Wardrobe Wednesday {Rock On}

This week's rockin' compilation was put together by a guest contributor, Jessica Paxson! But first, here's a word from Wardrobe Wednesday's very own Morgan Dawson!

'Every few weeks we invite a fellow photographer to be a guest contributor. I’ve been following Jessica Paxson's work for some time now, and immediately thought she would be a fun addition to our lineup. What makes her unique is the attention to detail she puts into her shoots. Sessions often have a theme, and she isn’t afraid to think outside the box. What I personally find difficult is striking a balance between doing too little - and doing too much when it comes to styling a shoot. You want to convey a theme or feeling, but avoid looking hokey or tacky. While the easy thing to do is play it safe, a well thought-out look can really take your photos to the next level.

This session from Jessica helped inspire a recent shoot of my own. The mother wanted to take some photos of her son in a relaxed setting. Knowing how much he loves to paint, we decided to make that our theme. We talked about the shoot for weeks, gathered materials, and asked friends and family if we could borrow props. On the day of the shoot we met each other with two cars full of options - it was great! What resulted was a totally unique session and a photo neither of us will forget. Bottom line - the more effort you put into your shoot - be it wardrobe or props - the more personal and rewarding the final image will be.

Before I let Jessica introduce herself, I’ll show you the image that inspired her this week. Rock on!'

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Hello, hello everyone! My name is Jessica Paxson of Jessica Paxson Photography :) First off I have to thank all the ladies at Wardrobe Wednesday for asking me to do a guest spot! I'm really excited and I hope you enjoy the looks I put together for you.

I chose to do a family look because those are the type of sessions I enjoy most. There is just something about capturing the love a family has for each other that really makes me love this job -- probably because I am a mother myself of three amazing little boys, and there is nothing I love more than when I get a shot of the boys just being their crazy, fun loving, sweet, silly, ornery selves, and being able to capture that moment and keep it forever!

For today's looks I'm sharing with you a little bit of a rock & roll theme, because let's all face it, who wouldn't love to be a rock star for a day? The looks I've chose can all be found at Gap and Piperlime. Enjoy :)

Mom

Center Seam Dolman Sweater $49.50

Boyfriend Jean $69.50

Lightwash Lip Scarf $29.50

Black Denim Lip Tote $39.50

Naughtey Monkey (Rugged Racy) Shoes $89.00

Hive & Honey Antique Button Ring $22.00

Hive & Honey Stud Stretch Bracelet $32.00

Hive and Honey Leather Wrap Bracelet $24.00

Dad

Jefferson Cord Blazer $88.00

Merino Hoodie $69.50

The New Crewneck "T" $16.50

Authentic Fit Jeans (deconstructed vintage) $49.99

Slub Knit Beanie $16.50

Converse Check taylor (specialty ox) $50

Young Boy

Skull Sweater $39.50

Heather Plaid Flannel $26.50

Slub knit beanie $16.50

Creative Recreation (Cesario XVI) Shoes $35.99

Young Girl

Admirals Jacket $42.50

Ruched turtleneck $16.50

Solid Tights $10.50

Charcoal Bloomers $29.50

Headband $7.50

Jessica Simpson (lilana) Boots $55.00

Baby Boy

Wool Moto Jacket $44.50

Mini Skinny Jeans (black wash) $29.50

Mohawk Fleece Hat $12.50

Skull Scarf $24.50

Sriped Sweater $24.50

Creative Reaction (testa toddler) Shoes $43.99

Baby Girl

Moto Jacket $29.50

Tiered Ruffle Tutu $26.50

Tight n shoes $12.99

Striped Boatneck Sweater $12.99

Totally cute ideas and DIFFERENT! Dare to be different for your session...it might be fun!

Shannon
xo

Wardrobe Wednesday {Fall--Couples}

Living in Florida is hard this time of year for me. I LOVE the Fall and I truly miss that season. That's why I love this post so much! Stephanie did such an amazing job coordinating this week's post. LOVE the greens!

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Fall can be such a wonderful time of year to capture the true love at heart. The last couple of weeks we have showcased great wardrobes selections for dressing the families for fall photos. This week, we've decided to showcase the "couple" as family or engaged. As a wedding photographer, I love capturing the story of engaged couples during the fall season. For most, this is the opposite time of year that they'll be married and adds as a great contrast to their wedding day photos. Not only is this a great time to capture the love, it's also a fabulous time to capture the colors of fall. With the leave changing to bright orange, yellow, and red; you can truly have a variety of color added to your wardrobe selection. In this week's Wardrobe Wednesday {where fashion meets photography}, I've decided to showcase two different selections for your fall "couple" photos.

