die one day. If you have lost someone dear I am sure you were exactly like me and found yourself picking up the phone or going through old albums to find pictures of your loved one.

This really made me realize the value of taking someone’s portrait. When Panther Bear, our dog died, I found out too late that we have pretty much no photos of him and I together, and that made me really sad. On the flip side I was lucky enough to have time with Kirst before she passed and was able to make some beautiful images of her. These are treasures now. We actually printed them to give to her friends after she passed.

This made me want to go out and photograph everyone, and I have found myself photographing waaaaay more portraits than I ever have before. I believe that in order to live a happy life we need to understand our why. I know that my portraits are treasures, art pieces, moments in time encapsulating a feeling that can be revisited after the fact, they are transcendent and that gives me a sense of purpose.

If you are from Jozi and would like to be photographed by me I am coming up to your land in the first week of November and have two slots free for a family portrait session, a couple session or a pack portrait session.

Here are some examples of new family portraits I have made recently.

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