What to Wear for Newborn Photos
As a newborn photographer, one of the most common questions I hear is 'what should we wear for our newborn photos?' Which of course is quite normal because, after all, I have trouble deciding what to wear on a daily basis!!
The most important piece of advice I can offer is to stay true to who you are as a family and match your clothing style to your personalities. The whole point of family photos is to authentically celebrate who you are, not to create an ‘insta-worthy’ pic that looks like everyone else’s. Whatever your personal style, you want to look back on your pictures and say 'that's so us!'
Once you've decided on your personal style, there are a couple of tips I have that will ensure your style comes across well in the camera and the artwork we create will look amazing.
1. Keep it simple
Avoid wearing shirts with logos or bold graphic prints. These will stand out in the final photos and be a distraction from your beautiful faces! Stripes, spots and patterns all help to create interesting and beautiful photo art, but graphics and logos will detract from it.
2. Avoid wearing black
Black is quite a visually heavy colour and your eye will naturally zero on heavy black areas in a photos first. But, as you enjoy your wall art every day, or reminisce through your photo album in years to come, we want your eyes to naturally go straight to your gorgeous baby!
3. Neutral is timeless
Neutral tones create such timeless pieces of family art. Colour fads and styles come and go, but photos designed around simple and neutral tones will remain timeless. Whites, greys, creams, and other muted colours also convert beautifully to black and white.
4. Subtle Colours
If you do love colour, pick a subtle palette of pastels and muted tones. Pastel pinks and blues, or muted greens and browns photography really well. Bright colours only dominate the final image, and any light that falls onto your outfit will bounce off and reflect onto your face or your baby’s face.
5. Snuggle up with textures
Natural textures like knits and linens photograph really well and add to the warm, snuggly, cosiness of newborn life, and they also create really interesting photographs.
6. Keep it homey
Lifestyle newborn photography is relaxed and homey, so we want your outfits to suit the vibe. Choose outfits that you would happily wear over to a friend’s house for a BBQ - casual, but somewhat dressy.
7. Bare feet
Nothing says ‘homey’ like bare feet! We’re going to snuggle up on the bed and get comfy, so let’s forget about shoes and socks - at least that’s one less thing to think about.
8. Be comfortable
Mumma, you’ve just made a human and you may not feel like yourself again for a while. Pick an outfit that you feel comfortable in right now - it might be a long flowy dress, yoga pants or your comfy maternity jeans. You ARE amazing, and we want you to feel amazing and at ease.
9. Co-ordinate your outfits
Avoid matching or wearing the same thing. Going back to staying true to who you are as a family, if you wouldn't all dress the same on an average day, then there's no need to do it for your photos. Varying the outfits in your family, and any older siblings, will highlight everyone's personality, and will also bring interest to the final images. So aim to ‘co-ordinate’ instead of ‘match’ each other.
7. Match your home decor
As these portraits will be displayed in your home, think about where wall art might hang, or where smaller framed prints will be sitting, and choose outfits to reflect your decor. For example, if your home has a light, beachy feel to it, then outfits with blues and naturals will complement the style of your home. However, a framed photo on the wall with you all wearing bright reds and yellows will not suit your home.
I hope these tips on what to wear for your newborn photos have been helpful. Having family photos created when a new baby arrives should be a fun and enjoyable time. So stay true to who you are and make sure you have fun creating memories. To talk more about organising your newborn photo shoot, schedule a call with me!