What to wear
Comfortable, unfussy, in colours that are not the same as the location. Avoid brand-new shoes and stiff collars. One spare outfit, because whatever…
In short: Comfortable, unfussy, in colours that are not the same as the location. Avoid brand-new shoes and stiff collars. One spare outfit, because whatever produces the best photographs usually also produces mud.
Colour. Not the same as the location — a green coat in a park, beige in sand. One clear colour makes a small figure read in a wide frame.
Fabric. Soft, washable and already familiar. Anything scratchy is a countdown to the end of the session.
Footwear. Whatever they run in. Shoes appear in most full-length frames and children will not stay still in stiff ones.
The thing that ruins frames. A brand-new outfit kept clean. The instruction not to get dirty is visible in a child's posture in every single frame afterwards.
Bring a second set. Not for styling variety but for the puddle. The frames worth having usually arrive about ten minutes after a child stops being careful, and the session continues only if there is something dry to change into.
Parents who have realised that every photograph of their child is either blurred or a grimace at a camera.
Location changes the answer: Somewhere they already like, ideally with something to do. A park with a stream beats a park with a view. Home works better than most people expect, especially for younger children.
Planning pressure to account for: Shooting at nap time. Standing at adult height for the whole session. Using a shutter speed under 1/250, which blurs everything a child does. And running the session for an hour when twenty-five minutes was the real window.
Bring each proposed outfit as a complete look, including its shoes and accessories. The final choice is made against the actual background and light rather than from a generic colour rule.
Comfortable, unfussy, in colours that are not the same as the location. Avoid brand-new shoes and stiff collars. One spare outfit, because whatever produces the best photographs usually also produces mud.
For a one-hour session, plan one complete look and one quick variation such as a jacket, shoe or jewellery change. Two hours can normally support two or three resolved looks. More changes reduce shooting time, so photograph the most important outfit first and treat extras as options rather than promises.
Choose colours that separate clearly from the location and suit the intended use of the pictures. Solid tones and controlled texture are reliable; very fine checks, tiny stripes and reflective logos can distract or produce moiré. Send phone photographs of the options with the brief if you want a decision before the shoot.
Bring the garments on proper hangers, matching underwear, the shoes for every full-length look, a lint roller and simple touch-up products. Pack one neutral backup layer. Steam everything beforehand, but keep a small steamer nearby for travel creases and final adjustments on set.
Send the date, location and what you need photographed.