When booking a portrait session I think it is almost always a given that the client is going to ask for suggestions on what to wear. I struggled with this question when I was first starting out. My clients would come dressed in matching outfits or in the same color head to toe.
I knew that I had to change my clients way of thinking when it came to choosing outfits for their portraits. I personally believe that is part of my job to help style a session. This gives my clients another reason to hiring me over going to a chain portrait studio. I always tell them to choose items with good color, texture (ie, knits, ruffles, denim) and accessories. I tell them to think coordinating not matching. I even go as far as offering to come to their homes and dig through their closet with them or tell them to bring a trunk full of options and we can put together outfits on location.
Kids are much easier to work with when they are comfortable. When they are stuffed into an outfit they are not allowed to get dirty in they tend to be more anxious and are easy to frustrate. Parents in turn get frustrated because their kids are not smiling like they want them to, or misbehaving. It's much easier to dress them in something comfortable but looks nice. I remember my mom sticking me in a turtle neck when I was a kid. I hate them to this day! They were itchy and I felt like someone was choking me. I never had a real smile in those photos when I look back now at them.
