Family session wardrobe planning, whoa guys this is a doozy! When I set out to type this up I didn’t realize I had so many thoughts about this!
In my years of being in business, I find this is one of the biggest stressor of a family photo session. Probably for Momma the most, second only to maybe how they anticipate their child’s behavior!? It’s a lot, planning a cohesive wardrobe that looks polished, in style but also classic, and suits everyone is greatly overwhelming. I get it! We all want to look like we just walked off the cover of family magazine, right? Gone are the days of everyone wearing khakis and a white polo or button down shirt. We want clothing to fit well, be a polished outfit that represents the child in that moment, and to tie into the whole family’s wardrobe. Just like there are certain “rules” in photography that help an image feel balanced or things you can do to draw the eye to your subject. Clothing is no different. Throughout this post I will detail what I look for, what I’m thinking about and how I pull things together to create a polished looking family wardrobe that not only represents the child but the family as well!
First things first, you want the clothing to represent your family as a whole as well as each individuals personality. If your little girl hates dresses she should not be in a dress! When she looks back at these as an adult you don’t want her to think, “Geez, I hated that my Mom forced me to wear a dress.” You want her to think, that was my favorite outfit – for their outfit to represent who they are in that moment. Not who we want them to be. This is hard, and certainly for young kids – make the choice for them! My kids love buying family photo outfits and often joke that when I buy them picture clothes they are their favorite “fancy outfits”. While, I don’t think they are necessarily fancy they are definitely pulled together, polished looks. That they will repeatedly wear throughout the season (after they wear them for pictures!). I will often buy or piece things together from their closets to include shoes, accessories, jewelry, etc to complete the look.
I like to start by choosing a color palette. This looks different for every family. But let’s take a minute to think about where these images may be displayed, other than on social media because we should ALL be printing our images, right? Right!
IN OUR HOMES! Look around your house, is there a general color scheme? For us we have lots of neutrals, heavy on the browns, some cooler pale blue, and some splashes of green. So when styling my own family I tend to grab colors of the same tones. Even when choosing other colors I try to choose things that will mesh well with that taking into account what looks best for each persons skin tone and of course their preferences.
Here is an example of the color scheme I chose for my last family session:
A tan, light blue, cream and chambray. I eventually added in a pale orange color and black accents because it was a dress my daughter loved! The orange flowed very well with the overall tone of the color scheme.
Here is my general “formula”: Large pattern + small pattern + mix of solids or neutrals + accessories + varying article choices (I’ll talk more about this) = winning!
We all know if Momma isn’t happy, no one is happy! So, I like to start by making sure mom is comfortable, feels good and her outfit is flattering. I usually go for a dress personally, preferably with some movement and encourage my clients to as well. Unless of course, this is something they would never wear. If you are more comfortable in jeans and a blouse, then go for it!
The next few things apply to everyone so I’ll touch on each item individually:
Let’s talk Layers! Jeans and a T-shirt are great for everyday but we can add some visual interest by simply layering a little bit! For example; button down under a sweater, T-shirt under a button down, leggings under a dress, a cardigan or denim jacket layered over just about anything, maybe a cute boho crochet vest or jean vest just for fun, scarves, boot socks, etc. Now in Arizona we don’t necessarily “need” these things to stay warm but they add lots of visual interest. Helping your eye to dance a little bit and not settle too much on one person in particular!
Always accessorize! My girls love picture time because they know they will probably get some fun accessories! Bows or headbands for their hair, bracelets, necklace and earrings are often overlooked and can really help an outfit appear polished and intentional. For boys there aren’t nearly as many fun options but I have had clients pull a cute bow tie to coordinate with color scheme or an adorable little hat!
Shoes are important! Don’t overlook your shoes! Please for the love – They will make their way into at least a few pictures and the last thing you want is for everyone to be staring at your sons neon sneakers, ha! Seriously though, I advise Mommas to bring a change of shoes if we need to walk a bit to a location or if the ground is very silty. I love wedges because they are more stable for me and I have terrible balance, especially when there are children hanging on me! Heals are great, boots (ankle or tall) are tons of fun as well! For dad and boys shoes and properly matching socks are a deal breaker. Grab a sock that matches their outfit so that if they peek out during a seated shot they won’t be too distracting just not ankle or white socks. A bit taller of a darker sock or sock that is close in color to their pants is ideal. Like I mentioned I avoid sneakers/gym shoes/hiking boots and flip flops for pictures. I tend to pick converse, vans and loafers or even dress shoes!
