What to wear for family portraits!

Planning outfits for your upcoming family or child session? I would love to help! 

For our time together my goal is simple: to make it as fun and stress-free as possible, while I beautifully capture you with your favorite people. The first step in your easy and fun session, is to pick out your outfits ahead of time! 

As soon as we choose your session date and location, I would suggest to start outfit shopping to eliminate any stress about an outfit not fitting, flowing or coordinating long before your session. Once you pick those out, so ahead and steam or iron them to be photo ready, and hang them in a non-cramped space that is out of the way. The best case scenario is to have everything ready 3-7 days before your session, and completely off your plate. 

Now… how do you pick these outfits you want to have ready ahead of time?

If you follow these steps, it will be easy, I promise! 

One - Consider the location we have chosen. Is it rural, urban or all greenery? Make sure you keep this in your mind to best flow with the location we will capture you in.

For example, photos in fields and under oak trees pair beautifully with flowing outfits, and shoes that you can move in. Additionally, if you are shooting with a background that is mostly greenery, I would avoid dark green clothing to keep from blending in, and red clothing unless we are shooting for Christmas time. 

Two - pick your color theme of two to four coordinating colors that you would like to incorporate. Even for extended family sessions, I would suggest keeping the number of colors no higher than four. This way, the group looks cohesive and perfectly curated when framed on your walls! 

I love bright and vibrant portraits that include color with the sun shining! However, we unfortunately can’t always control the weather or if it will be a bright day. For this reason, I say to bring some color with you! Blue, pink, yellow, burnt orange, etc. - It’s your choice! 

There are several examples of this from my real clients, below!

Three - Start with mom. I don’t know about you, but I am picky when it comes to what I wear in photos. I have specific styles and colors that I gravitate towards and appreciate the freedom to choose what outfit I feel best in! 

How you feel will strongly affect how you move during your portraits, how you look on camera and how you will view your finished gallery that you are so excited to receive! 

Take your time finding an outfit that you love that meets these criteria:

*It makes you feel good from every angle.

*It is in a color that you feel flattered in. 

*You can walk, turn and sit in your outfit without being uncomfortable. 

Four - Once Mom’s outfit is chosen, begin planning the rest of your family in coordinating, but non-matching outfits. 

If you follow me on social media - you will see that I love putting my girls in matching outfits. With their age gap, I am not sure how long I will be able to do that, and am taking that opportunity for as long as I can! 

For family photos however, I find the most cohesive and timeless photos are taken with each member in their own outfits. This allows you to style each person with their own personal preferences and show off their personalities. Additionally, each member will stand out on their own in the group photos.

The goal for coordinating a couple or family’s outfits is to visually break up the colors and shades so that you’re not all wearing the same color on top and bottom (like everyone in blue jeans with white shirts). The more you can mix it up, the better! I encourage you to think about planning each outfit with “dominant colors” and “accent colors” in mind. When you’re planning each family member’s outfit, if you can aim for each person to have a different dominant color, and then tie in and vary the accent colors, it will look great all together.

For example, if you’re wearing a blush dress, soft blue earrings and nude heels (blush being your dominant color), then your spouse could wear a navy coat with a white button-down and gray pants, paired with brown leather shoes (making navy his dominant color). Your daughter could wear a soft blue top with a white skirt (making a soft blue her dominant color) while your son could wear light beige pants with navy suspenders and a white button down (making white his dominant color). Now each person has their own dominant color while still incorporating a few touches of the other colors that will pull all the looks together.

When each member has their own color or outfit, we avoid everyone blending together. 

Things to avoid:

 I usually like to keep things positive, but there are a few things I would avoid to give you the best final photos. 

First - Your coordinating colors being black and white or mostly grey. Though all of these colors can pair beautifully with vibrant palettes, wearing them alone can wash out skin tones and take away from the liveliness of your final gallery. 

Second - Having too many members in patterned clothing. For any group, try to stick to the rule: two solids for every one pattern. This can keep your photos from being too busy, and again, allow for each member to stand out. 

Third - Wearing patterns that are too small. Patterns smaller than a dime can cause distortion in digital cameras, and appear with different colors than they do in real life.