Clothing: My answer is really any clothing that doesn't have a distracting logo or print is always nice, but if that is what your child always wears, perhaps that is how we should photograph him/her - as themselves. But seriously, for holiday photos, solid colors are always great. What you want people to notice first is your child's darling face!
Types of shots: I love close shots of children's faces at different, unexpected angles. I'm not into creating a lot of distracting props - while very cute - they take away from the most beautiful focal point, your little ones. And those faces will not look the same next year, so cherish what they are now in a photograph and share the sweetness with everyone you know!
I can remember back to my college days as a photo major at Rochester Institute of Technology where we would spend at least 2 hours critiquing and discussing what makes a good photograph, lead by my highly accomplished photo professor, Lida Suchy. While art is very subjective, there are key qualities that are important to getting a great shot - the most important being LIGHT. When you are shooting portraits of your children, use natural light whenever you can. Have them sit near a window...The direction of the light is equally important.
I just finished a shoot with baby "M" and thought I'd take a few of her shots to show you how simple and sweet a photo can be without a lot going on in the picture. Now all baby "M" needs is a Happy Holidays logo somewhere in the corner and wha-laah! Beautiful, simple and still festive!
Isn't she just the sweetest Italian beauty?
