TIPS & TRICKS 

What To Wear For Family Photos:

It’s a little overwhelming to dress the entire family for pictures and make it all look good! Here are tips to think about when putting your family’s outfits together for family photos.

Take Some Time To Plan It Out

Think about what look and feel you want the photos to have. Go online to get inspiration.  Do you want a vintage look or something more modern and simplistic? Do you want to be more casual or dressy? I usually lean towards a more casual look, so I go for clothes that are nice, but have a more lived-in and timeless look. Go online, AMAZON, LOFT, White House Black Market. Local: Maurcies, Over the Moon, Modern Merchant, Bought Beautifully. Or better yet, shop your closet! I often forget this one, but there may be a great outfit you’ve forgotten about, so there's no need to buy one!

Pick A Color Scheme 

For family pictures, it helps to have complementary colors so picking a color scheme you like works best. I would say 2-3 main colors (Our recommendation: tans, grays, blues, whites and ivory’s) If you’re planning on hanging the pictures in your home, you might find inspiration there. What colors do you decorate with? What colors make you feel good? Or keep it simple and go for Neutrals, you can’t go wrong with Neutrals, they go with any and everything! Stay away from link pinks, pink, peaches, yellows, reds, purples. Think light and bright for all of you.

Opt for monochromatic

Dress monochromatic to match your location. Sounds crazy, right? But here’s a few reasons why this can make for interesting portraits. Dressing to match your location puts the focus on the face because everything else is benign, so to speak. It forces the viewer to break down the details in the photo since they’re looking at variations of a single color. Choose neutral clothing.

When families have no idea what colors to wear for photos, I suggest wearing any combination of cream, gray, and tans. It is pretty hard to mess that up and looks good in almost every setting, especially dried-grass fields which are readily available in the fall or the green fields of trees and grass in Summer. The result is a monochromatic look that I love. The soft neutrals always bring the focus back to the people in the photos. This timeless look is easy to pull together, and (bonus!) dads love looking comfortable and not super dressed up.

I’ve found that muted tones look beautiful together in a family picture. When picking patterns, choose smaller ones that won’t pull attention away from the main subjects, and only put one person in a pattern. When thinking about texture, choose different ones that will give photos some interest such as lace, corduroy, denim, and knits. If you choose to light colors, do all light colors, if you choose darks, then all of you should be in darker colors. That will help so you aren’t contrasted in your photos. It just makes an overall better image.

Think Texture And Layers

I think it adds dimension to have some texture and layering in your outfits.  For the boys, that’s usually a couple of shirts – maybe a plain tee under a cool checkered or patterned shirt, knit sweater or vest, and so forth. For the girls this could be a skirt, shirt, sweater, tights, and maybe a hair accessory.

Limit Patterns

I personally like to see a little pattern in the clothes we choose for photos, but too much can ruin the look altogether. For large families a couple of the members could wear complementary patterns in varying sizes, but everyone would just be too much. (A stripe dress or shirt and floral pattern goes together well, only have just a couple of your wearing it.)

No Graphics & No T-shirts

Your little one might love his superhero t-shirt, but graphics can be very distracting in a photo. Trust us, just say “no.” 

Accessories Can Add A Lot

Necklaces, earrings, and hair bows for the little girls, can also bring a lot to your images. It’s that finishing touch that brings everything together. This is also where you can add little pops of color, if you wish. Note: Stay way from scarfs.

Lay It Out And Take A Pic

I love using this one! Laying everyone’s outfit onto the floor the way they’re going to wear them and seeing all the colors and textures next to each other tells you a lot! It helps see the whole picture (no pun intended). This way you’re not guessing what it will look like in the end. Taking a picture of what you've laid out is even better. You can see how the family will look without dressing everyone in their clothes or even having to be in the same room! For a busy family, this is a time and hassle saver!

TEXT ME!

If you have any droughts or questions, please me your outfit picks. I want you to feel good about your choices and I am here to help make your Family portraits the best they can be. 307.752.2546

I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Meg