what should we wear?
I firmly believe that the best images are created when the people in them are comfortable and being themselves. So a big part of that is the clothing you choose. Choose things that suit the style of portrait you want, if you want to be running and playing then you need to be dressed accordingly! We'll talk more about this when we meet (in person or by phone) to plan the session.
I believe it's also really important to express your personality, choose clothes and accessories that say something about who you are! I once took my kids for a school fundraiser portrait (even I am not immune to their sales pitch!) and let them choose their own outfits...we had Caro dressed in her flowergirl dress, Ricky dressed as Superman and Sam didn't care what he wore as long as his beloved 'blanky' could be in the picture. The resulting picture says so much more about who we were at that point in time than if I'd dressed them in colour coordinated outfits.
Feel free to bring several changes of outfit. You might also like to bring sports uniforms, favourite costumes and other items that have special meaning.
There are a few things that are generally best avoided...these include big words on clothes (just because they draw attention away from the face of the wearer) and as always, polka dots bigger than your head :-)
wouldn't it be better to wait until I've lost weight?
NO NO NO NO NO!!! (Can you tell I feel strongly about this?!) This is how you are now and your family love you how you are now. Portraits are about celebrating your family as it is at this point in time. Having said that we work hard to make sure everybody looks their absolute best (and yes, that includes some gentle retouching in Photoshop...but I will never tell!). This is about not postponing life though. And besides, when you lose weight it'll be worth another celebration.
we just don't feel like a real family. aren't family portraits just for mum-dad-and-two-kids families?
A good friend of mine had been through a horrible divorce and found herself suddenly solo parenting their two young boys. I nagged her to sit for me for a family portrait and she always said "But we don't feel like a real family". I kept on at her (I can be fairly persistent when it's important). Eventually, probably just to shut me up, she agreed. We had a great session and when she saw the pics she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said "You know? We don't look broken". It was one of the highlights of my career as a photographer.
If we're in the business of celebrating families then we're in the business of celebrating families in all their craziness, and all their shapes and sizes. Apart from anything, isn't that a message we want our kids to embrace?