What to Wear
Everything you need to dress your whānau for a session that actually looks like you: colour, comfort and a few honest do's and don'ts.
First things first:
breathe.
If "but what on earth do we wear?" has already set off a small fire in the family group chat? Welcome, you're exactly where you should be. It's the most common wobble I hear, and a completely normal one.
The whole point of a lifestyle session is that it looks and feels like you. So the number-one rule, the one everything else hangs off: comfortable beats perfect, every single time. Skim the headlines, steal the palettes, ignore anything that isn't you. I'll help with the rest on the day.
The basics.
Four habits that do most of the heavy lifting, before we even get to colour.
Wear the comfy thing.
There's a pull to buy something new and sparkly. Totally allowed, if that's genuinely your jam. But the reliable route is tried and true: something that hugs you in the good places and lets you breathe in the rest. When you're at ease, it shows in your shoulders, your hands, the way you lean into each other. That ease is the photograph.
Yes
- Worn-in favourites
- Soft, moveable fabrics
- Things you'd sit on the floor in
Skip
- Brand-new & unproven
- Constant adjusting
- "I'll lose two kilos by then"
Dress for the place & season.
A ballgown in the lounge reads "off to the ball"; a sundress in a Northland southerly reads "someone fetch a blanket". Plan around the conditions where we're shooting: warm enough, cool enough, feet that don't hurt, and looking like you belong in the landscape. At-home session? Slip into your comfiest comfies and let the morning be the morning.
Maybe don't wear head-to-toe black on a stinking hot day. Heat, dark fabric and a wriggling toddler is a combination nobody enjoys.
Bring two or three outfits.
Gather a small handful of outfits you genuinely feel great in, and we'll play with combinations on the day. I'm not photocopying a trend. I'm after the you-est version of you, and a couple of options gives us room to find it. They also let me make sure everyone's threads sit well together and against the surroundings.
Above all, lead
with personality.
If your kid only feels like themselves in gumboots and a dinosaur costume, the dinosaur is invited. Jeans-and-a-tee family? Brilliant. Want to glam it right up? Say no more. I want your shoot to look like nobody else's, because no other family is yours.
Texture & movement.
Photographs love fabric that does something: cloth that catches a breeze, glows when light comes through it, adds cosy texture up close. Natural fibres are your friends: linen, cotton, wool, soft knits, denim, cord. Ease off on stiff, structured pieces and crisp formal collars. They read a touch formal and need straightening every frame.
Loves the lens
- Linen, cotton, wool
- Flowy skirts & dresses
- Chunky knits, denim, cord
Less so
- Stiff, structured fabric
- Crisp formal collars
- Anything that won't move
Let's talk colour.
Aim for softer, grounded tones: neutrals, earthy shades, the odd warm metallic. They flatter almost any Northland backdrop and look gorgeous printed on a wall for the next decade.
I'm not sending you into a beige world of inoffensive oatmeal. "Softer" doesn't mean boring. It means the grown-up cousin of a colour. Pure primaries are striking, but they can shout louder than the people wearing them, and you're the subject, not the shirt.
The family rule of four. Pick a palette of roughly four colours, let everyone pull from it, and give one person the feature colour: the pop. Dress everyone else in the supporting tones around it. Instant harmony, zero matchy-matchy.
The colour wheel,
in action.
Across the wheel (A ↔ B) = complementary. Opposites that make each other pop: mustard against blue, rust against teal. Reach for these when you want energy and contrast.
Side by side = analogous. Neighbours that blend into a calm, easy harmony: all the greens of the bush, all the blues of the sea. Lovely when you want soft and soothing.
You don't need to memorise it. Just know the two moves exist, and pick the feeling you're after.
Complement,
don't match.
Here's the trap most families fall into: everyone in the identical colour. Match too hard and your outfits blend into one large, friendly blob and the viewer can't tell where Dad ends and the teenager begins.
The fix is variety within a palette. Mix tones, textures and a little light-and-dark so each person stands on their own while still belonging to the group. Everything should look good together without looking the same.
Intentional matching can absolutely work. Coordinated soft-white linen on the beach, say. The trick is that it's a choice, not an accident. If you're going matchy, own it.
Eight palettes, ready to wear.
Pick one as your starting point, give the feature colour to a single person, and pull everyone else's outfits from the supporting tones.
Nobody needs to wear all five. Treat it as a paint box: two or three tones per person, spread the lightest and darkest across the group, and you're done. Send me a screenshot of your picks and I'll give you a thumbs up before the day.
Build your family's outfits.
A family of four at the beach. The exact thinking, start to finish. Copy it with any palette and any group size.
- Pick a palette. Coastal Linen: pale, beachy, hard to get wrong.
- Choose your feature. One person wears the pop. Here, Mum in dusty blue.
- Dress the supports. Everyone else pulls from the soft tones: oat, chalk, driftwood.
- Add texture & a layer. A chunky knit, a denim jacket, a linen shirt left untucked.
- Check it against the place. Pale tones on pale sand = soft, timeless, all eyes on faces.
The finer details.
Small calls that quietly make or break a frame.
Patterns & prints
The larger and louder the print, the harder it works against you. Subtle wins: small floral, fine stripe, soft flannel. One pattern per person, max.
Layer up
Layers add depth and prep you for whatever Northland weather does. They double your looks, too. Jacket on, jacket off.
Logos & slogans
Big logos pull focus and give a sportswear giant free advertising on your wall art. Small, tasteful and genuinely you? Bring it. The test: your story, or theirs?
Accessories
Hats, sunnies, a favourite necklace. Great for personality, kept small. One warning: a shiny watch face steals the eye in close cuddles. Sentimental? Keep it. Otherwise, bench it.
Shoes
Match the outfit and the ground. Comfortable, context-right footwear wins: barefoot on the beach, boots in the bush, clean sneakers anywhere.
Props & finishing touches
The best props don't shout "PROP": the dog, a blanket, bikes, a ukulele. And keep nails tidy, hair down for movement, watch off. Let the faces lead.
The cheat sheet.
If you read nothing else, read this. Tick them off the night before.
- Comfort first. Worn-in things you feel like yourself in.
- Dress for the place & season. Warm enough, cool enough, feet that don't hurt.
- Bring two or three options. We'll choose together on the day.
- Soft, earthy colours over bright primaries. They last on a wall.
- Pick a palette of about four. One feature colour, the rest supporting.
- Complement, don't match. Give everyone their own tone.
- Natural fibres & movement. Linen, cotton, wool, things that catch the breeze.
- Go easy on big patterns & logos. One small print per person, max.
- Layers in the bag. Jacket, knit, hat for extra looks and warmth.
- Subtle nails, hair down, watch off. Let the faces lead.
Send me a photo
of your picks.
Honestly, lay it on the bed, snap it, send it through. I'd far rather help you get it right now than have you lie awake over it. We're collaborating on telling your family's story, and the wardrobe is the easy part once you know the moves.
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