Pick One Piece and Build Around It

If you are at a complete loss with what colors you want, choose one piece you love and build out from that. Do you have a beautiful dress you would love to wear? Build the rest of the family’s attire around it. This can work for any piece of clothing you know you would love to have in the family photo.

Choose Your Outfit First

Most likely you will have control over what everyone wears, make it easy on yourself by building out your family’s attire from your outfit. There is nothing worse than having to search for ages and buy something new because you choose the children’s clothing first and now have nothing that works with it.

Coordinate Outfits

Choose a color palette, mix and match colors so that everyone flows and coordinates. This will create stylish and timeless family photos for you to treasure.

Think Seasonal, Not Festive

Ultimately you will want to display your family pictures year-round, so it is best to skip things overly festive, even if you are taking a holiday-specific photo. Instead, incorporate a color palette that coordinates with the season. (See seasonal color palette examples below.)

Consider the Weather, Comfort Matters

When planning outfits for your family photos ALWAYS consider the weather. If it is going to be cold make sure to incorporate jackets, hats, and perhaps even mittens into the looks. There is nothing worse than being uncomfortable throughout the shoot, it will show in your photos, especially on the children.

Keep Your Location in Mind

Shooting on the beach? Formal wear may look out of place. Surrounded by beautiful foliage? Perhaps choose outfits that accent the location. Deep reds, oranges, and greens look beautiful during fall, while a softer palette accents the coast. (See seasonal color palette examples below.)

Avoid Neon Colors

Neon colors photographs are extremely intense. This will be distracting and demand too much attention. You want to wear the clothes, not have the clothes wear you.

Stay Away from Clothing with Writing, Graphic Tees, & Branding

You want your family’s beautiful faces to be the stars of the photo. Clothing with writing, graphic tees, and any branding is distracting.

No Character Outfits

Yes, it is adorable when your children princess dresses, or dress up as Spiderman, but just say no to character outfits in the photos (unless that is the theme). If this becomes a battle, bring the character outfit and make it one of the final photos you do.