The single most useful rule: coordinate the palette, do not match the outfits. Two or three complementary tones across a family photograph beautifully. Everyone in identical white shirts photographs like a uniformed team.
Match the set, not the season
Earth tones — olive, rust, sand, cream — for jungle and safari sets. Tonal dressing one or two shades from the flowers for floral. Rich single tones like burgundy or emerald for royal sets, where texture does the work. Cream, oat and taupe for neutrals. Silk in traditional tones for Tamil traditional sets.
The mistake is dressing for the occasion rather than the room. A bright red outfit is lovely and will fight a sage-green jungle set for attention, and it will win.
Two fabrics that cause trouble
Synthetics with a sheen. Under the soft diffused light we use for babies, polyester satin picks up hotspots that look like blown-out white patches. Cotton, linen, muslin and wool sit far better. The exception is the under-the-sea set, where sequins and iridescence are the point.
Bold pattern. Small repeating patterns can shimmer oddly on camera, and large logos date a photograph instantly. Plain, textured fabrics age better.
Practical points nobody mentions
Bare feet, almost always. Socks cut the leg at the ankle and draw the eye downwards.
Bring the outfit in a bag rather than wearing it — a car journey in Chennai traffic creases linen thoroughly.
If a headband leaves a mark on a newborn's forehead, that is normal and it fades within minutes. We shoot those frames first for exactly that reason.
For parents in the frame
You are in more of these photographs than you expect. Solid tones, sleeves rolled, nothing with writing on it. Whatever you would happily be seen wearing on a wall in ten years.