How to prepare for your family portrait?

One of the most common questions I get is "What should we wear?"

Well, like a lot of other questions, the answer is, "it depends." A few factors you have to take into consideration, such as the shooting location, theme, and occasion.

Firstly, we are living in a multiracial country with different cultural celebration and festive seasons at different months of the year. For example, if the shoot is around Chinese New Year, you may advise clients to dress up as if they are going for a house visit, but make sure that the colors are complementary to each other. Such as, different shades of red or pink. Since they may already have bought their CNY cloths, might as well bring over and have a shoot while it's still brand new.

Or if it's Hari Raya Season, your clients should definitely come in Baju Melayu and Baju Kurung!

Next, depending on the location. Typically in a studio settings, white or gray backgrounds go well with clean, bright, or light tan colored shirts with jeans/pants will look good. I would usually avoid 'trendy' styles in favor of a more classic look. No one wants to cringe every time they pass their family photo on the wall because of an outdated style. Right?

Remember for studio setup, anything plain, clean, and bright will always look good. This classic themed photos will be relevant and still look fresh on for many years to come.

Finally, give some consideration to the location as far as colors as well. You want colors that stand out from the location. In other words, try avoid green clothes in a park, or beige cloths in a beach. You don't want your subject to blend into the background as though they are camouflaging.