9 Simple Tips on What to Wear in Family Photos
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Deciding what to wear in family photos can be just as challenging as finding the perfect photographer. These are photos you are going to hang on your walls and cherish for years to come. It can seem overwhelming when considering what to wear but it doesn’t need to be. Use these tips to help you pick out the perfect wardrobe for you and your family.
It can be a hassle to put together clothes for a family in pictures, especially if you’ve got a bigger family–the more people, the more shuffling of layers you have to do. The first rule of thumb is always to decide which color is going to be your primary – then add splashes of additional colors throughout the outfits.
Each year when we take pictures, I generally have one “pop of color” in mind. I’ll start with something like blue, then try to decide what to pair it with. It could be white, or gray, or yellow.
Some helpful pairings that go well together:
- Yellow and gray, yellow and navy, yellow and black, yellow and neutrals,
- Orange and brown, orange and navy
- Blue and white, blue and gray, blue and yellow, blue and maroon
- Mint and Coral
- Green and Red
- Denim
- Black and Cream
- Fuchsia/Black/White
- Purple/Black/White/Gray
- Pastels
- Different range of hues for the same color (light green, dark green)
9 Tips and Tricks:
1. Coordinating colors, not a member of the Brady Bunch. Long gone are the days of everyone wearing the same exact color and being overly matchy matchy. Instead, pick a couple of colors that compliment each other and choose clothes that go with the season i.e. you wouldn’t wear dark hues in the spring or pastels in the fall.
2. Look at your home decor.
Do you like bright colors? Neutrals? Since you will be hanging these photos in your house you want to make sure the colors of your clothes go with the color scheme of your home.
3. Don’t forget accessories.
Accessories not only add to your outfit but they can be fun to use in photos. Have the man wear a tie . Necklaces for the kids to play with or hats to hide behind. Belts, scarves, and headbands are perfect additions to your ensemble as well.
4. Limit patterns.
Personally, I enjoy having an outfit in the mix that has all the colors in it. However, not everyone in the photo should wear patterns as it may distract the final image.
5. Look for clothing collections.
When shopping for clothes for my kids, I head to stores that typically have color coordinating collections {Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, etc.} I can then purchase clothes for all the children from one store.
6. Plan ahead.
Once you book your session, start thinking of the clothes right away. You may think certain clothes will fit your kids or that one dress is clean. If you wait until the day of or day before you may run into an issue of clothes not fitting, being dirty or need to be dry cleaned.
7. Say no to characters.
Yes, your little one may love their Toy Story shirt but you may want to skip it for the family photo session. Just like patterns, characters on shirts can be pretty distracting.
8. Textures are your friend.
I am a huge fan of a cotton fitted shirt. However, in photographs I like to add textures like scarves or belts to add a little more to the image. Don’t shy away from different textures.
9. Think classic or be super creative!
These photos will be hanging on your walls and treasured for years to come. By choosing simple, classic clothes you will help give your images a timeless feel. Or if you are a fun-loving group–be creative – a bunch of baseball hats and a baseball bat if you are avid fans or bring feather pillows along for the ultimate throw down.
Do you need more ideas on what to wear in family photos? Check out our inspiration boards of examples of what to wear in family photos, we post each month.
*LDC*
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