What to Wear For Family Photos | You just booked your family portraits and now it’s time for some planning. It’s so exciting to get your portraits taken by a professional photographer. The anticipation of seeing what your portraits will look like is really something. To make your portraits the best they can be you need to plan ahead on what you and your family will wear that day. There are a lot of factors that you may have not even thought of so I put together this blog post with tips on how to select your wardrobe. I hope you find this helpful!
TIPS….
GRAPHIC TEES/LOGOS
Stay away from graphic tees or anything with logos as these tend to make your portraits look too casual and everyday. Graphic tees and logos also will distract attention away from the main subjects.
HAIRCUTS
Be sure haircuts are done 1-2 weeks prior to your shoot. A grown out cut looks most natural.
SUBTLE PATTERNS
Subtle patterns can be very visually pleasing as they add texture and interest to a portrait. One person could wear a subtle pattern and the rest of the family coordinates off the colors in the pattern using solid colors. You could also add another subtle pattern like this sample below. I would however suggest staying away from busy, loud patterns as these distract the eyes from focusing on the true subject, which is your family. Also, keep in mind that too much patterns become distracting so you don’t want to overdo it one or maybe two people in a family of 4+.
COORDINATE INSTEAD OF MATCHING.
You really want to focus on coordinating outfits instead of matching them. You can do this by selecting a color palette first and coordinating outfits around it. Another option is to select an outfit for one child first. Lets say your daughter is going to wear a subtle patterned dress with peach, pink and golden tan colors, you can pick those colors to coordinate the other members of your family. Below is a sample of what I came up with. This will look nice in a family portrait.
LITTLE ONES
If you have little ones 3 or under make sure they are nice and rested before your session. I would avoid any sugar that day. Save it as a treat for being good at their portrait session. Bring back up clothing for them just in case there are any spills or accidents.
ACCESSORIZE
Accessorize by bringing in pops of colors that coordinate with each other’s outfits. This could be anything from jewelry, hats, headbands to socks and shoelaces.
SHOES
Avoid athletic sneakers as these also tend to make your portraits look too casual. Converse or Vans are a more fashion forward approach. If you are doing your session at a beach location please wear flip flops or flats. Your flip flops will only be used to walk on reefs and once I’m ready to shoot will be taken from you. Bare feet on the beach looks much better than any shoes!
Ladies if you are wanting to wear heels, you might also want to bring a pair of flats as well just to get you from the car to the shooting location.
LOCATION
Dress for the location you plan to have your session at. For instance if your session is at the beach you don’t want to wear high heels or boots. You’re going to want to go barefoot. Moms could wear a pretty flowing dress and dads can wear a short sleeved shirt with shorts or jeans!
LAYERING & TEXTURES
Add some visual interest and some color pop by layering your clothing. Adding a sweater for some shots and some without can vary your look quite a bit. When selecting textures think about choosing different ones that will give your photos some interest such as corduroy, denim, velvet, etc.
BE COMFORTABLE
This tip is for parents as well as children. It’s important to be able to move freely in your outfits and be comfortable in what you are wearing. Be sure you are able to sit nicely and are able to pick up your younger children.
BE YOURSELF
Wear clothing that you feel good in. That goes for your children as well. If they feel uncomfortable in what you have selected for them they may be a little grumpy an their personalities may not shine through.
PLAN AHEAD
Make sure you have your outfits planned at least a week before your session. That will give you plenty of time for any changes you might want to make or items that may have slipped your mind. You don’t want to be stressing the day of your session trying to figure out what you are all going to wear.
MAKEUP
Keep your makeup natural looking. You don’t want to overdo it, but a bit of color on your cheeks, lips and eyes will liven you up in your portraits. Keep in mind that acne, bruises and cuts can be removed in post processing.
WHERE TO SHOP
Kids: Gap, Old Navy, Zara, Target, H & M, J Crew, Mini Boden, Janie and Jack, Koko Blush,
Maternity: Gap, Old Navy, H & M, Nordstrom, etsy.com , Pinkblush.com
Woman: Gap, Old Navy, H & M, Nordstrom, Macys, Charlotte Russe, Forever 21, Target
Men: Gap, Old Navy, H & M, Nordstrom, Macys, Target
How I build a wardrobe
- First I start with one person. For instance I usually start with my daughters outfit. The last photography session we did she wore a cream colored dress with coral and aqua colored flowers on it.
- I pulled the colors out from her dress to coordinate what the rest of us was going to wear. My husband happened to have an aqua colored shirt I thought would work great and a pair of tanned shorts that matched as well.
- Next I selected my son’s clothing which was a sea green shirt and darker tanned shorts. All colors that coordinated with my daughters dress.
- Lastly, it was my turn. I found several dresses that I thought might work for me but I decided on a maxi dress that was a coral color. Since my boys were wearing colors of green and aqua I decided to wear a necklace with those colors on it as well with matching earrings.
Here is what that looked like:
Photo credit: Wilde Sparrow Photography, HI
Build your wardrobe on a color palette such as this.
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