How to Dress Your Family for Portraits | Tips & Tricks
As a photographer, this is the most commonly asked question that I receive from clients! What should we wear? And the most common group of people I get this question from is families getting their portraits updated - specifically, MOMS. Moms who just want to get the pictures done and want their family to look amazing without having to stress too much about it. Because let’s face it, trying to coordinate and dress any group of people with different styles, preferences, and ages is just HARD no matter which way you look at it. So, I wanted to create a no-nonsense guide with five helpful tips that will make this process so much easier and clearer for you!
For my example photos, I’m going to be using two of my families who I think just absolutely NAILED IT for their pictures. I’ve also talked to a lot of moms about HOW they ended up with such a great wardrobe for their pics. What steps did they take? How did they achieve this color-coordinated sorcery? Was it witchcraft?
TIP #1 - The Golden Rule of Color Coordination
Now, what makes a good ensemble of clothing for a family portrait? The general consensus here is that everyone needs to be color-coordinated. Color coordination is king! And it’s also the most difficult aspect that everyone struggles with.
What you’ll want to do is start out with a color palette. This can be based upon many different factors. What season is it? If it’s spring, you may want to consider a more pastel palette with light blues, whites, pinks, or beiges. Something a lot of people find helpful is going to Pinterest and simply searching for color palettes. Try “fall color palette” and be amazed by all the different options that pop up.
Or, if you aren’t liking the color options based on whichever season it is, you absolutely don’t need to stick to this convention! You can choose your color palette based on what everyone already has in their closets. For example, maybe your husband has a lot of navy blue button-up shirts, and in your kids’ closets you see a lot of shades of blue as well. Use this as a jumping off point to create a base for your color palette.
Bonus Tip: If you REALLY wanted to go in-depth with color coordination, I recommend a free website tool called Adobe Color. Simply select one or two colors, then select “complementary” on the side bar, and let the color wheel pick out your color palette for you! Done and done.
Here are some unique color palettes I came up with in just 5 minutes of playing around:
TIP #2 - Keep Patterns to a Minimum
I’m going to use this photo above as an example to talk about patterns because their outfits work incredibly well together! Of course you have the color coordination of mustard yellow and shades of blue, but beyond that, do you notice how everyone is dressed in solid colors except for only two people (the girl in the striped dress and the dad in the plaid)?
This is because, in terms of photography, you don’t want too many patterns going on. Subconsciously, if we are looking at a photo that is too “busy” in terms of unique clothing, we tend to concentrate on that instead of the people IN the clothes. Especially for family portraits where you may have a lot of people in one picture, there’s already a lot going on in terms of poses, faces, background, and color.
If someone is going to wear a pattern, try to keep it down to just one or two people. Like this cute family below, where mom and dad are wearing solid colors and the little girl’s patterned shirt is just a POP of pattern and complimentary fall color.
TIP #3 - Location / Practicality
I’m going to give you a little bit of tough love on this one, so bear with me here. Trust me though, it’s for your benefit!
As a photographer, I always recommend outfit components based on the location we’ll be shooting in. By this I mean, wearing sturdy shoes if we’ll be outside walking up and down hills, or bringing a jacket to wear over your outfit in between photos so you don’t freeze to death. If you KNOW you will be walking around in the woods or on a cobblestone street, please avoid wearing high heels! OR, alternatively, if you must wear your high heels, communicate with your photographer! Then you can have a discussion about needing to change your location to accommodate your outfit choice.
The last thing you want is for your kid to be chattering their teeth in the wind, then having a meltdown because it’s too cold and they want to go home. Even if they aren’t wearing a coat in their photos, it’s still a good idea to bring one for all the in-between moments so they can stay warm and happy. You also don’t want to be twisting an ankle, falling into some mud, or sweating so much that your pits start to stain. Just keep your location and the weather in mind when choosing your clothes! And talk to your photographer if you think there could be an issue.
Hey, you might think it’s just common sense and that it didn’t need to be said, but trust me when I say that I wish I had talked about this with a few of my early clients back in the day. You’d be surprised.
TIP #4 - Dress the Most Difficult Person First
Do you have that one person in your family who is just really difficult to find clothes for? Maybe your husband only cycles through wearing the same four shirts all the time, or your daughter refuses to wear anything other than the same favorite sweater she’s worn all winter long? (Or maybe it’s YOU! Dun dun dunnn.) Simply take that person and find an outfit that works for THEM.
After that’s taken care of, it will be much easier to coordinate everyone else’s outfits to match the one you’ve already dressed.
TIP #5 - Lay Everything Out, Then Make a List
Okay, time for the final step. So far you’ve selected your color palette, kept patterns to a minimum, looked at the weather forecast, talked to your photographer, and found an outfit for the hardest person to dress. Now it’s time to actually get together with the whole family and have everyone lay out what they’re going to wear. (I suggest doing this at least a few days ahead of time…not on the day of your session when you’ll be crunched for time!)
Using all the tips you’ve read about, create the final looks that everyone is going to be wearing for their photos. Lay it all out on your bed. If you have a few items missing, this is the time when you can make a list of what you need to go out and buy. Or if shopping isn’t in the budget, now is when you can look through everyone’s wardrobes with them to discover something else that will work. Don’t hesitate to go back to step #1 and find a new color palette, then go from there.
I hope these tips inspired you to start planning for your next family photos! Dressing everyone to coordinate with each other can be a STRUGGLE, but with these five tips and I assure you it will at least be a little easier. As I said earlier, if you are really having a hard time, don’t be afraid to reach out to your photographer! I promise you they get this question a lot and can help you find something that will work. :)
Much love,
K.W.