Showcase your family property, or we’ll find one for you. We like to think outside the box when designing portraits for your space.
Fall is the perfect time for a family photoshoot. With a winning combination of comfortable weather and a cozy atmosphere, this time of year is perfect for bringing your family together. Make memories with fall family portraits that will live on as treasured mementos for generations to come.
Read More
Getting your kids dressed appropriately on a day to day basis while avoiding a deluge of protests is hard enough. But coordinating outfits for your entire family can be akin to something out of a horror film. Don’t fret, this guide will help you choose the perfect family photo outfits and avoid an accompanying headache.
Before we can dive into styling and coordinating outfits, there are some factors that need to be considered.
Where Are You Taking Your Portraits?
The location of your family portraits is a determining factor in your color scheme, style, and even accessories. For instance, if you and the fam are headed to the middle of a wooded forest for some fall foliage, you’ll probably want to avoid stiletto pumps. Pictures at the beach require a breezy, casual wardrobe, while a busy city location can be more flexible in terms of whether you go casual or formal.
How’s the Weather?
Has it been a sweltering autumn or perhaps an especially chilly spring? Think about that when you’re choosing what your family will wear. Shorts, dresses, and sleeveless tops are spring staples, but if the sun refuses to shine, opt for something that will keep your clan from shivering through your photo session. You can still incorporate bright shades and floral patterns, just do it with a cardigan or pants.
Where Will You Display Your Portraits?
You might think it’s premature to decide where to hang your pictures before they exist, but this little bit of forethought is necessary to ensure that your wardrobe color scheme coordinates with your home decor. If you already have a wall in mind that is in desperate need of art, let us know! We can keep that in mind during your session to make sure we get the right photo, whether it’s a panoramic horizontal piece to span a mantel or a gallery wall in your hallway that combines individuals with family shots.
Is it Comfortable?
So you found the perfect dress for your sweet tot, but the tulle is a tad itchy. Guess what? That dress is not perfect. It might look beautiful, but your little one will be pulling, tugging, and whining the whole time she is wearing it. Keep comfort level in mind. Kids, and dads for that matter, have a hard time hiding their emotions. And if something is too tight or too scratchy, they won’t be able to relax enough to give us a genuine smile.
How Will You Accessorize?
Accessories are a must when it comes to family portraits. They add texture and interest that keeps your portraits from falling flat. But the key to successful accessorizing is moderation. Not everyone in your family should have an accessory, solely for the sake of adding something to their outfit. We don’t want it to be distracting or busy. Instead, choose one or two people who might already wear an accessory like a scarf, necklace, or hat. It should be a natural addition and fit their personality.
Are the Patterns Too Busy?
You don’t have to be afraid to add patterns to your family’s wardrobe. It can seem like a daunting task, but you don’t have to stick to solids. As long as the pattern isn’t too small or busy, you’re good to go! Remember to focus on balance. Not everyone needs a pattern. It’s all about coordinating, not matching.
Now that you have a few things to keep in mind while you’re choose outfits, here are some tried and true ways to style for your photoshoot with ease.
Don’t stress yourself out by trying to style all 4 or 5 (or 8) outfits at once. Complete one single outfit and build the rest from there. It helps if the first outfit has a few colors or a pattern. Then you can create your color scheme from that look to incorporate in the rest of the family’s clothes.
If you have a solid color scheme as a foundation, it’s pretty simple to choose pieces that fit within the scheme. Keeping the colors neutral will guarantee that you don’t have any accidental clashes. Just make sure you don’t fall into the ‘matchy-matchy’ trap. There’s a fine line between five outfits that utilize the same colors, and five outfits that are identical.
Choosing a central theme is an easy way to make sure the overall style of your family’s outfits is cohesive. Your portrait session location will have a big impact on your theme. Going back to our beach example from before, you might choose a relaxed, beachy theme which will lend itself well to lightweight fabrics and pastel colors.
Stores these days make it almost too easy to choose coordinating outfits for the whole family. Walk into Old Navy and what do you see? A family of mannequins that look like they’re headed to their portrait session. If you don’t have the confidence to choose wardrobe pieces yourself, leave it to the professionals. It’s as easy as fighting off the crowds to find the right size and shade.
