What to Wear for Family Photos

As a family photographer, one of the most common questions I hear is 'what should we wear for our family photos?' Which of course is quite normal because, after all, I have trouble deciding what to wear on a daily basis!!

The most important piece of advice I can offer is to stay true to who you are as a family and match your clothing style to your personalities. The whole point of family photos is to authentically celebrate who you are, not to create an ‘insta-worthy’ pic that looks like everyone else’s. Each one of your kids has a particular personality, style, likes and dislikes, and that’s what we want to celebrate.

If you're a casual family and don't dress up very often, then definitely dress casually. If you're often going out and love dressing up then make sure you show that in your family pictures. Whatever your personal style, you want to look back on your pictures and say 'that's so us!'

Once you've decided on your personal style, there are a couple of tips I have that will ensure your style comes across well in the camera and the artwork we will create will look amazing.

1. Pick a colour theme

Select a palette of 3 or 4 colours and choose any clothing pieces within that palette. It doesn't matter if some are wearing stripes, others checks and others plain. If there's a hint of the colour palette somewhere on everyone, it will tie you all together.

2. Keep it Simple

Avoid wearing shirts with logos or bold graphic prints. These will stand out in the final photos and be a distraction from your beautiful faces! Stripes, spots and patterns all help to create interesting and beautiful photo art, but graphics and logos will detract from it.

3. Subtle Colours

Avoid wearing overly bright colours. Not only will the colours dominate the final image, but when shooting outdoors in natural light, the sun will bounce of these bright colours and reflect onto your face or the face of the person next to you.

Pick colours that are muted or pastel.

4. What to wear for newborn photos

When choosing outfits for your newborn photos, simple is best. We want the focus to be on your beautiful new baby and family. Stick to neutrals and soft pastels. Textures like knits photograph really well and add to the warm, snuggly, cosiness of newborn life. And long, loose, flowy layers will help you look and feel amazing!

5. Match your style to the location

If we're shooting your family photos down by the beach, then light summery clothes and bare feet will be perfect. If however, you're having your photos done in the city then an edgier urban style would be appropriate. For an in-home lifestyle session, casual everyday outfits will be more suitable than your best dressy clothes.

Knowing that we were photographing at the beach with this amazing blue door nearby, Mumma pick dresses that her girls loved, and then pulled out tones for her and hubby’s outfits. Obviously the girls love pink at this age, and the pinks and blues work perfectly with the beach setting.

6. Co-ordinate your outfits

Avoid matching or wearing the same thing. Going back to staying true to who you are as a family, if you wouldn't all dress the same on an average day, then there's no need to do it for your photos. Varying the outfits in your family will highlight everyone's personality, and will also bring interest to the final images. So aim to ‘co-ordinate’ instead of ‘match’ each other.

7. Match your home decor

As these portraits will be displayed in your home, think about where wall art might hang, or smaller framed prints will be sitting and choose outfits to reflect your decor. For example, if your home has a light, beachy feel to it, then outfits with blues and naturals will complement the style of your home. However, a framed photo on the wall with you all wearing bright reds and yellows will not suit your home.

I hope these tips on what to wear for your family photos have been helpful. Having your family photos done should be a fun and enjoyable time documenting who your family is at this moment in time. So stay true to who you are and make sure you have fun creating memories. To talk more about organising your family photo shoot, schedule a call with me!