auckland & waikato family photographer
What to wear guide
Family Photoshoots
I can't wait to photograph your family!
Welcome
Don't worry if not everyone is as excited as me, I've got you - both with this guide on what to wear as well as at your photoshoot. I'll bring out those reluctant personalities by giving you things to do so that you all look natural in your photographs AND even enjoy the experience.
Let's get started
Let's plan your photoshoot location
Are you a beach kind of family, a day on the farm kind of family? Picking wildflowers or maybe a forest exploring family?
Let's plan a location that suits your family and what you love to do as well as your homes aesthetic! Think about the colours in your home. Beaches will look beautiful in nearly any home but super bright vibrant green grass might class with your burgundy wallpaper where you plan to hang your pictures. What colours do you have on the walls where you'd hang your pictures?
Colour palettes
Choosing a location and choosing a colour palette kind of go hand and hand. Certain colour palettes look great anywhere and some only suit the beach or only suit a beautiful garden of flowers or only work well in a forest of bright poplar trees. Check out the colour palettes and where they work best!
for earhty locations, earthy forests & sunsets
neutrals, works anywhere
Bright and crisp, great with greenery & white sand
Beautiful with fields of summer grass or beaches
lovely for greenery and for beaches
Perfect for earthy vibes and autumn
Earthy locations, beaches or greenery locations
Choose your outfit first
For the mums out there
Sometimes it's easiest to pick something you love to wear and then to build everyone elses outfits out from yours.
What
to
wear
Don't stress, I've got you covered. If you need more help or even want some advice, feel free to send me a photo of your outfits laid out together!
Wear this
Not that
Accessories, things like scarves or jackets to add interest to your outfits
Colours that compliment one another but don't necessarily match
Something you feel good in, that you love wearing out
Avoid wearing logo's or clothing with slogons or large images on them
Try not to go for overly bright colours like highlighter pink or green
Clothes you constantly need to re-adjust or that don't fit well
Colours that will look extremely out of place in your home or at the location
Patterns or textures or layers are a great way to break up outfits and create interest
The checklist
Make the most out of your photoshoot
get dressed at the locations to avoid stains or spills in the car
bring a change of clothes for heading home in, you want to ensure those little ones are nice and toasty for the drive home
Don't forget the towels if you're having a photoshoot at a location with water!
Make sure to prep your children about what to expect, it will be fun, we will play games but they do need to listen
have you remembered to include your furbaby or asked if the grandparents wanted to join?
if you bring snacks along, make sure nothing is going to stain the childrens outfits
recommended timing
My favourite time of day to take photos is sunset because well, the sunset is beautiful.
But if you want to ensure your little ones are in bed early, we can absolutely shoot your photos at different times of day. For forests and locations with shade, early morning and late afternoon can be absolutely gorgeous with the beautiful dappled light.
If we are shooting inside your home, think about the times of day when the spaces you want photographs in have the most light. We usually want to have a chat about that to make sure we shoot in your home at the best time of day.
My favourite locations
Not sure on a location? That's ok, this is my list of absolute favourite spots to photograph families & couples!
Maukatia Bay, Muriwai
Best at sunset and low to medium tides but can be photographed at high tide.
papamoa beach, papamoa
Best at sunset but not so great for runaway children due to the deep water drop off. Suitable for dogs.
Waihi beach, waikato
Gorgeous at sunset and low/medium tides, with gorgeous beach dunes and white sand. Suitable for dogs.
Muriwai beach, muriwai
Gorgeous at sunset and all tides and bonus it's suitable for our furbabies unlike Maukatia Bay.
Riverhead forest, auckland
Perfect throughout the day with the trees for shade. Suitable for furbabies and gorgeous for earthy vibes.
Hamilton gardens, waikato
Gorgeous in the morning or the last hour before the gardens close, before it gets busy.
Karioitahi Beach, puketi
The perfect sunset location with a gorgeous long black sun beach with a small waterfall location too.
Wenderholm bay beach, waiwera
A white sand beach with gorgeous views and plenty of trees, best at sunset.
Ambury Farm, Mangere
A gorgeous sunset location with views of the mountain and water, best at high tide and sunset.
Waitawa Regional Park, franklin
Overlooking the water with a jetty this spot is gorgeous at sunset or dawn.
Rooseville park, pukekohe
With loads of trees this park can be shot in at anytime of day.
ernie's reserve, pukekohe
With a duck pond this spot is super cute for sunset or first thing in the morning shoots.
Cornwall park, epsom
Gorgeous at anytime of day with the options to shoot under trees in plenty of spaces.
FAQ.
what if the forecast is for rain?
What happens if it's forecasted for rain? Well we will touch base the week of your shoot to make a game plan. This might mean moving the time of day or even postponing to another date to ensure you get the most amazing photos!
how far in advance should we book?
If you'd a weekend date then it's best to book as soon as possible as weekend dates are often booked 12-24 months out due to weddings over the Summer, Spring and Autumn seasons. For a weekday, 1-2 months out is a great idea.
Can we go to more than one location?
Some photoshoot packages have the option to go to more than one location, but ideally these should be very close together as to not cut into your shoot time or tire out the children. Get in touch to discuss what second location you'd like and I'll see what we can do!
What time of day is best?
Sunset is usually the best time to shoot but this does depend on the location. Locations in forests with dark dense trees are often better earlier in the day than at sunset as the sunset isn't visible. If the shoot is going to be inside your home than anytime of day is usually fine.
can we order prints?
You'll be able to order prints directly from your online gallery from professional print labs I love working with. These are going to be much better quality than a lot of consumer labs as well as be colour matched correctly. You can of course print your images yourselves.
How do we get our photographs?
You'll be able to choose and download your photographs via your password protected online gallery. You can even share this gallery with your family and friends with a special guest link if you'd like to as well! This is great for sharing with overseas family or grandparents!
