Before you open the closet

Every year I get the same message about a week before the session. "I have no idea what to put everyone in." So this year I am writing it all down, because the answer changed.

The 2026 Christmas set in my Clovis studio is all white. Flocked pine, a sheer curtain, a linen bench, soft warm light. There is no red, no plaid, no painted backdrop. That changes what works on it, and it makes your job easier, not harder.

Here is everything I would tell you if you called me.

Start with one color for the whole family

The most common mistake is matching. Four people in the same white sweater reads like a uniform, and in photos it flattens everyone into one shape.

What you want instead is a family that lives inside the same range. Pick one color family and let everyone land somewhere different inside it. Dad in oatmeal, mom in cream, one kid in camel, the other in soft white. Nobody matches, everybody belongs.

Lay it all out on your bed before the session. If one piece makes you squint, that is the one to swap.

The colors that photograph best on this set

These are the ones I would pick first, every time.

One thing worth knowing: white on a white set does not disappear. The set is bright but the light is directional, so the fabric still separates. What makes white work is texture, which I will get to.

If you want one accent color in the family, pick a muted one and give it to one person only. A dusty blue sweater on the youngest reads as intentional. The same blue on all four reads as a theme.

The colors to skip, and why

Pure black. On a set this bright, black opens a hole. Your eye goes straight to it and stops. Charcoal or deep warm brown gives you the same grounded feeling without the hole.

Red and plaid. I know, it is Christmas. But on this set red fights the flocking and wins, and then the photo is about the sweater. If you love red, save it for your tree photos at home.

Neon and anything highly saturated. Bright colors bounce onto skin, especially on little faces that sit close to a parent's chest. Green bounce on a baby's cheek is real and it is hard to fix.

Large logos and graphics. In ten years nobody wants to see which brand your five year old was into.

Loud patterns. One small pattern in the group is lovely. Three different ones is noise.

Fabric matters more than color

This is the part most people never think about, and it is the single biggest thing on this particular set.

The whole room is texture. Flocked branches, knit blanket, linen bench, sheer fabric. When your clothes have texture too, everything belongs together and the images get depth. When your clothes are flat, they look pasted in.

So reach for knit, cable knit, ribbed cotton, linen, wool, corduroy, velvet, suede. Soft sweaters over stiff shirts. Anything with a visible weave.

What I would avoid is shiny polyester, satin and anything that catches light in a hard way. It photographs plasticky next to real wool, and it is the one thing you cannot fix in editing.

What the kids should wear

Comfort wins. Every single time.

A child who is pulling at a collar, tugging at tights or stuck in shoes a size too small will tell you about it for the entire thirty minutes, and you will see it in the photos.

So: soft waistbands, no itchy tags, no brand new shoes. Tights that actually fit or none at all. And honestly, barefoot is beautiful on this set. The floor is warm wood, the rugs are soft, and bare feet photograph better than socks that slide down.

For babies, a simple romper in a neutral knit is all you need. Skip the headband with the enormous bow. On an all white set, a small one does the job and a big one becomes the subject.

One outfit is enough

I do not ask families to bring a change of clothes, and that is on purpose.

A mini session is thirty minutes. Changing clothes eats eight of them, and it eats them at the worst moment, right when your kids have finally relaxed. I would rather use that time photographing you.

Pick one outfit per person, make sure everyone can actually move in it, and come as you are.

Why I am this particular about it

I built this set in one color because color is the loudest thing in a photograph. Take it out and there is very little left for your eye to land on except the people.

That is also why I care so much about clothing. Not because there is a right answer, but because once the room stops competing, what you wear becomes the only thing that can.

When you get your images

Your private gallery is ready within two weeks of your session. You pick your collection and your images from your own couch, on your own time, and you will have 7 days from the day you choose your images.

If you want cards or prints in hand before Christmas, choose early. The lab deadline is in your gallery and I cannot move it.

The 2026 Christmas Mini Sessions

Saturdays and Sundays in November: the 7th and 8th, the 14th and 15th, the 21st and 22nd.

Sessions are thirty minutes, one family at a time, with the room to yourselves. They start on the hour from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, and because I use studio lighting, the time of day is completely yours to choose.

There is also a second set this year, built just for children up to five. It sits at their height and everything in it is there to be touched, so nobody has to spend thirty minutes saying no.