What to wear
Two looks: one the family will hang, one the subject actually wears. Solid colours over logos; logos date the photograph within a year. Comfortable…
In short: Two looks: one the family will hang, one the subject actually wears. Solid colours over logos; logos date the photograph within a year. Comfortable shoes for the walking frames and something with structure at the shoulder for the clean portrait.
Colour. Solid over logo. School and university logos date a photograph within a year, and the frame that lasts is the one that does not announce the year it was taken.
Fabric. Structure at the shoulder for the clean portrait, something soft for the frames that look like them. Two looks, no more.
Footwear. Walkable — campus sessions cover ground — and visible in every full-length frame.
The thing that ruins frames. An outfit chosen entirely by a parent. It shows in the face for the whole session and it is the most common reason these galleries feel stiff.
In the bag. Blotting papers, a comb, a lint roller, and whatever object represents the four years — instrument, kit, folder. It gives the hands a job and dates the photograph honestly.