5 Tips for What to Wear for Family Pictures
Planning what everyone should wear for family pictures may well be the most difficult part of your session. Here are a few tips for you to help make it a little less overwhelming.
Start with Mom's outfit!
You need to start somewhere so start here to be sure you love what you're wearing (assuming here that Mom is the one planning the session so my apologies if Dad is reading this!).
Go online for inspiration.
Pinterest is great for this! Just search 'what to wear for a family photography session' and you'll get lots of ideas. Searching 'family pictures color scheme' will also bring up more ideas than you can imagine. Try even adding the season to your search term to get ideas more specific to the season you'll be in when taking pictures.
Pick a color scheme.
Do you want bold colors or a more neutral look? Choosing three colors that complement each other will look natural but cohesive. Then make sure everyone is wearing one or two or even all three of those colors. And it's absolutely fine to mix in patterns and actually I would recommend it. If everyone is in all solids it can seem a bit flat or boring.
Use texture and layers.
A sweater with a collared shirt under it, vests, and blazers are some great ways to add layers. And a variety of textures gives some nice interest to the photos, too. If you are going with a more neutral color theme, textures play an even more important role in your photos.
Think about your location.
You want your outfit to make sense in the location where pictures will take place. For instance, it might look out-of-place to have a man wearing a suit in a picture taken in a field with a barn in the background. City and urban locations are great for a more dressed-up look. A beach shoot generally calls for a more casual look. Also, think about the colors in a location. Is there a cool red wall? Primary colors really pop against each other so blue or yellow against a red wall is sure to look great. Fall pictures work really well with jewel tones and deeper colors or neutrals.
I hope these tips for what to wear for family sessions will help you out. They work! That's not to say that it won't still be a little tricky. I've got a family session coming up for my own family and even though I KNOW all these tips work, I still know it's going to stress me out. So I am going to do my best to follow my own advice!
Good luck with it all and I know you will look fabulous!