What to Wear for a Family Photoshoot

Sometimes figuring out what to wear for a family photo shoot can feel like more of a feat than the photo shoot itself. Here are a few guidelines and recommendation to help get you on the right track and to help ensure you will love your photos for years to come!

Wear Coordinating, not matching colors

While you do want the family to coordinate and compliment each other as one cohesive unit, it is not necessary to all wear the same color. In fact, it often looks better to break up one color with a complimentary color. Choose two or three coordinating colors for family members to wear or add in multiple shades of one color.

Where to shop

Women:

Ivy City Co // Amazon // Worth Collective // Neuflora // Bohme // Nothing Fits But // Joyfolie

Men:

Target // H&M // Old Navy // Gap // Macy’s // Amazon

Kids:

Joyfolie // Ivy City Co. // Old Navy // Gap // H&M

Babies & Toddlers:

Rylee & Cru // Spearmint Love // Old Navy // Gap // Target // H&M

Consider Home Decor

Since you will hopefully love your pictures so much that you will want to print and display them in your home, consider if the outfit colors will compliment or clash with your home decor. Think of it like creating a work of art to hang in your living room. What is the color palate of the space? Choose outfits to compliment the color palate of the room you plan to hang the photos.

Create Balance

Avoid having one member of the family stand out too much. If everybody is wearing dark colors, it can feel unbalanced if just one is wearing a light color. Create balance by breaking up dark and light. One way to do this is to alternate top and bottom. For example, if dad is wearing khaki pants and a dark shirt, mom can wear jeans and a light blouse, and to tie both both together your daughter can wear a complimentary dress in a mid range color.

Use Texture to Add Interest

Choose pieces with texture to add warmth and dimension to photos. Textures can be knit, ribbed, jean, fur, velvet, lace, tulle etc. Similar to color, don’t overdo it by having the same texture element across all family members or two many different textures. You do however, want to create balance and tie textures together. For example, if Mom is wearing a knit sweater, maybe your daughter can wear a knit hat.

Consider the Background Elements

Consider the season and location when making clothing selections. Choose pieces that will compliment the colors in the background. For example, when taking photos in the fall, there can typically be a lot of browns, oranges. yellows and red. Choose warmer pieces to compliment these colors and not compete with them. In the spring there are more greens, blues, and yellows, so choose cooler colors to compliment these.

Create Movement and Shape

For women and girls, dresses or skirts always add a fun element to pictures. They can hep create movement as the fabric catches the wind and moves with you. They can also be very flattering and help to create shape in areas you want to highlight as well as hide any areas that you don’t. Accessories like a hat, bow, headband, flower crown or scarf can also help to create shape and add an interesting element.

Let Your Family’s Personality be the Stand out Element

Pick items that look and feel like you! Pick practical and comfortable items that your family can easily move around in and take photos standing or sitting. Avoid items with multiple patters or large logos which can be a distraction in the photos. We want YOU to stand out in the images, not your clothes so don’t let the clothing overpower the images.

Have Fun

Have fun with it and wear something you maybe wouldn’t normally wear. Throw on a sequin dress, a hat, a bow tie, or a pair of cowboy boots. Family photos are a good excuse to pull at that statement piece and dust off the high heels if you want!