Put simply: clothing matters.  If you don't feel good about how you look during your session, chances are, you won't love the resulting images.  It's worth taking the time and energy to choose outfits carefully since your portraits are investment that (if done properly) will be treasured for a long time to come.  Clothing can date an image, so think about whether a given style seems like a quick trend or something that feels classic. Exceptions to the rules exist everywhere, but when in doubt, choose simple over complex and timeless over trendy.  Overall, we want to showcase personality, expression and relationships and choose clothing that flatters but does not distract from who you (or your family) are.  Clothing should accent, not compete, with the people wearing it.  Here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind:

1. choose comfort: if you can't move, if your feet hurt, or if you like don't feel like yourself in an outfit, it's not going to photograph well.  This does not mean that you should arrive for your session in your street clothes; comfort does not equal a careless appearance.  

2. whether dressing yourself, a family or any group: choose 1-2 base neutral colors (think denim, black, white, khaki), then choose 2-3 accent colors to incorporate into the scheme of all clothing selected.  Each person (if dressing a group) should wear at least one of the neutrals and each accent color should appear on at least 2-3 people in the group. If an accent color does not repeat enough, it will seem random and not part of the overall color scheme. 

3.  accessorize (within reason): it’s trendy today to pile on a statement necklace, armfuls of bangles and multiple layered colors, but ten years from now, these details will date your photo. Instead, pick a couple of gorgeous pieces and limit it to that. For everyone in the photo, one or two carefully selected embellishments make a stronger impact than piles of careless ones. A statement accessory is called that for a reason. One is best, and two is pushing it. The eye needs the statement pieces to add interest, but it also needs a place to rest.