How to Prepare for Family Photos: What to Wear
Top 3 Tips for What to Wear
Don’t match — coordinate
Pick a cohesive color scheme
Add visual interest
Selecting outfits can be stressful. As someone who wears leggings (or sweats) every day, everywhere, I know from personal experience that planning well-coordinated outfits isn’t easy. But, some thoughtful planning is worthwhile as these suggestions will make your photos visually pleasing and less distracting — and most importantly, you’ll look like you belong together. These are family photos, after all, so that’s important!
The Tips in More Detail:
These tips will help you get started, but I would suggest asking your photographer to share their Style Guide for more detail. I’m happy to share mine — just ask!
Don't match — coordinate: Coordinated outfits (i.e., same level of dressiness and color scheme, but not identical) show you are a cohesive group but still highlight individuality. If you all wear the same outfits (or even the same exact color), you’ll blend in with each other, which is not flattering and doesn’t distinguish each person.
Pick a cohesive color scheme: 3-4 colors + neutrals is a good rule of thumb. If you need ideas, a simple “fall color scheme” search in Google or “fall family photos” in Pinterest will do the trick. I included the word “fall” (which can be substituted for winter, spring, or summer) because if you are outdoors, seasonal clothing color schemes generally pair well with the setting/background that time of year.
Contrast is your friend, but don’t mix color schemes (i.e., avoid dressing some family members in fall colors and others in neon… speaking of, avoid neon and other stark colors in general as they can cast discoloration on your clothes and draw way too much attention to one individual.
Limit colors that will make you blend in with the background (i.e., greens in a forest preserve).
Add Visual Interest: Add texture and accessories for variety, layers for depth, and dresses for movement. These tie everything together nicely, make the photos more interesting, and highlight your individual personalities. Think of it like a present with ribbon, a bow, and a card vs a wrapped package with nothing on it — not even your name. I’m not saying you should be fancy or overdo it — don’t go crazy — but a little styling goes a long way.
Watch Outs
What not to wear is just as important as what to wear. And it’s not about style — it’s about avoiding distractions or forgetting to remove things that don’t belong.
Here are a few things you’ll want to remove or cover:
Extra hairbands on your wrist
Smart watches
Bulky items in your pockets (e.g., phone and car keys)
Bra straps
Diapers on little ones
Dressing Toddlers
If your kids fight it, I have a few strategies that you can try. However, if all else fails, let them win. For one, you don’t want them to be a hot mess the whole time. But also, there is something pretty special about your kid wearing something that they love.
Offer choices (e.g., “would you rather wear this shirt or that shirt?”)
Make it a game (i.e., who can get dressed first? Can you get dressed upside down?)
Give them a tattoo or sticker under their shirt.
Offer to bring an outfit of their choice so that they can change in the car as soon as you leave.
Make sure the outfit you selected is comfortable; if it’s not, swap it out.
Bribe ‘em — ain’t nothin’ wrong with that if you ask me!