Formal studio family portraits are important now more than ever. In our world of fast-paced busy lives, filled with camera phones and selfies, we often fall short of documenting our precious milestones for future generations to treasure.
As parents, we must remember to create valuable heirlooms to pass down to our children. Formal studio family portraiture is a great way to capture the story of your family’s life. From newly engaged couples in love to parents holding their newborns with pride and every milestone in between, family portraiture is the art that tells your story.
Over the years, Lisa and I have photographed couples from their engagement sessions and weddings, to their first borns to their children’s senior portraits, and to their 25th wedding anniversaries. Imagine being able to share those precious milestones with your children and grandchildren for years to come through family portraiture.
That’s why Lisa and I connect with our clients to understand the essence of their family. We guide families through the family portraiture process every step of the way, beginning with what to wear.
What to Wear: A Guide to Formal Portraiture Attire
As a boutique photography studio, our custom handpainted backgrounds and classic portrait lighting techniques are tailored to render your portrait as an exquisite piece of art. To ensure the success of your portrait, it’s important to understand that certain styles and colors of clothing are chosen for your session.
We please ask that you dress in formal attire when requesting a formal portrait. Formal attire will give your portrait a timeless appearance and create an elegant heirloom for your legacy.
Also, we ask that you wear dark clothing to keep the focal point on your families facial expressions not the clothing. Our contoured lighting and custom handcrafted backgrounds work the best with dark colored, solid tops and shirts with long sleeves.
For our formal studio family portrait sessions, we recommend the following attire:
Men– Dark Jackets (tuxedo or suit), white shirt, tie, and dark pants.
Ladies – Dark (black, navy, burgundy, dark green, etc.) dress or gown. Little or no pattern is preferred. Classic jewelry such as diamonds, pearls, etc. are encouraged.
Young Girls – Dark or jewel toned solid dresses are preferred, but ivory, cream or off-white are also acceptable if they are 4 or under. Long sleeves are recommended for adults, but girls usually prefer to have short or no sleeves.
Young Boys – Same as men, or a solid dark sweater. If under 4, a white shirt with bow tie is appropriate.
The Benefits of Studio Portraiture
Attire plays a key role in creating the perfect formal portrait as does the environment where the session is taken. At Michael Carr Photography, we are seasoned professional portrait artists to address special requests. But, there are benefits to studio portraiture verse outdoor portraiture.
As we know, Houston weather is highly unpredictable and humid. Studio portraiture eliminates the concerns for weather conditions. Rain or shine, cold or heat, you will always look great in a climate controlled environment with calculated lighting and custom backgrounds. Plus, our commercial studio has a dressing room and access to restrooms.
Let’s Create Your Own Timeless Portrait
It is never too late to capture the spirit and beauty of your family. It’s only late if you never do it and wish you had. Let’s create your own timeless formal studio family portrait and capture your family’s life story. Call 713-461-2862 or visit michaelcarrphotography.com to learn more.
About Michael Carr Photography
Michael and Lisa Carr are full time portrait artist specializing in creative and timeless family portraits both in black and white and color mediums. We offer environmental family portraits, at home portrait sessions in the Houston area, as well as in studio portraits. Michael Carr Photography is a full service portrait studio. What this means to you is that we complete your portrait from the beginning to the finished phases: conception, capture and full artist embellishments to your final wall portraits. To learn more about our studio and portrait photography for your individual portraits and family portraits, visit here or call 713-461-2862.