I know how you’re feeling. You have family photos coming up and now comes the hard part… deciding what to wear! But don’t worry, I’m here for you and I have a helpful plan to get you started!
*I started this blog thinking it would be short but then just kept typing and typing. So I came back to the top to give a few helpful tips to remember.
Start with mom’s outfit. 3-4 coordinating colors. Limit of 1 pattern/design. Avoid full white if possible. Don’t size up for kids, get their current size. Maybe even size down for things with straps (like overalls). Put shorts/diaper cover on babies in dresses. Have everyone try on everything on at least a week before the session. If wearing new shoes, break them in inside your house. Decide if adults will wear smart watches. Plan to take everything out of your pockets. If clothes wrinkle easy, plan to put change once you arrive at the location
When my clients ask for advice on what to wear, I always tell them to “start with mom!”. Kids and husbands are so easy to shop for! You know their size and what looks good on them, so you can find their outfits after yours. Moms – decide on the vibe you want for your session. Casual or fancy? Relaxed or formal? Then, decide if you want to look for a dress, skirt, pants/top. Then, try to think of a few colors that you feel your best in or that you want in your photos. If you don’t know about colors, that’s totally fine! It just helps narrow down what to look for. Then… go shopping! I suggest going to a physical store first so that you can try things on and get a feel for what exactly you’re looking for. If you don’t find something in a few stores, you have a better idea of what to look for online. Once you find *your* outfit, then it’s time to look for the rest of the family!
Next in my fancy family photo outfit equation is to think about your colors. Long gone are the days when everyone wears jeans and a white shirt. And we don’t want everyone to be “matchy-matchy”. We want to find outfits that have coordinated colors. We want to focus on 3-4 colors and my favorite way to do this is by using a pattern/design. If mom’s outfit has a design on it, then you are going to look for the few colors that are in the pattern and try to find outfits that match those. For example, if mom’s white dress has a floral pattern with green, pink, and yellow on it. Then, you’re going to look for outfits for the rest of the family with those colors. Maybe Dad goes in a green polo and khaki pants and a little girl goes in a solid pink dress. If mom’s dress is a solid color, then I would encourage looking for kids outfits that have a pattern/design to it with a coordinating color from mom’s outfit.
Ok this is sounding complicated but I’ll give you a personal example from my own family’s recent session. I went to Marshall’s and got extremely lucky in finding our outfits there. I started in the women’s dresses. I knew I wanted something that was a pretty color and flowy/not too tight. So, I started browsing and saw a few things that caught my eye. Then, I saw a solid pink dress with bows on the straps that screamed TRY ME ON! I instantly fell in love with it and knew this was my winner. Perfect starting point! Our family will be dressing around this color pink. I then went to the kids section and looked through the girls clothes (I have a 4 year old and almost 1 year old girl). I didn’t have a plan for the girls clothes but now I had a color to look for. I found a really cute floral top that had the same color pink in it in Claire’s size and then found it in Hailey’s size! Such a win. Matching shirts for the girls! The floral pattern had a mix of pink, green, dark blue, and gold. So then I went to the boys section in search of a shirt for James in those colors. I ended up finding a greenish-gray one that matched the girls top. I wasn’t sure if it would fit him well or not but I got it anyway so he could try at home. Then I went to the mens section. Sorry husbands, you are last on the list but it’s because you are the easiest to shop for! Why is a medium in mens always a medium but a medium in womens could be an S, M, or L? Anyway, I found a dark blue shirt for David that matched the girls floral top. It was like a miracle. All of our outfits came together in one store!! I didn’t get bottoms for the boys because I knew they had khakis at home that they could wear. So, then I took everything home and the kids tried on their outfits. The girls looked adorable in their tops and decided they’d both wear white shorts underneath (not the blue pants that came with the shirts). The shirt I got for James was a little snug so I decided to look for another one online. I already knew what color I wanted (green) so I clicked on Target’s app and searched boy green shirt. A few options came up and I found one I liked! I ordered it in two sizes and a few days later, he tried them both on and we kept the one that fit best! And ta-da, our outfits are complete 🙂
We just did our session last week so we don’t have the photos back yet but here are some iPhone pictures that show the outfits!
Now you can browse below for some real life examples from my beautiful clients and friends!
This family used a pattern on their little girl then pulled colors from the pattern for everyone else to wear. Dad and son both had neutral bottoms. A+ on these outfits Jadie!! 
I love the Fall vibe of Kelly’s session! Her girls wore similar skirts in complimentary colors and only one pattern. A beautiful mix of brown, black and white!
Moms, you don’t have to wear a dress! Here’s a great example if you’re planning on wearing jeans. Hailey put her family in warm Fall colors and denim. While there isn’t a pattern on any of the outfits, the youngest boy adds a sweet detail in overalls. So cute!! Also love how Dad and the two older boys all have buttons on their shirts. 
I looove how little man’s shorts complements the pink in mom’s dress. It’s subtle but it looks so nice together.
Kate always does a great job with family outfits! Here, Dad’s green shirt ties in with the tree on the boys sweaters. The graphic on the boys sweaters stand out so it’s great that mom and dad are both in solid colors.
Here are a few more examples!
And one more of my family from 2022! I bought my dress first and then used the colors in the pattern to find outfits for my family.
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