How to Get Dressed for Family Photos
So you decided to get your family photos taken… phew! That’s already a feat in and of itself. But now, you must figure out how to get everyone dressed and cute and match… but not match too much… and look effortless… but look nice… but stay authentic to yourselves? Wow, that’s a lot. Here’s my go-to suggestions to help you all look
adorable
put-together
effortless
cohesive
LIKE YOURSELF
Step 1: Pick an inspiration piece
I think that one person in the family should pick a central inspiration piece. Typically, this is mom picking her outfit first & basically making sure everyone else looks great with her :) I like to suggest picking a piece of clothing with a not-too-busy pattern that has some colors the rest of the family can draw on. I suggest mom wears a dress! They’re easy, not too much to think about, beautiful, comfortable, and have a great element of movement :)
(with that said, I recommend a figure-flattering dress with an emphasized waist over something cool like a boxy shift dress)
Step 2: Make a color scheme
When narrowing down your color scheme, consider your home decor! I know—this seems a little weird— but SERIOUSLY. If all goes according to plan, you’re going to want to frame these pictures! You have to make sure they compliment your home decor. For example, my home is colorful with mostly cool tones such as blues. You’ll select appropriate colors naturally, as your house is most likely a reflection of your tastes; but it’s important to consider. Once you have drawn your color scheme from your inspiration piece and made sure they go with your home, it’s time for the fun part!
I’d recommend choosing 2-3 colors for your color palette, and then have variations of those colors, like darker or lighter shades of blue.
Step 3: Grab a bunch of clothes & play!
Now it’s time to make things happen! If you have older kids, you can tell them your color scheme and allow them to select a few outfit ideas or pieces of clothing that fit within the scheme. You want them involved to maximize their buy-in. Plus— we want them to feel confident too! This will make the pictures even better :) You can make the selections for your younger kids or ask them to help you identify clothes that fit your color scheme. Once you have a selection for each family member (wow, I’m basically advising you to make a huge mess… feel free to do this mentally but I think it’s way more fun to get a visual of it all!)… you can start mixing and matching outfits. Note: I recommend keeping patterns to a minimum. Less than half of the family should be wearing patterns. When mixing patterns, members of the family wearing patterns should check to be sure they don’t clash. Ideally, patterns share at least one color and one article has a larger print while the other is smaller.
Step 4: Bring it all together
After you have landed on a favorite outfit for each person, lay out each outfit next to each other. Do dad and daughter accidentally match? Switch it up. Is there too much of one color? Sub for a complementary color or a different shade. You get the idea. You will all be standing in a picture together (duh) so make sure it works :)
The end result should look cohesive but not overly-planned or matchy looking.
A final do / don’t checklist:
Do:
Dress like yourself! So often, the temptation is to dress up like a totally different person. My suggestion is to dress like yourself. If you hate being fancy, don’t be fancy for family pics! A nice henley or clean tee shirt or simple sweater and jeans is great!
Be comfortable: We want everyone to be as comfortable as possible so nothing distracts them from having fun and looking happy.
Keep it classic: Sticking to classics rather than extreme trends is a good call when taking family portraits that you will pass down for generations.. or even sooner, you don’t want to regret your outfit just a year or two later.
Don’t:
Avoid busy patterns, loud colors, and logos… all of those things might distract from what’s important… you, your beautiful family, and your connection. A nice floral is fine but leave your cool geometric abstract shirt for your day-to-day.
Avoid uncomfortable clothes, especially for younger kids. We want everyone to be as stoked and as comfortable as possible.
Avoid visible underwear: this is an obvious one but even a rogue bra strap disrupts a great photo. You will likely be moving around a lot (especially if you’re working with me, Nadine!) and the last thing you want to worry about is your understuff all over the place
Avoid blending in to the background. For example, if we are at the beach, don’t wear a beige outfit. White is great, even blue… but consider your location and don’t be a chameleon.
