What to wear? {family photos}
Each year as I take holiday photos for families the number one question I am asked is “What should we wear?!” There are several parts to this answer. I’m sure several of you are getting ready for the annual family photos and I hope to help you out a bit today with some dressing dilemmas!
1. Coordinate! You want to coordinate, but not “match”. I am definitely not into the matching outfits on kids {to each their own!} or families. Each person has a unique style and coordinating is the best way to go! Try and avoid too many patterns. If one person is wearing a pattern, try and work around that…you don’t want every family member sporting a different pattern…just too much! You want to be able to go out to eat after your session and feel comfortable!
2. Layer! I love layers! I think layers look great in photos and add a bit of an edge. Layers also give you the option of adding pops of color when you need them without everyone wearing a lot of color or several different colors.
3. Accessorize! I am a girl that adores a great accessory! I also think accessories can add a bit of flavor and funk to photos. Really take them to another level! Throw in a scarf, headband, or hat for a few photos!
4. Stay Timeless. You want your clothing choices to remain timeless. Try to avoid trends and stick with the basics. I don’t want my children to look back at our family photos and think “you made me wear that!” or “oh, how 2010, mom! Keep it simple, and you can’t go wrong!
When choosing clothing for my own family photos, I usually start with my daughter’s outfit and go from there. I am a black lover. I always have grand plans of lots of poppin’ color, but always end up with blacks, grays, and blues. Just my thing, I guess. This is an example of what my family would wear for photos. I would definitely make sure our location and props were going to have color since our outfits are pretty neutral. But, hey, that’s the way, I like it. uh huh, uh huh! I can totally picture us all dressed up in a big field at sunset…gorgeous!
I also wanted to give you another example, one that’s a bit more colorful {and oh, how I fell in love with this little pink dress the first time I laid eyes on it in Gap!}. It’s great to keep a neutral color base for the main pieces and add pops of color in accessories or outerwear. Just want to reiterate, you don’t have to “match”. Just make sure everyone coordinates and outfits look nice together. You will want everyone to look nice and above all, you want everyone to be comfortable. Comfortable families make great photos! Try and let your families personality shine through in the clothing choices you make!
Yes, these are all just my honest opinions…what I think looks fabulous in photos! 
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OMG!!!! I cannot believe you just posted this I have been trying to come up with outfits with our family pix this Sunday. You are a life saver I didnt want to go with matching outfits because that is just not my families style. I love your examples anf ideas and I am ready to go shopping. This will be our first family photos because I absolutely HATE to have my pix taken but knew if I dont I will regret it, so we are doing a FUN outdoors photo shoot one a laid back Sunday afternoon. Can it get any more casual! Thanks again for this post it answered what I was looking for:)
We just went through this this summer. We went with red, yellow, and blue…any shade any pattern. Then for the neutrals it was black, white, and denim. Amazingly enough it turned out awesome. We had plain shirts, plaid shorts, jackets, short sleeves, scarfs, bows, and even a red petticoat. I think the part I like the most about just picking colors and letting people go with it, is that everyone’s personality comes out in their clothes.
I wore a white dress shirt from Chico’s with a red belt at my waist, jeans, and high heels. My hubby wore jeans, a screen print tee (with some fleur de leis design), and a blazer. This is totally us. My sister on the other hand was in a plain tee with a scarf, her hubby in a white button up shirt and loose tie, and her daughter was wearing a petticoat and converse.
Good luck with pictures Jamie and thanks for the article Amanda!!
yay, jamie! so glad it helped you out a bit!
crissa! i would love to see your photos…you should post a link to a few! your outfit choices sound perfect! and really…as long as everyone comfortable and happy, their personality really shines through! so fun!