The first question people ask after reserving a spot for their family portraits is “what should we wear?!”

Honestly, everyone knows how to get dressed and what they prefer to wear for work and adventures with the family on the weekend; but those are not necessarily the same pieces you want to wear for your annual family portraits.

For portraits, it is a time to dress up a bit, but still stay comfortable in those patterns and colors you know are flattering to you personally!

As a general goal: I try to remind people to stay with timeless color palates and stay away from anything that is super trendy – my goal is for you to have beautiful, timeless, joyful images of your family that you will be proud to print, hang on the walls of your home, and pass down to the generations to come!

Here are some tips and insights I’ve learned over the past few years working with hundreds of amazing families to capture their memories so they last a lifetime.

Family Photo Outfit Styling Tips

Everyone wants to look AMAZING in their family photos – especially if you are going to update the frames in your wall; want to have holiday cards created and send those to your extended family, or simply want to showcase those on your social media! We love a new profile photo on Facebook and our little squares on Instagram truly bring us joy to look back on each year (I can’t be the only one who simply CANNOT delete an image from my Instagram feed haha!)

Some helpful styling tips to keep in mind when coordinating outfits for the entire family: 

4 Tips for Swoon-Worthy Family Portrait Outfits

1. COLOR COORDINATION: think coordinating COLORS & shades; instead of “matching.” Use a variety of the same color as accents. Complementary colors are blue & orange, purple & gold, and red & green! When in doubt, pick one of these color sets and build the outfits off of those; choosing shades of each other and adding in neutrals with fun textures to add pops of dimension to the photos.

2. PATTERNS – LESS is MORE when it comes to patterns – if one person is wearing a bold design, have others wear solids or smaller patterns to ensure the photos do not come out too busy. Patterns smaller than a quarter do not always pick up in the camera so they may cause some distortion in the photos. 

3. PASTELS, JEWEL TONES & NEUTRALS generally look good on everyone – so when in doubt, pick one of these color palates and go from there with your planning! These colors are timeless, typically complement any natural environment and will make you feel great! 

4. TEXTURES: play around with fabric textures – if you are keeping in the same tone/color palate, adding texture with the type of fabric you wear is a great way to add dimension & variety to your photos!

Avoid wearing these to family photos

1. LOUD, busy patterns – think heavy, distracting patterns. (yes, this means Buffalo Plaid haha)
2. Neon colors (colors can be distracting & can even bounce off someone’s outfit to another person).
3. Anything ill-fitting, uncomfortable, unintentionally torn/ripped or stained…If it feels difficult when putting it on will probably feel the same when being photographed.
4. Graphic tees or anything with a large logo (small logos are fine).

The MOST IMPORTANT NOTE note about outfit choices..

MOST IMPORTANTLY: wear something you are COMFORTABLE and CONFIDENT in – if you are feeling great in your outfit, it will absolutely SHINE through in your photos!

The opposite also happens if you are uncomfortable – it will show in the photos. 

Want a few more tips for awesome family portraits? Pamper yourself!

Book professional hair and makeup, treat yourself to a manicure (and pedicure because, why not?!), go shopping and splurge on a new dress so you can build the whole family’s outfits around YOUR new favorite piece of clothing…

When in doubt – send me a photo of the clothing you’re considering and I’m happy to give my advice on if the outfits you’re selecting are great or offer suggestions. 🙂 

I’m just an email away at chelseykrausphoto@yahoo.com!