What should I wear? How do I coordinate outfits for my family photo shoot?
If you have asked this question you are not alone. It’s a common question and I will do my best to demystify.
NOTE: Keep in mind there are no hard fast rules and sometimes rules are meant to be broken. I’ve had families beautifully break the rules, allowing their children to dress themselves for an endearing childhood session (with pink cowboy boots, a superhero cape, and 10 barrettes), the results were amazing! If you are looking for something more polished here are some tips, but always be yourself because authenticity is beautiful.
- Coordinate colors/shades that look good together, you don’t have to have match. Having everyone wear “white on the beach” is a little dated. You can search Pinterest under “color pallets” for inspiration, or simply look around your home. What colors surround you? Using colors inspired by home decore helps to ensure that the images will also look good on the walls of your home. If you gravitate toward earth tones, dress in them for your session.
- It’s a myth that children have to dress in bright/electric colors or have a “pop” of color in the image. Less intense shades sometimes bring out more natural coloring in faces such as sweet rosy cheeks and subtle gradations in eye and hair color. Basically your children can still pop without a pop of color.
- NOTE: If coordinating colors is out of your comfort zone, pick out outfits with fun textures and ask me to shoot in black and white. Avoid pure blacks or whites as gradations seem to photograph more equally without having someone be too much of a center point.
- Match each other in terms of “dressiness” and style. If one person is too casual when everyone else is dressy, they will stand out and your photo won’t have quite the professional look. If you have a vintage dress you want to rock, try and dress everyone in something that complements that style for a fun shoot. You will notice in editorial shoots that everyone matches in terms of style (rustic, nodical, country, urban, vintage, structured, boho, fall fashion, casual etc).
- Limit patterns or choose smaller patterns when possible. Sometimes people enjoy having one person (typically a little one) in a pattern that brings in all the colors everyone else is wearing, this is okay. Limiting patterns help to ensure that the photo won’t look too busy and allow your eye to be drawn equally to each person in the group.
- Avoid graphic T-shirts or large characters, they draw your attention away from the face of your loved one.
- Textures and layering, and accessories can add dimension and take your picture up a notch (especially for a fall shoot: hats, scarves, tights, jackets, boots can look amazing)
- Consider your backdrop, if you want to shoot in a neutral wheat colored field you may want to complement the backdrop by dressing in earth tones or use color to draw your family out from the background. If you are doing an urban shoot in an area with a black background avoid wearing black so you don’t get lost in the background.
- Prepare your outfits ahead of time. Unless you are a professional stylist, it can take longer then you might imagine to get outfits together for shoot. Ease your mind and lower stress by planning ahead of time so you can show up to your shoot with a natural smile.
- Remember to take the hair rubberband off your wrist (if you are like me and have one there 99% of the time) put chapstick on your kiddo’s, put lotion on your hands, smooth down flyaway hairs, wipe down kiddo’s faces, remind family members to “loose the sunglasses” unless you want them in the shot.
- The question of what to wear typically comes from from mothers and I tell them to choose their outfits first and dress the family around their outfit. Moms are typically taking the pictures and not always in them. I like to capture motherhood in my sessions so rock something that makes you feel amazing because you deserve to be documented in the beautiful role you play!