What to Wear to Family Photos
I’m so excited to share this post with you guys because it’s one of my most asked questions from clients! Here are my 5 tips for how to dress for your next family photo session!
Gather Inspiration from your Location: Want photos to look effortless and beautiful? Choose your wardrobe based on the location of your shoot. This may seem obvious, but it’s worth noting. If you’re headed to the beach, you’ll want to wear something easy, breezy, and lightweight. Or you may want to consider dressing up more if your photos are being taken somewhere in the city or downtown. Here’s an example that may help clear this up - have you ever seen photos where the subjects are dressed to the nines - high heels, shirt and tie - but they are walking through a metro park? It’s just out of place! But put them at the bar of a swanky restaurant, and suddenly the luxury vibe just FITS.
Choose attire that compliments your location & that you feel comfortable wearing.
Select a Color Palette: It helps if everyone’s outfits that are coordinated. Notice I said coordinated, not matchy-matchy. A family that dresses according to a color palette appears effortless and cool. When in doubt, stick to neutrals. Black, white, and beige have never gone out of style and never will!
Spring/Summer: I love earth tones with pops of white for summer shoots. Blues, greens, beiges, denim, florals - it’s all great for this time of year!
Fall/Winter: Neutrals always work, but go darker - think deep browns, tans, jewel tones and for a pattern — add plaid elements.
Matchy Matchy
Think Timeless vs Trendy: I love a good trend! But I hate looking back on old photos and cringingggg. You always think “oh this will never go out of style,” but dang, it always does! Opt for classic silhouettes and understated pieces. If you feel the urge to pull in a trendy piece to your outfit, select one that can be removed and include some shots with and without it. For example, I live for a good hat or headband. Take a few photos with them and a few without, that way you’ll always have options.
Stick with the classics. Your future self will thank you!
Tie it all Together: Choose your outfit FIRST. Whenever I take my own family photos, I first decide on what I’m wearing and then have the rest of the family coordinate with it. For example, I wore a brown paisley dress with black and cream accents for fall photos one year. I put my husband in a brown sweater (texture), with a cream shirt, and my son in a cream sweater (texture), and both boys wore jeans.
A blend of textures, patterns, & solids with one common color palette
Tips for the Big Day: Have everyone (everyone!) try on their outfit before the big day to ensure it fits and you like the way things look. This is ESPECIALLY important with toddlers (and husbands TBH lol). Letting them wear their new outfit at least once before the big day will avoid protest and the inevitable melt down on the day of (speaking from experience here). A word on perfection - don’t stress about any flaws (hello, stress zit!!). Your photographer wants to make you look GOOD. We are photoshop magicians, so don’t sweat the small stuff. We will zap that zit, soften your skin, and make sure you look like you’ve had 8+ hours of sleep - trust me!
The best accessory to wear to your next family photos?
A genuine smile and a relaxed mama. Your family will feed off of your energy and your photos will reflect it! Your photographer will take care of the rest!
