What to wear for your family photos.
Thoughts from Round Top Family Portrait Photographer Sandy Flint
Deciding what to wear is often the most stressful part of preparing for a family portrait. But it really doesn’t have to be.
There are a number of factors that will influence your clothing choices including:
- Style and personality of your family
- Location of your family photo shoot
- Where & how you will display your portraits.
As part of the planning process, we will create a vision for your final portraits. Once that is complete, we can help you with specific recommendations for choosing the right clothing for your family. We’ll even help you make final selections if you like.
Tips for choosing your portrait clothing:
We want you to look and feel your best for your family portrait. So we put together some easy-to-follow suggestions to help you choose your clothing.
Keep in mind that your family should be the focal point of your portrait – and not your clothing. So, resist the urge to buy everyone the same shirt, and instead, choose colors and styles that go nicely together, but allow each family member to have their individual style.
- Choose clothing that fits properly, and that you feel great in.
- Choose medium to dark, solid color tops without decorations (i.e. logos or graphics).
- Choose a color palette with 1-3 colors with similar tones that go nicely together. Have everyone work within that color palette. Don’t choose the exact same color for everyone like the portrait below.
- Family members should choose clothing in the same tonal ranges so that no single family member stands out because the clothing is too light or bright as compared to the rest of the group.
- Medium to dark blues are a common favorite among the families we photograph.
- Earth tones including browns, tans, greens, and natural blues, and reds are also popular.
- For the Ladies: Choose either long sleeves or sleeveless tops/dresses, but avoid short sleeves. If wearing pants, shoes should be as dark or darker than your top.
- For the Guys: Choose long sleeve shirts along with long pants as dark or darker than your shirt. Shoes (and socks) should be as dark or darker than your pants as well.
- Choose SOLID colors – Avoid big bold patterns like large plaid, polka dots, and multi-colored items.
Your Own What To Wear Guide
Your portrait begins with a creative consultation where we’ll work together to create a vision for your portrait. From casual, outdoor photos on your farm, to a more contemporary Vanity Fair styled portrait – the vision will help us create very specific recommendations for your portrait.
As part of the design process, we will help you with specific recommendations for your family. If you like, this can also include a customized what to wear guide just for your family.
Your custom portraits start with a conversation.
Beautiful portraits don’t start with a camera, they start with a vision.
Ready to schedule your photoshoot? Setting up a consultation is the next step. We’ll talk about your family and the things that will make your portraits extra special. We can even brainstorm portrait ideas you will love.
Still thinking about it? No problem! Let’s set up a time to talk and I’ll be happy to answer all of your questions and help you figure out if we are a good fit.
It’s a FREE call that will leave you excited about the possibilities for your portraits.
To find out more about our custom portrait process, check out our Family Portraits!