What to Wear for Spring Family Photos
The weather is finally warming up, blooms are budding and the ground is taking life again. Spring is a beautiful time for family photos and my favorite season in Boise. But perhaps one of your first questions is, “What should we wear?” There are a few unique aspects to dressing for family photos in the spring and I wanted to highlight them below in hope of making your outfit selection easier. As always, if you need additional help, I offer personalized outfit styling for all of my clients, so don’t hesitate to reach out!
Dress for the weather
Spring, at least were we live, can still be a bit chilly, so dressing with light layers can really help everybody feel comfortable during the photo session. Some good examples are a sweater or jean jacket over a dress, long sleeve sweaters paired with shorts for boys or men, or short sleeve button ups with long pants.
choose colors that compliment the background
Spring backgrounds tend to have a lot of green and so one option when choosing outfits is to select colors complimentary to green such as red or orange. I find these colors to be bold and energetic, but prefer more earthy and muted versions of these colors, for example, deep red, rust, or wine colors.
Alternatively, cooler colors like greens or blues tend to pair well with spring colors and also evoke a light and airy feel to the images. If selecting blue or green I recommend lighter, more muted tones to help contrast with the darker green backgrounds. Sage green as in the lower left picture is a great option for spring as well as light or mint blue as in the photo on the bottom right.
When in doubt, you can’t go wrong with neutral colors. One benefit of neutrals is they help reduce color cast. When shooting in a location with a lot of green, a photographer has to be careful to avoid color cast on her subjects from the green reflecting back and causing green skin tones. Some brighter colored outfits can also exacerbate the issue causing color cast themselves. With neutrals you typically avoid that problem. Neutrals are also helpful in a particularly colorful environment, such as a flower field, because they prevent you from competing with the color of the background. They also give the photographer more freedom when choosing where to pose you, not being concerned about colors competing with the background.
Incorporate Earth Tones and Natural Textures
One element that all of these photos have in common is that they incorporate a brown or tan article of clothing. Whether it is in the leather of their shoes, or in some of the articles of clothing, the brown is a neutral that pairs well with green and helps ground the outfit. Leather shoes, add a nice touch.
Choose Light and Airy Pieces
In general I recommend choosing both light and dark colors alternating between family members to provide contrast, but for spring I recommend airing more on the light side. In the below photo the majority of the family members are wearing white, but it works well because they stand out from the background.
Dress to your family’s personality and have fun!
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.
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!