First we have our classic dressy yet somewhat urban selection that highlights the couple against the colors of fall. With the darker colors, you'll truly stand out from the vibrant colors and allow your love story to be the highlight of your session. Not only will this selection allow you as the couple to be showcased, it also adds a bit of a the romantic european feel. Imagine yourself being amongst the hustle and bustle of urban lifestyle with beautiful brick and colorful trees surround. This selection can be worn with or without the jackets and can certainly be dressed up with beautiful accessories

Selection number two is more of a full fall attire. With the earthy tones and sweaters your able to capture the true feeling of fall and cuddling next to one another to keep warm. You can choose to go with adding pattern as you see in the selection seen here or change it up a bit with solid more simplified colors. Either way, you're story will be told as a whole with the feel of the fall in love season.

I always try to express to my engaged or couple clients that your wardrobe represents you and your love story. So make sure to pick an attire that will allow your love together to be captured and featured as your story before your future "family" photos. With fall as your backdrop, the colors will pop regardless. What you want is to showcase your love and life together before children and other life's responsibilities. Best of luck to you and if you ever need some suggestions, please feel free to contact any of us at Wardrobe Wednesday {where fashion meets photography}!

Look No. One

Female

Crossover Dolman Blouse $59.50 Gap

Curvy Jean $69.50 Gap

Ruffle Collar Coat $59.50 Gap

Male

Velvet Blazer $98.00 Gap

End on end tailored shirt $29.99

Standard fit jeans $54.50

Look No. Two

Female

Cropped Toggle "Jet Sweater" $30.00 Old Navy

Long perfect tank $6.97 Old Navy

Diva skinny jean $29.50 Old Navy

McNeff boots $140.00 Aldo

Male

Argyle v-neck sweater $16.00 Old Navy

Loose fit jeans $29.50 Old Navy

Yaden shoes $60.00 Aldo

Wardrobe Wednesday What to Wear {Coordinating Fall Colors for Extended Famlies}

Have you checked out the new facebook Wardrobe Wednesday page? There are FABULOUS tips and links regarding what to wear for your custom portrait photoshoot! This week, we are highlighting fall colors and extended families.

Thank you to Erica May of Erica May Photography for putting together this wonderful post in a pinch. My hard drive crashed and it was MY week, but Erica stepped up to the plate and saved me. xoxo
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We have had a lot of questions lately on our new facebook page Wardrobe Wednesday {where fashion meets photography} lately on how to coordinate a group of 5 or more for pictures. It is definitely more challenging to coordinate a wardrobe for a larger group but it is possible! I recently had my very own extended family session which was photographed by another Wardrobe Wednesday contributor, Lindsay Horn. I was in charge of coordinating my family's wardrobe and the pressure was on to find us some great outfits! I am lucky in the fact that my mom and sister live close by so we could all go shopping together which helped but it would be possible to coordinate from a distance too. It is so worth it to take the time to coordinate your clothing. And try to stay away from all wearing the same color as it makes you all blend in together and it does not create any depth or interesting features. I doubt you all sit around in black t-shirts at your family gatherings so why wear it to a photo shoot? Here are a few key things to remember when trying to put your wardrobe together.

1.) Choose 3 or more colors to make up the color scheme. It is a lot harder for 5 or more people to not be too matchey when there are only two colors to choose from. For our group we chose Burgundy, Blue, Browns, and Denims. As you can see that leaves a lot of color choices for the group to pick from. Having everyone incorporate two or more colors makes the group look well rounded and pulled together.

2.) Layer, Layer, Layer!! Instead of everyone wearing a solid color shirt mix up the color by layering. This allows two people standing next to each other not to blend in and adds a lot of dimension to the photograph. Layers and textures can add a lot to the ensemble.

3.) If you can, choose a centerpiece. It is always easier to decorate a room when you have one colorful piece (whether it be artwork, a vase, a chair, etc...) and the same goes for photo shoots. In our instance we only had one child in the photo so we choose his outfit for the centerpiece. We bought him a colorful outfit and then pulled all of our colors from that. If you don't have children in the photos you could always use a colorful scarf or jewelry to be your centerpiece.

4.) Dress the hardest people first. Women's outfits are usually way harder to find than the guys shirts so dress all the women first. That way you can wait and see what colors you need to fill in and buy the guy's shirts last. After we bought my mom's outfit, we bought my sister's outfit, and then we bought mine because I am the least picky about clothes =P.