I can understand how this might seem like a dicey suggestion. Did I really just recommend that you let your children have a say in what they wear? Sort of, just hear me out. This method of styling is more geared towards extended family photo shoots or those with a group of adults. Not everyone is going to want to buy something new for family pictures. Opening it up to opinions allows your family members the option of working with what they have, or suggesting colors they are comfortable wearing.
Autumn is such a fun time to take family photos because the foliage is full of an array of colors and textures. But how do you coordinate all those gorgeous shades outside with outfits for your family? We’ve compiled a list of outfit color schemes that are so simple to recreate, you can’t go wrong!
The benefit of incorporating blush pink into a denim color scheme is that it’s a subtle pop of color that is almost neutral.
Forget what anyone else says, boys CAN wear pink! Whether it’s brother in a blush pink button down or little sis in a rose colored baby doll dress it will fit the bill. Let mom pull in the pink with a necklace or cardigan and dad can embrace the denim with jeans and a white shirt.
Red, black, and white might seem like the most basic color scheme there is. But basics do well in photos and that’s why we love it. Red is such a rich, eye-catching color that it’s important to keep the other colors simple and neutral.
The key here is not to overdo it with the red. Pick a couple family members to wear a big block of red like a sweater or dress. If you want to add a pop of red into any other outfits, keep it small and simple like a scarf or necklace.
Denim gives off a casual vibe in your photos. It’s such a versatile shade that you can really incorporate any color as a secondary in your color scheme.
When you’re using denim it’s easy to fall into the simplicity of jeans and a plain colored shirt. Fight that urge. Try putting someone in a red plaid button down with jeans. Put mom or sister in a red dress and a jean jacket. Don’t be afraid of breaking the red and blue up with neutrals like cream or white.
Shades of cream in your family portraits create a fresh feel without succumbing to the sterile vibes that stark white can illicit. Sure, cream shades coordinate with nearly any color, but pairing cream with denim is a winning combination that is chic in its simplicity.
This family pulls off the cream and denim color scheme flawlessly. Mimic their style with a lace cream dress, a few cream sweaters and maybe a pair of light khakis. Throw in a couple denim jackets to pair with the cream tops and chambray shirts to balance the khaki bottoms. Everyone else can throw on a pair of dark wash jeans to keep it simple.
We know what you’re thinking: that’s a lot of color for fall portraits that will inevitably already be full of a lot of color. But when done right, these shades combined create a perfect autumn wardrobe that plays off the foliage beautifully.
Implementing these colors into your family’s outfits requires a careful balance of wardrobe pieces. The easiest way to achieve that balance is to choose one wardrobe element, like little sister’s dress, that contains all the colors and build the remaining outfits off of that. Yellow should only be used in one or two outfits, since it is so eye catching.
Like blush pink, olive is a pop of color that is practically a neutral. Pairing it with tan, cream, or beige keeps the look from being overbearing in terms of color while still maintaining dimension. A neutral color scheme, like this one, allows the beautiful fall foliage to take center stage in your portraits.
Olive comes in a variety of shades. Someone in your brood can wear a light olive green shirt while another family member dons a pair of dark olive green pants. Try to maintain an even balance of tan and olive green within your family’s outfits. Remember that color can be incorporated in accessories too!
As evidenced by all the denim in the color schemes above, blue is an excellent option for fall wardrobes. Blue complements shades of orange and yellow, making it the perfect choice to play off the fall colors in your photos. Offset the blue with tan to maintain a fresh, minimal style.
Follow the lead of this family by putting the gentlemen in blue button downs and the ladies in tan sweaters. Using different patterns for each of the boys shirts keeps the portrait from falling flat or being reminiscent of the identical outfits found in 90’s family photos.
Burgundy combines the warm, rich shades of autumn bliss: red and purple, to create a charming color that belongs in any family portrait. With a shade so rich and distinct, it’s important to match it with neutrals like denim and khaki so you end up with a delicate balance of colors instead of a deluge of saturation.
Keep the burgundy to a minimum when styling your family. Look for simple ways to incorporate it in one or two outfits. Outfit your clan in a mix of khaki pants and denim jeans to break up the monotony of color. As always, accessories are our best friend and we never turn our nose up at a burgundy necklace or scarf.