Sweetie Pie Photography: What to Wear Guide ~ November {Family Photographer, Columbia, SC}

What to wear is such a common question I get from clients. My first reply is always something that fits you. I'm not referring to size, but rather personality.

If you're a quirky person, then you probably don't want to dress your family up in Ralph Lauren and vice versa. If you're more of a traditionalist, then it's probably best to stay away from the latest Betsy Johnson piece.

Remember that family photos should represent who your family really is. It doesn't mean that little Tyler has to wear his soccer gear to the annual family photo shoot, but if the only time you wear an outfit is for your annual family photo, it probably doesn't represent who you really are. Let your personalities come out. Everyone doesn't have to be perfectly coordinated. In fact, the best photos are often when there's a little variation.

Maybe it's my husband's musical background, but when planning a shoot, I often like to ask a client what sort of music they like most. You can often get a sense of a person's style by what music they're drawn to. This can help with deciding location, apparel and overall feel of the shoot. So if you feel lost as to what style suits you, stop and think about your favorite song and what images it brings to mind. Are they relaxed, traditional, formal, country, urban?

My husband is a rocker at heart. A bassist rocker. He plays both electric and string bass so the classics are in his repertoire, but when given a preference, the foundations of rock and roll are where his heart really rests. I tend to jump from music genre to music genre depending on my mood and the time of day. In the past, I've forced our family photos to be overly formal, but finally I realized, we're simply not formal people. We're a mix of relaxed, modern and traditional. So when styling our family for our annual family photos I keep that in mind and I try to make sure we stay true to our family style.

Here are a few fall ideas for what to wear for your family shoot (if you're didn't catch my earlier post with ideas 1-5, check it out here).