Texture – I probably sound like a broken record at this point but adding different textures helps your eye to dance around the image. Just like we picked a large and a small pattern, let’s choose different textures. Some examples are; a silky or flowy dress for momma, jeans for dad, khakis for son, jean jackets, knit cardigans or sweaters, or a chunky cable knit, etc. the list really goes on and on. By adding texture it will help our outfits look more polished and intentional.
Just like we don’t want everyone wearing khakis and a white shirt – Everyone should be wearing something different. But dont stress about this too much! This isn’t a complete deal breaker in my book. Again, we want the eye to dance, not to settle or be drawn to anyone in particular. If Dad has on a button down with cuffed sleeves and jeans, maybe a son could be short sleeve, long sleeve, vest, jean jacket, etc and maybe a color jean or khaki to break up everyone wearing jeans! If momma has a dress, daughter may want a skirt or pants or dress in a different style or fit! If you have more than one son or daughter just try to mix it up using different lengths, colors, patterns, styles and textures!
Clothes should fit, and fit well. I believe it is imperative to try things on before the day of the shoot. You want clothes to fit the child well. To feel good on their little bodies so they feel confident and happy. This is especially important for children (like I mentioned above, remove a stressor when possible. By making sure they are happy in their outfit they are more likely want to wear it and not be fidgety in it!) especialy for kids who may have sensory issues – lets be honest thats most of them, ha! You want them to feel good and be comfortable! Usually when I’m buying summer or winter wardrobes for the kids I account a little bit for growth, purchasing items a little bit big so there is plenty of growing room. Not for family photos – we want clothes to fit them right now!
Here are my kiddos trying on their picture outfits! Take a look at the color scheme on my walls. They are basically what I chose to dress our family in! Ignore the blurry cell shot this is what I sent to our photographer so she had an idea of what we were wearing. Notice, everyone is smiling genuine smiles they all like their outfit and felt comfortable!
Finally, I want to talk about choosing things for children and husbands. We often find pieces that fit right in and look adorable with our ensembles but maybe outside of our comfort zone, just plain not comfy or maybe cause some sensory issues. I am a pretty strict parent and generally what I say goes (my kids will definitely tell you this to be true, ha!). But I want to alleviate as much stress as possible for not only me but for them too and if that means compromising and letting my kids have some input so that they are happy and comfortable the day of the shoot then so be it! This goes for husbands too and right in line with wanting to remember our children and family how they are, not how we want them to be. My husband for example would never wear a bow tie (He did once to humor me. Guess how many prints we have of those sessions? none.) they just don’t represent him or us as a family. My second daughter doesn’t love wearing jeans – so I don’t force her to wear jeans for family photos even if that’s what I think would work best with the rest of the looks.
Things I avoid at all costs character shirts, large logos, neon anything, and gym or tennis shoes!
I am a proponent of buy more then return what doesn’t work. It saves time. I understand not everyone can or wants to do this but with four kids its hard for me to shop in person. So I generally order a bunch of stuff online that I think may work and return what I don’t need. Or lets be honest, sometimes my kids or husband want to keep the extras too! When I have everything picked out I usually make myself an image of everything together. Here is what I sent to our photographer last year so we had an idea before things arrived if they would flow well together. I there this together quickly in photoshop and am happy to do this for you as well! Eventually we decided to switch out my second oldest daughter’s dress, and ordered a different skirt for my oldest, hubby didn’t love the grey shirt for pictures (although he did end up liking it and keeping it for later) but for the most part this is what we wore!
Here is the finished product! Photo credit goes to Jodi Lynn Photography. If you are ever in Northern California I would hands down recommend her! She is absolutely incredible and a dream to work with! If you notice my little buddy and husband both ended up in chambray. This is totally okay, we were just aware of that when posing so they didn’t “blend together”. Which was A-okay with me because it meant I got to hold him most of the session and I can’t get enough of my little guy!
Wow, that was a lot! Try not to get overwhelmed, I know planning outfits it daunting. I am absolutely here to help, this is part of what you pay me for! I Have lots of recommendations and am happy to help style your family.
Now, I will list a few of my favorite places to shop for family photos:
For Momma:
Fillyboo
Vici Dolls
Red Dress Boutique
Jen’s Pirate Booty
Anthropologie
Free People
H and M
GAP
Forever 21
Old Navy
Joyfolie
For Dad:
GAP
H and M
Nordstrom
Old Navy
For Kiddos:
H and M
GAP
Old Navy
James Vincent Design Co
Fin and Vince
Cora and Violet
Hazelmoonfly
Little Baberham
Joyfolie
Love, Jess