5.) Don't forget accessories! Belts, jewelry, shoes, and scarves are all great accessories for adding a splash of color that you might not be daring enough to wear all over.

6.) Have fun with it and try not to stress! Try not to wait till the last minute to do this either that way you are not stressed out and you have time to shop for bargains or hard to find items. You don't have to spend a ton of money. Most of our clothes came from Kohls, Dillards, JcPenney, and Baby Gap.

Shopping Guide (from left to right):

Only a description and store is provided on this Shopping Guide since items were purchased more than a month ago. Although you may not be able to find the same tops at these stores you can very easily find something similar.

My husband:
Brown Undershirt from Kohls
Denim Polo Shirt from JcPenney
Jeans from JcPenney

Me:
Brown sweater from Kohls
Burgundy Top from Eddie Bauer
Jeans from Kohls
Boots from DSW shoes warehouse

Dad:
Burgundy Shirt from JcPenney
Jeans

Mom:
Camel Cardigan and Navy tank from Coldwater Creek
Jeans from Coldwater Creek

Tristan (cute adorable little man):
Shirts: Baby Gap
Jeans: Baby Gap
Shoes: Cranberry Converse from footlocker.com

My beautiful sister:
Shirt and Belt from Dillards
Jeans

My Brother-in-law
shirt from Kohls
Jeans

I hope this inspires some of you who have upcoming shoots! Happy Wednesday and Happy FALL!

Shannon
xo

Wardrobe Wednesday {style it YOUR way}

WARNING LADIES: I am almost certain this post will result in at least 30 minutes of shopping distraction! Let's blame it on the fabulous Rebecca of Rebecca Keeling Studios for her fabulous post and awesome resource information!

sorry guys, but sometimes it IS all about the girls. what's that age-old saying? "if momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" well, the same holds true when it comes to family photographs. it's a BIG event, and even though dad and the kids get to throw on their outfits and just make it to the car in the knick of time, mom has probably put countless hours planning, preparing, and pulling-off this well-orchestrated event. and after it's all over, who is the person who proofs, chooses, and orders the family photos? probably mom!! so, i think it's only fitting that mom takes center stage when starting to coordinate the family wardrobe, and build everyone else's outfits around her. where to start, you say??

HHEELLLLOOOOOOO piperlime!! you may remember piperlime from back in the day, when they first started out just selling shoes. i LOVED getting boxes from them...it was like getting two gifts in one because they had the GREATEST packaging...and i am ALL about the details! they had cool green boxes and tissue paper with little limes on it. so cool!! NOW, not only do they still do shoes, but they also have a fabulous selection of hip, stylish, and affordable clothing for women. there is SO much to see on the piperlime site. under the women's section, there are "headlines" and "top trends" sections to keep you in-the-know for the latest seasonal fashions. but, my absolute MOST favorite thing about piperlime, other than their FAB clothing/shoes/accessories, is the "style it your way" feature. it can be a little tricky to find at first...you have to check out the scrolling colored bars at the top of the page, but it's well worth the look!! with the "style it your way" feature, you can choose from a variety of the latest tops, bottoms, outerwear, shoes, and accessories to create your very own outfit. not only can you select your own model, you can even select the background that you would like to see your outfit paired with!! having your family photo session in your home? got it! urban location? done! flowers/trees/grass? yep! AND...they even have a fall foliage background!! BONUS!!
{add fall1.gif here}

even if you don't find exactly what you want in the wardrobe selections, it's an invaluable tool to see the outfit while getting ideas on color and textures. fall is a great time to start layering your wardrobe and sometimes it can be a tricky process. the "style it your way" feature lets you do that, and more! tuck or untuck your jeans into your boots, tuck or untuck your shirt, open or close your jacket or cardigan...the possibilities are limitless! after you whip up your wardrobe, you can save your "look" for future reference, and you can even share your "look" on facebook if you want feedback from your friends! and since piperlime is owned by the same company as banana republic, gap, and old navy, their handy links are right at the top of the page, so you can head over to their stores to complete the outfits for your family! so get going...after all, shopping for your family portrait session should be half of the fun! :)

shopping guide:

dad
old navy blazer: $49.50
gap undershirt: $17.99
gap boot cut jeans: $64.50
gap leather belt: $34.50

sister
gap sweater: $36.50
old navy skirt: $16.50
cwd kids leggings: $20
piperlime naturino boots: $86

brother
old navy shirt: $14.50
old navy pants: $17.50
piperlime sketchers shoes: $38

Oh how I long for the fall. And guess what? It may have made an early arrival here in SW Florida! :)