What To Wear

I am going to keep this one brief, because you can Google "What to wear on a photoshoot" and find thousands of good ideas and color schemes to follow. These are just my tips based on what I've seen that works, and what doesn't!
#1 Black is not as Slimming as You Think Not only that, but it is very dull in photos and really washes you out. I only recommend wearing black, or any neutrals, if it is just a really great outfit that you are dying to have captured on film. 
#2 No need to go Seasonal I see a lot of people who just LOVE fall, so they schedule a fall session and then deck themselves out in oranges and browns. That's great for your Fall-themed room, but in general it's always better to pick outfits that will fit any season. Not only do you not want to blend in to your background, but you don't want your pictures to look dated and out of place in your home every other season of the year.
#3 You are ALWAYS better off with color My favorite pictures are the ones where people choose bright colors for their color scheme. You don't have to choose bright reds- pastels look great too. Just think COLOR.

(I am using this cute family as an example- again- because they totally killed what to wear in this session. They chose dark colors, but not black, and contrasted it with the bright colors in her shirt and in the little boy's shorts. I was so proud.)

#4 Monochrome doesn't mean Matching Although it might seem simple to tell everyone in your family to wear White- a color everyone probably has- it usually ends up looking very, um, 90's, in photos. To match, you don't need to wear the same color, just colors that complement eachother.
#5 Please oh Please DO NOT Wear Clothing With Words We've all seen the kids in the yearbook who mistakenly wore a shirt with giant words across the front on picture day. Not only does it look tacky, but it's very distracting in a photo! When you see words, you can't help but read them. It detracts from the rest of the picture if someone is constantly reading your shirt. (And no, I will not photoshop the words out of every picture. Yes, people have asked,)
#6 How I shop I am by far the pickiest person in my family to shop for, so I start with me. For our latest family pictures, I found something bright that I liked, and then found shirts for my husband and our little boy that complemented what I was wearing. It also helps to ask your photographer what the location you will be using looks like- if we had all worn yellow in these pictures, it would have been a lot of yellow to look at.