What to wear
What they actually wear, not what a parent picked. If a compromise is needed, agree one outfit for the parents and one for them, and shoot the…
In short: What they actually wear, not what a parent picked. If a compromise is needed, agree one outfit for the parents and one for them, and shoot the parents' one first. Plain over logo-heavy, because logos date the picture within a year.
Colour. Whatever they actually wear, in something that separates from the location. Black on a dark street loses the shape; a single strong colour carries a full-length frame.
Fabric. Comfort decides the mood of the whole session. Anything stiff or new shows up as tension in the shoulders within five minutes.
Footwear. Their own, worn in. New trainers change how a teenager stands and they will not tell you that they hurt.
The thing that ruins frames. A parent's choice overruling theirs. It decides the expression before the first frame and no direction recovers it.
In the bag. Blotting papers, a hair tie, a lint roller, and the second outfit they actually chose — shoot the family's pick first, then let them change.